The new Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge is a more powerful and more individual version of the luxury sedan introduced last year and, like other Black Badge models, is aimed at bringing younger buyers into Rolls-Royce’s fold.
The Black Badge trim is for a specific type of eccentric billionaire. One who’s well aware of how much wealthier they are than the common folk. While other Rolls-Royce owners may try and hide in anonymity, Black Badge owners want to be seen, not just being chauffeured around in the car, but behind the wheel of it. They want people to know just what a big deal they are, and how different they are from the most successful person who came before them.
Styling-wise, the exterior of the Ghost Black Badge borrows many flourishes from its Black Badge siblings – the Dawn, Wraith and Cullinan. These include a darker chrome shade for the exterior brightwork, grille, the Spirit of Ecstasy and the 21-inch alloy wheel design.
Amazingly, over 44,000 shades of custom paint are available for buyers of the Black Badge Ghost. Rolls-Royce likens this selection to a “ready to wear” suit tailor who has just the color to make your new toy as unique as possible.
Inside, the latest and greatest luxury materials have gone into every centimeter of its construction. Polished wood is just as genuine as it ever was throughout the car. All polishing is done by hand, of course. There are black wood veneers and technical fabrics along with a more subdued tone for the interior trim, alongside a bespoke, minimalist interior clock that’s flanked by a new design for the Ghost’s LED illuminated fascia.
The Black Badge gets 592hp and 906Nm from the twin-turbocharged 6.75-litre V12 engine.
The all-wheel-drive Ghost Black Badge adds a new ‘Low’ driving mode, which sharpens up driving functions, including gearshifts from the eight-speed automatic gearbox, that are made 50 percent quicker along with a tweaked exhaust note.
Other dynamic tweaks over the donor car include more voluminous air springs that are designed to reduce body roll under hard cornering, a bespoke throttle map, revised tuning for the all-wheel drive and four-wheel steering systems and the raising of the brake pedal’s biting point while reducing its travel, although the standard braking system has been retained from the Ghost despite the increase in power.
It’s all about the exclusivity of the best version of what the most famous luxury car maker in the world can build. No pricing information is available yet.
