Rolls-Royce has officially launched the latest Black Badge Ghost in Malaysia which offers owners who are look for a more spirited drive.
It is also well noted that Asia Pacific region now has one of the highest proportions of Black Badge in the world.
“Black Badge is the ‘alter-ego’ of Rolls-Royce, an alternative to a segment of super-luxury customers who value the bold and non-conformist. We are witnessing highly successful entrepreneurs who are more diverse than ever before, coming from non-traditional industries. They are innovators, trailblazers — and above all — those who dare. Black Badge is their code of luxury. “
Anas Zawawi Khalid, Director, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Kuala Lumpur
Exterior – For the bold, making a statement
So, what makes the Black Badge Ghost a Black Badge Ghost? Let’s start with the exterior, clients can opt from the brand’s any 44,000 ‘ready-to-wear’ colours or create their own entirely unique Bespoke hue on the car. As majority prefer the signature Black, it was made from 100lbs (45kg) of paint is atomised and applied to an electrostatically charged body in white before being oven dried. The motor car then receives two layers of clear coat before being hand-polished by a team of four craftsmen to produce the marque’s signature high-gloss piano finish.
At between three and five hours in duration, this operation is entirely unknown in mass production, creating an intensity simply unattainable elsewhere in the automotive industry. It is this depth of darkness that serves as the perfect canvas for clients to add a high-contrast, hand-painted Coachline, which has done much to create the Black Badge ‘black and neon’ aesthetic that has come to characterise this vivid family of Rolls-Royce motor cars.
Next, the signature of Rolls-Royce hallmarks such as the high-polished Spirit of Ecstasy and Pantheon Grille have been ‘subverted’. A specific chrome electrolyte is introduced to the traditional chrome plating process that is co-deposited on the stainless-steel substrate, darkening the finish. The final thickness with this process is just one micrometre and each of them will be recision-polished by hand to achieve a mirror-black chrome finish before it is fitted to the motor car.
The rims on the Black Badge Ghost is meant for serious driving enthusiast. It’s a Bespoke 21-inch composite wheelset that is each made up of 22 layers of carbon fibre laid on three axes, then folded back on themselves at the outer edges of the rim, forming a total of 44 layers of carbon fibre for greater strength. The 3D-forged aluminium hub is bonded to the rim using aerospace-grade titanium fasteners. It is also completed with and finished with the Floating Hubcap, ensuring the Double R monogram remains upright at all times. There is a lightly tinted lacquer is applied to protect the finish but still allow owners to marvel at the wheel’s unique carbon fibre construction.
Interior – Never settle for normal
The Black Badge Ghost has a complex but subtle weave that incorporates a deep diamond pattern rendered in carbon and metallic fibres has been created by the company’s craftspeople.
Multiple wood layers are pressed onto the interior component substrates, using black Bolivar veneer for the uppermost base layer. This forms a dark foundation for the Technical Fibre layers that follow. Leaves woven from resin-coated carbon and contrasting metal-coated thread laid in a diamond pattern are applied by hand to the components in perfect alignment, creating a three-dimensional effect. To secure this extraordinary veneer, each component is cured for one hour under pressure at 100°C. This is then sand-blasted to create a keyed surface for six layers of lacquer, which is hand-sanded and polished before being incorporated into the motor car.
If specified in the client’s commission, the Technical Fibre ‘Waterfall’ section of the individual rear seats receives the Black Badge family motif: the mathematical symbol that represents potential infinity known as a Lemniscate.
The air vent surrounds on the dashboard and in the rear cabin are darkened using physical vapour deposition, one of the few methods of colouring metal that ensures parts will not discolour or tarnish over time or through repeated use. If you take a closer look at the Black Badge Ghost timepiece design, you will noticed that only the tips of the hands and the twelve, three, six and nine o’clock markers are picked out, in a subdued chrome finish, making a minimalistic approach. However, you can also choose additional timepieces within Black Badge Ghost to suit your preference.
Engineering – A modern, rare masterpiece that delivers the driving performance
The Black Badge Ghost still inherit the same technology like the Ghost model: Rolls-Royce’s proprietary all-aluminium spaceframe architecture, all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and the award-winning Planar Suspension system. But Black Badge Ghost has added the fitting of more voluminous air springs to alleviate body roll under more assertive cornering.
Don’t be fooled if you think this is the same 6.75-litre V12 engine like the normal Ghost. The engine now has an extra 21kW, creating a total output of 592hp/600ps. The sense of a single infinite gear has also been dramatised with the addition of a further 50Nm of torque, bringing a max torque of 900Nm. The powertrain has also received Bespoke transmission and throttle treatments to further enhance the engine’s increased power reserves. The ZF eight-speed gear box and both front- and rear-steered axles work collaboratively to adjust the levels of feedback to the driver, depending on throttle and steering inputs.
As with all products in the marque’s Black Badge portfolio, the ‘Low’ button situated on the gear selection stalk unlocks Black Badge Ghost’s full suite of technologies. This is asserted by the amplification of the motor car’s engine through an entirely new exhaust system, subtly announcing its potency. All 900Nm of torque is available from just 1700rpm and, once underway in Low Mode, gearshift speeds are increased by 50% when the throttle is depressed to 90%, delivering Black Badge Ghost’s abundant power reserves with dramatic immediacy.
The braking bite point has been raised and pedal travel decreased for the Black Badge Ghost. Rolls-Royce also opted a new suite of bold high-temperature brake calliper paint colours has been developed in preparation for forthcoming Black Badge Ghost commissions.
You can now commission your Black Badge Ghost in Malaysia as price starts from RM1.8 million less taxes. As Rolls-Royce motor cars are Bespoke, pricing is dependent on specification.
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