The blackest black ever, even more sensational performance and a super-exclusive set-up in step with the times, also loved by younger and less traditional customers.
All this is Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge, specifically designed for those who love the brand's super luxury and, at the same time, want a modern, high-performance, always connected and, as far as possible, discreet car.
Minimal, but elegant.
With Ghost, Rolls-Royce continues the path of Black Badges started in 2016, which now account for around 30% of the brand's global sales.
The Black Badge Ghost was presented in Rome, the latest car from Rolls-Royce (part of the BMW Group), a brand that this year reached an all-time high in sales with 5,586 units delivered.
Massimiliano Di Silvestre, CEO of BMW Italia, recalled the ever closer relationship that is created between customers and the Rolls-Royce brand, capable in its 117 years of history not only to offer a product of unparalleled level, but also to intercept trends, translate them into super-luxury and propose them to a market that is as selected as it is demanding.
Above all, for example, sustainability: as early as 1900 Charles Rolls experimented with one of the first electric cars - the Columbia - but he also prophesied that it would take years to see electric drive on luxury cars.
And so it went:
Check out the
Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost photos
Ghost Black Badge is aimed at a specific segment of the public, whose tastes it intercepts.
A range also loved by young people and female customers, and which lowers the average age of buyers.
Despite the thousands of colors available, it is black - in a specific shade of it - that is the most successful.
To arrive at the darkest black in the automotive industry, an unprecedented procedure is followed which requires the use of approximately 45 kg of atomised paint on an electrostatically charged white body before drying.
This phase is followed by the application of two layers of transparent varnish and, finally, the hand polishing by a pool of craftsmen.
With a duration of between three and five hours, this operation is completely unknown in mass production,
and - explains Peter Pförtner, Rolls-Royce future models product manager - is one of the elements that makes the car so exclusive.
Just like the Coachline - the contrasting line that crosses the entire side - hand painted, or like the 70 kg of sound-absorbing material that make the passenger compartment totally soundproof.
Or the 21-inch carbon wheels with an exclusive design.
The hub, in aluminum, is fixed to the rim with aerospace titanium elements.
In the center, the characteristic floating hubcap of the brand, designed so that the Double R monogram always remains in a vertical position.
Countless, indeed, the characterizing elements.
Black even takes over the Spirit of ecstasy, which in the non-EU market is illuminated from below by an LED light.
The impressive grille of the grille, in other countries, is also highlighted by specially designed lights.
Details that we will not see on our roads due to the legislation that prevents their use.
The interiors and finishes of the RR Black Badge Ghost are, of course, fully customizable, but with black dominating the other shades.
The doors are accompanied in closing and opening by a discreet and effective motorization.
Between the rear seats, there is a refrigerated compartment capable of holding a bottle of champagne and two glasses.
On the rugs, of very soft carpet, it is possible to have what the owner likes best: the initials, a logo or other.
Mechanically, the 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12 engine has increased by 29 hp, reaching a total power of 600 hp.
The torque available already from 1,700 rpm has also been increased to 900 Nm, as are specific for this model transmission and accelerator that work together with the eight-speed ZF gearbox and both front and rear steering axles.
Braking has been remodeled, with shorter pedal travel and new electronic assistance.
Everything, really everything, and much more for a work of art on wheels worth over 400 thousand euros.
