Rolls Royce Wants To Attract Younger Crowd With Black Badge Models

The Rolls Royce Ghost and Wraith have gained a new bespoke Black Badge version in a bid to attract a younger clientele looking for a more assertive appearance.

The new models were revealed at the Geneva Motor Show and they will become a permanent addition to the range.

“In creating Black Badge, we were conscious of satisfying the different demands of these new customers”, said Giles Taylor, Director of Design, Rolls-Royce. “Not only did they demand an alternative image for themselves, they demanded authentic Rolls-Royce engineering substance to underpin it.”

The iconic Spirit of Ecstasy figurine is now gloss black and the double R badge is finished on a silver on black tone, with all the chrome surfaces, including the front grille surround, boot lid finisher, lower air inlet finisher and exhaust pipes turned dark.

The new composite carbon alloy wheels are exclusive to the Black Badge models, featuring no less than 22 layers of carbon fibre folded back on themselves for a total of 44 layers. The 3D aircraft-grade aluminum hub is bonded to the rim using aerospace-strength titanium fasteners for further strength.

Inside an aerospace-grade aluminum-threaded carbon fiber composite material is the trim of choice. Threads of aircraft grade aluminum just 0.014mm in diameter are painstakingly woven together before being bonded with carbon fiber. This surface material then has six coats of lacquer applied, is left to cure for 72 hours, after which it is hand-polished to a mirror finish.

The 6.6-litre V12 engine of the Ghost Black Badge has gained 40hp and 60Nm of torque, for a total of 603hp and 840Nm, with the eight-speed automatic updated to offer “an added sense of urgency”.

Wraith’s power, on the other hand remains, the same, at 623hp, with only the torque figure gaining an extra 70Nm. Both models now come with the company’s new feature, called ‘Intuitive Throttle Response’.

From 25% throttle, the transmission holds gears for longer, shifting gear between 300rpm and 500rpm higher in the rev range, dependent on gear. Black Badge models also rev all the way to 6,000rpm before each gear change when the throttle senses that it is at 80-100% open. This gives a more direct throttle response feeling during spirited driving with peak power available more of the time.