After almost five years since it was introduced at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, the Black Badge family has finally made its way to Malaysia. Rolls-Royce Kuala Lumpur is the only distributor in this region to have the complete line-up; made up of the Cullinan, the Wraith, the Dawn and the Ghost.
Created for a new category of Rolls-Royce clientele, the Black Badge aims to appeal to the bold and youthful, the innovators and the disruptors hence the menacing image.
“We are seeing a distinct change in the Super-luxury arena within Malaysia. Increasingly, we are welcoming younger, adventurous Rolls-Royce customers alongside our more established clientele. We have refreshed our Black Badge range for 2020, and have already seen strong interest from customers who are looking for something very contemporary and bold,” said Quill Motorcars Sdn Bhd, Executive Director, Anas Zawawi Khalid.
But that’s not all, each of the Rolls-Royce Black Badge models are distinguished with a few distinct features. For one, the silver badges with black details on a standard Rolls-Royce have been inverted – they now appear with a black base and silver details.
The Spirit of Ecstasy which has appeared in various forms throughout the marque’s history is now presented in high gloss black chrome. For the first time, black chrome is also seen on the mascot’s mounting plate.
Although Rolls-Royce expects most of its clientele to opt for the Black Badge’s signature Black finish, there over 44,000 in-house colours to choose from should they decide not to. Multiple layers of the Black paint has been applied meticulously, and hand polished 10 times before a Coachline is hand-painted along the sides.
Exclusively for the Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan are 22-inch forged alloy wheels and high gloss Red brake calipers – the first ever coloured caliper in a Rolls-Royce. The Cullinan’s brake bite point has been raised and pedal travel decreased, if you’re interested to know.
Inside, each of the Black Badge models are presented with Technical Carbon trims, with exposed carbon fibre weaves for 3D look. Six coats of lacquer are applied on it before it’s left to cure for 72 hours. All 23 pieces of these trims are then hand-polished, in a process taking 21 days!
And then you have the Starlight Headliner that’s made up of 1,344 handwoven fibre optic lights to mimic the night sky. They’ve even got eight shooting stars that move about the headliner randomly over the front occupants – how cool is that!
If you’re wondering what the “infinity symbol” represents, it’s called the Lemniscate and it represents infinite power. The symbol was first seen on Sir Malcolm Campbell’s record-breaking Rolls-Royce-powered Blue Bird K3 hydroplane which meant it was in a category of boats with infinite engine power.
In the Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan, an extra 29 hp and 50 Nm has been extracted from its 6.75-litre V12 engine, bringing the new total to 600 hp and 900 Nm. The Black Badge Wraith still makes 632 hp but gets an additional 50 Nm for a total of 870 Nm.
The Black Badge Ghost sees a 41 hp and 20 Nm increase, now at 611 hp and 840 Nm. Lastly, the Black Badge Dawn‘s figures stand at 601 hp and 840 Nm, with a 30 hp and 20 Nm increase. Prices of these Black Badge models are excluding duties and of course, Rolls-Royce’s endless threshold for customisation so take a deep breath:
Black Badge Wraith – starts from RM 1.7 million
Black Badge Ghost – starts from RM 1.4 million
Black Badge Dawn – starts from RM 1.8 million
Black Badge Cullinan – starts from RM 1.7 million
GALLERY
