New Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan Completes BeSpoke Family
For luxury car aficionados around the world, the day has come, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has unveiled the Black Badge Cullinan, the latest model and member of the Black Badge permanent Bespoke Family.
The Cullinan is the most in-demand and commissioned Rolls-Royce, with clients waiting for months on end as each is hand-assembled at the sole Rolls-Royce manufacturing plant West Sussex, England.
Photo Credit: Rolls-Royce
“Black Badge reflects the desires of a distinct group of Rolls-Royce clients: men and women who take risks, break rules and build success on their own terms, says Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “Indeed, before we launched Black Badge in 2016 the idea of creating a product that would satisfy this subversive cohort–that is highly dynamic and wilfully rebellious in aesthetic–caused a great deal of internal debate. However, once the marque’s designers, engineers and craftspeople began pursuing this dramatic alter ego, it became clear that these motor cars could not only exist comfortably beneath this revered and historic brand but they would define a new space within the super-luxury market. In this spirit, the time has come for Rolls-Royce’s boldest and darkest expression of Black Badge yet. The King of the Night, Black Badge Cullinan.”
Photo Credit: Rolls-Royce
The Black Badge Cullinan is adorned with the mathematical symbol for potential infinity throughout the car. This detail was first applied to Sir Malcolm Campell’s record-breaking Rolls-Royce-powered Blue Bird K3 hydroplane.
Photo Credit: Rolls-Royce
Black Badge Cullinan Exterior: The King of the Night
Photo Credit: Rolls-Royce
The exterior of the Black Badge Cullinan is multiple-layered with precision and hand-polished for as many as five hours. No other solid paint color motor car has such an application of paint and lacquer.
The depth and intensity of Black Badge Cullinan’s finish serves as the perfect canvas for a contrasting Coachline. The darkened Spirit of Ecstasy mascot is presented in high gloss black chrome and the iconic Rolls-Royce badges invert to become silver-on-black. Chrome surfaces such as the front grille surround, side frame finishers, boot handle, boot trim, lower air inlet finisher and exhaust pipes are darkened and the vertical grille bars remain polished, reflecting the blackened surfaces that surround them.
Black Badge Cullinan wears all-new 22-inch forged alloy wheels, reserved exclusively for Black BadgeCullinan. The 22-wheels are accompanied by another first for Rolls-Royce with the marque’s first-ever colored brake caliper. The high gloss Red paint offsets the new dark wheels.
Black Badge Cullinan Interior: Superlative comfort. Audacious Design
Photo Credit: Rolls-Royce
Collaboration between designers, engineers and craftspeople saw the creation of a luxury carbon-fiber finish developed to create repeating geometrical shapes in a three-dimensional effect. Each leaf of Technical Fiber is finished with six coats of lacquer before being left to cure for 72 hours then hand-polished to Rolls-Royce’s hallmark mirror finish.
Starlight Headliner has joined Rolls-Royce iconography alongside the Spirit of Ecstasy and Pantheon Grille and makes its Cullinan debut on Black Badge Cullinan. Crafted in Black leather with 1344 individual fiber optic cables, the new Bespoke Starlight Headliner incorporates a new shooting star feature with eight brilliant white shooting stars.
Color and Trim designers created a bold new leather color, Forge Yellow, to offer as part of the brand’s curated collection. The new colors can also be commissioned for the Bespoke Viewing Suite or incorporated into the Recreation Module tailored to any client’s specifications.
Black Badge Cullinan Engineering. The Architecture of Luxury’s Dark Side
Photo Credit: Rolls-Royce Black Badge is far more than an aesthetic treatment. Key to the thrill of Black Badge Cullinan is the Architecture of Luxury, Rolls-Royce’s proprietary all-aluminum architecture. The sub-structure delivers extraordinary body stiffness is fitted with all-wheel drive and four-wheel steering. Like all Black Badge family members Black Badge Cullinan is enhanced to generate an extra 29bhp for a total of 600bhp and an additional 37 ft-lb (50NM) for a total 664 ft-lb (900NM) of torque. Pressing the ‘Low’ button on the gear shift unlocks Black Badge Cullinan’s full suite of technologies including the new Black Badge audible exhaust, creating a deep rumble of the 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12. Black Badge Cullinan features Rolls-Royce’s ‘Intuitive Throttle’ for a more aggressive shift pattern for the ZF 8-speed transmission. Both front and rear steered axles work collaboratively to adjust the levels of engagement depending on throttle and steering inputs. Changes to suspension components and settings add to the suite of dynamic technologies that ensure a balanced dynamic and refined ride. And of course, Black Badge Cullinan features a raised braking bite point and decreased pedal travel. Redesigned brake discs also allow consistency in these changes while braking at elevated temperatures. The Black Badge Cullinan is now available for commission. For more, visit www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com.
