Rolls Royce is riding a wave of success, especially regarding its Black Badge lineup of ultra-luxury models. Black Badge alone represents about 30 percent of Rolls Royce’s global sales, with the company planning to offer Black Badge versions of nearly all of its models (Phantom excluded). That includes the newest member of the Black Badge family, the Ghost Black Badge sedan.
Ghost Back Badge Adds Sinister Charm To Exterior Styling
The Ghost Black Badge largely follows the exact patented blueprint that has defined other Black Badge models. Black is the color of choice here, with the large chrome grille and the Spirit of Ecstasy badge being adorned in black accents. Matching 21-inch Black Badge exclusive wheels are also part of the package. While Rolls Royce allows buyers to choose from a vast and impressive array of exterior colors, buyers that choose to adorn the car in a unique hue of black will be able to relish in owning the darkest shade of black offered in the whole auto industry with over 100 lbs of black paint being used to achieve the effect.
Other than some of these changes, the Ghost’s core design essentially carries over, which is fine since the standard Ghost is already a very sharp-looking automobile, especially with its ghostly taillights lighting up the night.
Interior Carries On The Performance Infused Motif
Like the exterior, the Ghost’s cabin can also be adorned in myriad ways though Rolls reps admit that Black Badge buyers tend to stick with darker hues and motifs. The car that Rolls Royce chose to show off in its press photos is perhaps one of the more vibrant configurations that we have seen on Rolls Royce offerings, with the jet black leather seating surfaces being contrasted by teal accents. The car also features the company’s Starliner technology, and it pops when it’s viewed alongside the black and teal combo.
The dashboard is also awash in stars, and a novel carbon fiber weave substitute covers the darkened Bolivar wood trim that Rolls Royce calls “technical fiber.” Other splashes of over-engineered opulence include the air vents, which have been darkened using a “physical vapor deposition” in which the metal is not being tarnished in any way at all as a result. Details like these make the Ghost Black Badge stand out and look for that to translate into even more sales.
Performance Upgrades Up The Tempo But Without Sacrificing Character
The Ghost Black Badge is not a pure sport sedan, but that wasn’t what the company was out to do anyway. Instead, it’s all about giving customers a unique injection of performance that doesn’t alter the driving character of the Ghost. As a result, the Ghost Black Badge will still waft along the road like a proper Rolls Royce, but it will have more pep in its step thanks to a lightly tweaked 6.75 liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine, which is good for 591 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque. That’s a noticeable gain from the stock 563 hp and allows the Black Badge to make the sprint to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds before topping out at 155 mph.
While Rolls engineers did not include a formal Sport mode button in the Ghost (like other Black Badge models), they hid it in the Low Mode button, allowing the Black Badge to have a more responsive personality thanks to altered programming in the throttle and the transmission. That allows the Ghost to transform into a surprisingly capable bruiser that will silence doubters of the paranormal with its insanely impressive acceleration.
Handling is also altered here with new springs and minor suspension and chassis tweaks helping to reduce body roll and sway when the car is pushed hard. As mentioned earlier, the Ghost Black Badge is not as razor-sharp in this category as more contemporary sport sedans like the BMW M5. Still, our time in the Cullinan Black Badge revealed that the suspension tweaks do make an impact in certain driving situations.
When Can I Buy A Rolls Royce Ghost Black Badge?
Rolls Royce will be offering the Black Badge treatment on both the standard and long-wheelbase versions of the Ghost and has even opened up ordering for the model. Base price starts at $395,000, which is a $64,000 premium over the standard Ghost before fees, and some of its wild and optional custom features are factored into the number equation. This pricing allows the Ghost Black Badge to occupy the same ultra-luxury slice of the market that other Black Badge models enjoy but in a package that’s slightly more accessible to buyers.
The Ghost Black Badge will also attract a different breed of Rolls Royce buyer too. Unlike other Rolls Royce models, Black Badge owners flip the script, and Rolls Royce revealed that a large slice of these owners prefer to drive their cars versus having Jeeves do the whole road navigating thing for them. As such, nailing the performance side of the coin was very important, and we look forward to seeing if they have succeeded in doing that or not in a future review.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.