Rolls-Royce’s relatively new Black Badge series appeals to demand by its new target buyer demographic for sportier luxury. As another phase in the continuing departure from the ultimate touring car aesthetic and performance the brand is associated with, the Black Badge series is poised to claim a market share of the sales territory traditionally associated with AMG-flavored Mercedes and M-labeled BMW vehicles, while attempting to give British sibling Bentley a run for their money.
And it’s doing so with a marketing campaign as shadowy as the cars themselves, targeting ‘young…self-confident rule-breakers,’ and, specifically, American ones. The company’s marketing division all but quoted Robert Frost in their press release—according to Rolls, their target consumer is not only acquainted with the night, he or she ‘engages’ with it in the most aggressively direct way possible: by being behind the wheel of it. Not only does this new series confirm to well-heeled 40-something tire-kickers that the last bastion of individuality rests in acting outside the margins of propriety and social convention, it suggests control over the darker side of the diurnal cycle as well. Now, that’s a radically updated brand image. So long, Lake District. Hello, Soho.
The series is the product of the company’s in-house bespoke team, and features eye-catching interior and exterior design, but that’s only the beginning. While equipped with a more high-strung V12 engine tuning pushing an additional 45 ft. lbs. of torque over the standard models, the Wraith and Ghost Black Badge series cars also boast a higher-performance version of the eight speed transmission, for a more dramatic overall performance profile. Interiors feature door and dashboard panels of aluminum-threaded carbon-fiber composite—generally used in stealth aircraft, and a ‘starlight headliner’ uses fiber optics to reproduce the heavens inside the cabin. The Black Badge series cars undergo six coats of lacquer—black or otherwise—before leaving the production floor.
Unquestionably beautiful, the Black Badge series cars represent a unique departure and campaign by Rolls-Royce. Pricing for a stock Wraith or Ghost hovers around $350K. Expect the Black Badge series to command quite a bit more. Taking command of the night doesn’t come cheap; but if Rolls-Royce’s legendary craftsmanship is any indication, it may very well be worth it.
