Rolls-Royce reveals the new Black Badge Ghost

Rolls-Royce has revealed its latest addition to the Black Badge family, the Black Badge Ghost.

The black Badge Ghost is said to merge the 'Post Opulence' design of the regular Ghost with the darker and more assertive character of Rolls-Royce's Black Badge cars, bringing minimalism into an in extremis.

Clients are, of course, free to choose from over 44,000 'ready-to-wear' colours or create their own entirely unique Bespoke hue for the Ghost Black Badge. However, Rolls-Royce's signature Black has proven to be the most popular amongst the orders for the Black Badge cars yet.

The colour is produced by applying a total of 45kg of paint onto the car, before two layers of clear coat are applied and hand-polished by a team of four craftsmen to produce the marque's signature high-gloss piano finish.

It is from this signature Black that clients add a high-contrast, hand-painted Coachline, which has done much to create the Black Badge 'black and neon' aesthetic that has come to characterise this vivid family of Rolls-Royce motor cars.

The Rolls-Royce signature Spirit of Ecstasy and Pantheon Grille also get a mirror-black chrome finish to match the car's darkened aesthetic.

And pairing with the darkened brightwork are 21-inch carbon fibre composite wheels. A 3D-forged aluminium hub is bonded to the rim here using aerospace-grade titanium fasteners and finished with the marque's hallmark Floating Hubcap, ensuring the Double R monogram remains upright at all times.

In the cabin, the Rolls-Royce Ghost gets darkened brightwork on the air vent surrounds on the dashboard and in the rear cabin. The Ghost timepiece on the dashboard also gets only the tips of the hands and the 12, three, six and nine o'clock markings finished in a subdued chrome for a minimalist look.

The use of a black Bolivar veneer and carbon and metallic fibres throughout the cabin also help to bring out the dramatic mechanical intent of Black Badge Ghost.

Rolls-Royce's proprietary all-aluminium spaceframe architecture has also been tweaked for the Black Badge Ghost, with more voluminous air springs fitted to better alleviate body roll.

And under the bonnet, the twin-turbocharged 6.75-litre V12 has been massaged to produce an additional 29bhp and 50Nm of torque. Power now stands at a total of 592bhp while peak torque is now 900Nm.

Activating the 'Low' button situated on the gear selection stalk also now opens up the vocals of the engine through an entirely new exhaust system.

Driven like so, the Rolls-Royce Ghost will also offer up all 900Nm of torque from just 1,700rpm while gearshift speeds are increased by 50% when the throttle is depressed to 90%, delivering Black Badge Ghost's abundant power reserves with dramatic immediacy.

The braking bite point has been raised and pedal travel decreased to further bolster confidence when at the helm of the Black Badge Ghost, and a new suite of bold high-temperature brake caliper paint colours are now available.

The Black Badge Ghost is available to commission through authorised Rolls-Royce Motor Cars dealerships.