Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge uncovered

Just in time for Halloween, the sinister 2022 Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge has broken cover in the UK, revealing a menacing new look, more powerful V12 engine and a sportier chassis.

Pitched to a typically younger buyer group, Black Badge models are offered across the Wraith, Dawn and Ghost line-ups and are essentially the British luxury marque’s sporting flagships.

Aussie customers have embraced the higher-performance, driver-focused range, and this latest Ghost version – which is confirmed for launch in Australia during the first quarter of 2022 – is described as the “purest Black Badge yet”.

There’s no word on pricing, but given the regular Ghost is priced from $628,000 plus on-road costs, the Black Badge model could leapfrog the long-wheelbase version ($740,000) to headline the range at $750K-plus.

Rolls-Royce says the brawny V12-powered limo is designed for those who “reject suits for streetwear, use blockchain not banks and influence the analogue world through their digital endeavours”.

It also apparently adopts a “post opulent” attitude.

As such, the new second-generation Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge features a unique eye-popping ‘Turchese’ blue-green leather interior peppered with technical carbon veneers and, of course, acres of timber.

Electrification? Not yet, with Rolls leaving that to the forthcoming Spectre.

Instead, the moody new Ghost gets a more potent version of the long-running 6.8-litre twin-turbo V12 petrol engine that in this application produces 441kW of power and 900Nm of torque (up from 420kW/850Nm).

Modifications to the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission and throttle mapping are designed to increase engine response, while the four-wheel steering system has been tweaked to improve driver involvement.

An all-new exhaust system is part of the RR BB Ghost package that delivers a more potent engine note and the braking software has been calibrated to deliver a quicker “bite point” and shorter pedal travel.

While the braking hardware is unchanged, the callipers can be finished in various new colours – including signature blue.

The new Black Badge Ghost features all-wheel drive and air suspension, the latter “comprehensively re-engineered, including the fitting of more voluminous air springs to alleviate body roll under more assertive cornering”, says Rolls.

The new model is offered with any of the brand’s 44,000 exterior paint options, but most owners choose the signature black, which adds 45kg to the weight of the vehicle.

Bespoke coach-lining, or hand-painted flourishes, are also part of the package.

The BB Ghost rides on unique 21-inch alloy wheels featuring 22 layers of carbon-fibre folded back on themselves at the outer edges of the rim.

A 3D-forged aluminium hub is bonded to the rim via aerospace-grade titanium fasteners, finished with Rolls-Royce’s trademark floating hub cap that ensures the RR logo is always upright.

Inside, there’s a range of premium leather, timber, metal and carbon-fibre materials, all hand-finished.

Like pretty much every element of the cabin, the rear seat champagne cooler or ‘waterfall’ section can be fitted with the Black Badge family motif, a mathematical symbol representing infinity (also known as a lemniscate).

The dashboard features the lemniscate motif as well, surrounded by more than 850 stars, illuminated via 152 LEDs and more than 90,000 laser-etched dots across its surface.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, said the latest Black Badge luxury car is all about “post opulence”.

“Today, we announce a product that represents a new kind of Black Badge motor car, one that seizes on the minimalist, post opulent design treatment that has recast the legend of Ghost but amplifies and subverts it with the application of black,” he said.

“Our most advanced motor car yet has been re-engineered to characterise the alter ego of Rolls-Royce: assertive, dynamic and potent.

“This is the purest Black Badge motor car in the marque’s history.”