Rolls Royce’s Black Badge Cullinan, Your Knight In Shining Armour
In 2016, Rolls-Royce debuted the Black Badge with Wraith and Ghost, followed by Dawn in 2017. The latest launch of Black Badge Cullinan appeals to the urban and contemporary mindset who seek to make a powerfully dark and bold statement on the road.
The Exterior
Even black can stand out in this case. Black Badge’s signature black is layered with multiple coats of paint and lacquer and hand-polished 10 times at the home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex. It is the most comprehensive surface finish process ever applied to a solid paint colour.
At the front of the car, the ‘Double R’ badge flanks and aft invert to become silver-on-black, while chrome surfaces such as the front grille surround, side frame finishers, boot handle, boot trim, lower air inlet finisher and exhaust pipes are darkened. While they appear black, the vertical grille bars remain polished, reflecting the blackened surfaces that surround them. The contrast of shine and matte enhance the luxuriousness of the car.
Supporting the Black Badge Cullinan is of course the all-important wheels, in all its 22-inch forged alloy glory, reserved exclusively for Black Badge Cullinan. Designed in the Black Badge house style, the gear-like graphic emphasises the model’s vast reserves of power and enhances its unique lemniscate.
Another standout feature is the glossy red brake caliper. The special paint has been specifically developed to withstand the rigours of elevated temperatures generated by the motor car’s uprated braking system with a perfectly smooth finish.
What marks the Black Badge Cullinan is its Technical Carbon veneer, a material which was created by Rolls Royce’s special team of designers, engineers and craftspeople and inspired by urban architecture. It is a naked-weave carbon-fibre finish, developed to create highly accurate repeating geometrical shapes that produce a powerful three-dimensional effect.
Each leaf of Technical Carbon 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. The process painstakingly takes 21 days and is only deemed complete once every piece is inspected by a craftsperson to ensure complete reflective uniformity across each of the 23 pieces within the car.
The Interior
If you always wanted to recreate the effect of a starlit sky within your vehicle, it’s now your chance to, with Rolls Royce’s Starlight Headliner feature. Its presence in Black Badge Cullinan intensifies the interior cabin’s ambience by casting a low light over the lavish leather seats. Presented in fine Black leather and handwoven with 1,344 fibre optic lights, the result is a true reflection of the sky at night and incorporates eight brilliant white shooting stars that dart at random predominantly over the passengers seated at the front. Now there’s no need to leave your car to gaze at a starlit sky; you and your date can do so in the comfort of your Cullinan.
Making yet another statement is a new and bold leather colour. Cullinan Rolls-Royce’s Colour and Trim designers have created Forge Yellow as part of the brand’s curated collection. It’s bound to stand out even in the darkest of nights.
The Power
The key to the visceral thrill of the Black Badge Cullinan is the Architecture of Luxury, Rolls-Royce’s proprietary all-aluminium architecture that debuted with the Phantom. This not only delivers extraordinary body stiffness but its flexibility and scalability allows the Cullinan to be fitted with both an all-wheel drive and four-wheel steering.
The engine has Increased power with a 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12, which is able to generate an extra 29PS, creating a total output of 600PS and 900Nm torque.
