Rolls‑Royce reveals Black Badge Cullinan

The Goodwood-based company says it was of “vital importance to conceive a meticulously considered dynamic personality” for the Cullinan, the firm’s first SUV launched in 2018. Already the Dawn, Wraith and Ghost have been given the dynamic and aesthetic Black Badge going-over and now, as Rolls CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös says, “The time has come for Rolls-Royce’s boldest and darkest expression of Black Badge yet.”

Like others in the Black Badge family, the Black Badge Cullinan is more about creating a mood than upping performance, but the changes here still promise to go deep into how this car is to drive. It may not need more power but it gets it anyway: the 6.75-litre V12 now delivers an extra 29bhp, taking the total to 600PS (592bhp). There’s an extra 50Nm of torque too, for a mammoth 900Nm, or 664 lb ft.

Push the Low button on the stalk and the high-riding Cullinan adopts its more dynamic alter ego, with re-engineered all-wheel steering and all-wheel drive systems upping the level of driver engagement, as well as letting everyone know it by amplifying the V12’s basso profundo from the all-new exhaust system. The wheels are new 22-inch forged alloys with signature gear-like graphics, and Rolls is promising a greater sense of urgency from transmission and throttle, as well as shorter brake travel.

And how will the ride be in this more dynamic version of Rolls-Royce’s most practical and off-road capable vehicle? The company says that an appropriate balance between dynamism and refinement has been achieved.

No luxury sporting machine is complete without its share of exposed carbon fibre and the Black Badge Cullinan doesn’t disappoint. The Technical Carbon veneer used inside has a naked-weave finish designed to produce a three-dimensional effect. In a process that takes 21 days, each leaf of carbon is finished with six coats of lacquer before being left to cure for 72 hours then hand-polished to a mirror finish. There are 23 pieces of Technical Carbon within each Black Badge Cullinan – like everything else about the car, it speaks of advanced materials and meticulous craftsmanship.

Quite how much of a vivid driver’s device it is a story for another day. One thing for sure, from the pictures so far released – of a very black car with yellow contrasts and, a first for any Rolls-Royce, red brake callipers – there’s little doubting that a dark mood has been achieved. It is a mood that Rolls-Royce says appeals to younger, more adventurous people among its client base, people who take risks and break rules.

People like this may well opt for their Black Badge in black, as Rolls expects many of them to. But, apart from the badge and high gloss black chrome Spirit of Ecstasy mascot on the grille, they do not have to. You can have your Black Badge Cullinan in any one of 44,000 different colours.