Rolls‑Royce Ghost goes Goth

Firstly, the dynamic changes. A boost in power out of the 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12 from 571PS (420kW) to 600PS (441kW) is no slim pickings. Nor are the new bigger-capacity air springs, affording the Black Badge better body control. Engine and gearbox mapping as well as braking have been  sharpened to match, for a more dynamic character while still retaining the luxurious MO of a Rolls-Royce. All you need to know really is that it’s a bit quicker, a bit more reactive and handles a bit better.

Most important to Black Badge buyers is that Gotham City aesthetic. While there are 44,000 colours ready to go, most Black Badge buyers are very much more interested in sticking with the prescribed Signature Black, which Rolls boasts is the industry’s darkest black. It’s a finish that takes five hours with 45kg of paint, an electrostatically charged body on which to spray, two layers of clear coat and an intensive hand-polishing treatment. Obviously your car can be distinguished with a number of hand-painted pinstripes and highlights around the car.

Similar fetishism goes into giving the Spirit of Ecstasy and the ‘Pantheon Grille’ their muted notes. Finishing the new Ghost Black Badge off is a new 21-inch wheel with a 44-layer carbon-fibre wheel barrel. First the Pista, then the Shelby Mustang, now the… Rolls-Royce? Yes, you read that right.

On the inside, it’s business as usual, with new ‘advanced luxury materials… meticulously created and crafted for a unique ambience in the interior suite’. That’s Rolls-Royce for a special three-dimensional carbon finish. Like on the outside, many of the brighter metallic elements in the cabin have also been dulled to suit the Black Badge personality.

The Black Badge family has been one of Rolls-Royce’s most successful programs in recent memory, with more than 3,500 cars delivered in such a specification since its launch in 2016. The new Ghost Black Badge, Post Opulence and “minimalism in extremis” as Rolls calls it, should do no harm to that record. Price and performance? Such questions are vulgar. What's certain is that it'll be faster and more expensive. Now, away with you.