The most prevalent theme in Black Badge is a bold flash of colour on the noir canvas. And so Forge Yellow, Mandarin, Tailored Purple and Cobalto Blue were born. Recent materials commissioned for Black Badge are woven stainless steel, meteorite, precious metals (rose gold, titanium and ruthenium) for speaker frets and nameplates, woven leather, pearlescent leather (it subtly changes colour when viewed from different angles) and brushed aluminium and copper veneer facias.
The pinnacle, thus far, in Black Badge specification (at least, that which the company is willing to discuss), is surely laboratory-grown black diamonds. These stones are grown from carbon in controlled conditions to render perfect gems that are the exact dimensions required to place them strategically in the cars. They are, of course, darkened, to fit the Black Badge vibe, before being fitted.
The marque’s CEO, Torsten Muller-Otvos, is keen to point out that “Black Badge is not a sub brand. It is an attitude.” When the brand talks about its clients, it talks about “the firebrand archetype” and “the outliers, the visionaries and iconoclasts” who have a “contrarian spirit”. It recognises they come from “new industries and geographies” and that their successes are “defined on their own terms”. That’s intriguing; few other marques have spent so much time and effort in understanding their customers – where they’ve come from and where they’re going to. Notice that Rolls-Royce doesn’t lavish its clients with plaudits and simpering praise – it recognises some of them are demanding and tricky, but this is the genius of it. The brand doesn’t sympathise or patronise; it empathises. And corporate empathy, as we know in this era, is the absolute key to profitability.
The future of Black Badge, it transpires, is bright.