Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge
On hearing the news that a very special Rolls Royce was coming to the US we reached out to the RR team to secure time with the fabulous-on-four-wheels latest model. The spectacular House of Rolls-Royce always impresses and when the stunning white Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge arrived our photographer and myself were awestruck. We drove the masterpiece East to the beautiful Hamptons. Our determination to fit in, and to photograph the car inconspicuously was for naught, this car was a standout to casual onlookers and the fine auto aficionados that summer in the Hamptons.
Style with substance is a now a new guiding dictate in the fashion world. Imparting an identity that conveys both character and style is a signifier of intention. From Target to Bergdorf Goodman, style consciousness equates with identity, and design is valued for thoughtfulness, purpose, precision and artistic merit. That is not to say that the demand for ultra luxury is passé, the privileged connoisseur still covet the exclusive, but they eschew frivolity. Driving a Rolls-Royce is indeed a statement of good taste but for the handful of owners of the limited edition Rolls-Royce Black Badge, available in the Ghost, Wraith Coupe and Dawn Convertible, ownership connotes respect for the exceptional.
The House of Rolls-Royce in-house Bespoke Design studio launched the high performance sub-brand a Black Badge at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show to meet the demands of younger buyers whose expectations are shaped by new expectations for innovation, exclusivity and individual style.
The Black Badge is the Lord Darth Vader side of the brand, it is darker, faster and powerful then any other Rolls-Royce that came before it.
Not only did they demand an alternative image for themselves, they demanded authentic Rolls-Royce engineering substance to underpin it. As a result, the Black Badge Spirit manifests itself through a series of carefully considered design elements, which together express a unique and luxurious sophistication
New material accents and tonalities are combined to accommodate the tastes of those fast-moving customers who adopt a strident approach to life’s finer challenges. Our Wraith’s twin-turbo 6.6-litre V12 was indeed responsive and ever so nimble, operating with its eight-speed auto transmission complete with specific software mapping. In sport mode the gears are held longer, downshift earlier and swap ratios faster than normal. This mode works in conjunction with a throttle map, which alters the timing and speed of gearshifts according to how hard you pushes the pedal towards the plush carpet, taking away the deliberate delay built into the standard Wraith’s pull away response, a legacy of Rolls’ traditional chauffeur-centric setups. Inside our Wraith Black Badge we found carbon fiber composite surfacing, like that found on the advanced stealth fighter jets. The fine detailing continues throughout and to the smallest detail. The air vents on the dash and in the rear of Black Badge have been darkened through the use of Physical Vapor Deposition. This surfacing method is one of the few ways to color metal that ensures the parts will neither discolor nor tarnish over time or through repeated use. The inner sanctuary of this Black Badge Wraith is every bit a Rolls and complete with the soul of a super car a true stand out in design and power. Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge
Photography By David Lewis Taylor
