The all-new second generation Rolls-Royce Ghost was launched last year and in a major departure, unlike its predecessor, was based not on the BMW 7-Series, but instead shared its platform with in-house siblings the flagship Phantom and the Cullinan luxury SUV. Admittedly, like those other Rolls-Royce motor cars, its power unit is from BMW (which owns Rolls-Royce), though it’s no less than a V12 engine with a 6.75-litre cubic capacity.
This then is the Black Badge edition of said Ghost. And as such, it gets about 30bhp more than the regular car, taking power output up to nearly 600bhp along with 900Nm of torque. Don’t be so crass as to ask performance figures of this majestic machine, but if you would kindly keep it to yourselves, I can inform you’ve I’ve heard whispers of 0-62mph acceleration in 4.5 seconds and the top speed is limited to 155mph. Grease a palm or two with gold and that’ll surely be lifted.

Alongside the 8-speed transmission, all-wheel drive and four-wheel steering that the Ghost comes with, the clever air suspension gets firmer damping for stay-flat more assertive cornering, improved throttle response and a ‘Low’ button. That’s not low ratio for when you crawling up a hill or towing a container, it’s essentially a ‘sports’ mode though Rolls-Royce would never allow you to term it as such. Even suggesting ‘Swift’ mode was deemed undesirable. Nonetheless, gearshifts are 50% faster at 90% throttle and there’s a sports exhaust… okay, sorry, I meant an engine note amplification system.

Black Badge itself is quite simply the villain-spec editions of the Rolls-Royce cars. Black paint is the order of the day, though not exclusively, but it would be a shame not to get it in the signature black which is claimed to be the car industry’s darkest black achieved by atomising 100lbs of paint and applying it to an electrostatically charged body – that just sounds so Star Trek, I love it! Then there’s two layers of clear coat followed by a hand-polishing by no less than four craftsmen (not polishers mind) to achieve the glossy finish. This all takes five hours, which is about the total time you’ll be able to regale your friends on how this depth of darkness has been attained.

And of course, it doesn’t stop there, the badge and grille are blacked out, and the Flying Lady herself is now dressed in black. A specific chrome electrolyte is incorporated into the chrome-plating process and it darkens the finish with a thickness of just one hundredth the width of a human hair. And let’s not forget those spectacular 21-inch wheels with unique interlocking design. They are made of 22 layers of carbon fibre laid and folded to effectively double up to 44 layers.

What’s it like to behold in the metal? Well under the studio-esque lights of a hanger display it glimmers and captivates. Outside in the open… well I can’t tell you. Because in keeping with the car’s mysterious agent-of-the-night persona, the car was launched to us media, under the cover of darkness. Actually, the real reason was that the car hadn’t yet been revealed to the world, and since the paint does such a great job of absorbing light, they figured no one would notice it was the new Black Badge Ghost. From the fact that no images appeared of the car on social media pre-official reveal, despite part of the activities including a drive into the heart of London, they were proven correct.

So, do you feel like a villain behind the wheel? Allowed a couple of free high-speed runs on the blank canvas of an airfield runway, demarcated only by sparkly lights. The difference in flat-out acceleration through the two modes was evident by an increased growl of the engine, sharper more obvious gearchanges and reaching a higher top speed in the same distance – 140mph in Low versus about 125 in normal.

Slaloming and simulated fast lane changes proved the worth of the four-wheel steering too. With such a big car, it’s normal to feel the rear mass of it suddenly awakening to a direction change and then hurrying to follow the front. However with the rear wheels effectively moving in tandem, the car seems to glide across as one.
Out on the roads for such a behemoth of a machine, placing it on small by lanes didn’t prove too stressful – just follow the lady and keep the front corners tight. It’s super smooth of course, but a little edgy in ride, as befits its darker side. Overall, though, it’s a Rolls-Royce, which is to say you travel in superb and refined splendour, as you dwell on devious plans for world domination, dressed in black with murderous intent naturally.

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