10 Surprising Facts About the $418,000 Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge

At $418,000, even the opulent Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge has its fair share of surprising features.

When you buy a Rolls-Royce, you expect nothing less than sheer opulence and burnished perfection. Manually-closing, front-hinged rear doors? Normal, boring headliners? Don’t be preposterous. For nearly half a million dollars, this Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge certainly brings its luxury A-game to the automotive elite. This “Black Badge” goes one further by giving the Ghost a darker, striking aesthetic. In today’s TFLcar video, Roman outlines ten surprising facts you may not know about the Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge.

10) The Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge has been “murdered out”.

Kicking off, the Rolls-Royce Ghost Black badge features an all black exterior, giving it a striking, almost sinister appearance. Rolls-Royce markets this car as one that exudes confidence and entices owners with the refined power that lurks beneath. The upshot of that darker, defiant power is an eye-watering price tag and a three month build time. Still, while the Ghost was already exclusive, this Roller will make even normal Ghosts look common.

9) An infrared sensor bolsters the Rolls-Royce Black Badge’s Heads-Up Display.

Several modern cars feature heads up displays – even the 7 Series, on which this car is based. However, the Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge takes the tech fest one step further. How, you ask? An infrared sensor in the grille detects objects, such as wildlife, that jump in front of the car. This feature isn’t unique to the Ghost, but it’s useful to keep your $418,000 Roller in one piece.

8) Two umbrellas for your $418,000.

Think about it: instead of getting a car for your hard-earned $418 grand, you’re buying the most expensive umbrellas in the world. The Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge includes two umbrellas in its front doors for its asking price, with a whole car thrown in for free. On that basis, it’s a bargain! Just make sure not to lose the umbrellas.

7) Power-closing rear doors

Odds are, if you’re spending nearly $500K on a car, you’re not the sort of person who’s keen on manual labor. Plutocrats of the world, rejoice, for the Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge’s rear coach doors close at the press of a button. Actually, I’m definitely not a plutocrat, and I don’t think I’d ever tire of that feature. Even so, if they fail, you can always just have your chauffeur close the door for you.

6) Gaze at the stars with a bespoke, starlight headliner.

You don’t have to drive your Rolls-Royce to a far-flung lookout point to gaze at the stars. For $10,000, you can equip a starlight headliner so you can gaze upon the stars or dismiss them at your whim. What’s more, the constellation you choose is entirely unique. The headliner features 800 to 1,600 holes and takes up to 17 hours to complete.

5) Huge luxury demands huge power. How does 603 horsepower sound?

The Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge houses the same 6.6-liter, twin-turbo V12 that graces the Wraith and the Dawn. Rolls-Royce used to play coy with specific power figures, always saying they were “adequate”. However, BMW is rather more forthright about those figures. This car makes 603 horsepower – a 40 horsepower gain over the original Ghost. How does that impact acceleration? Well, judging by Roman’s reaction, it’s more than adequate.

4) Despite the Subaru-esque look, you can’t go wrong with carbon fiber wheels.

The design of the wheels may be a bit contentious, but they are made from 44 layers of carbon fiber. As with its brethren, the Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge’s center caps stay perfectly upright, even while the car’s moving. When you’re spending half a mil on a car, you’d certainly want everyone to know its identity.

3) Active grille shutters

Grille shutters that open and close automatically aren’t unique to the Rolls-Royce, but they are a cool feature nonetheless. For no other reason, at least that feature allows the owner to contemplate their Ghost devouring huge amounts of air to cool that massive V12 as it glides down the road.

2) Every Roller, including this Ghost Black Badge, is bespoke.

The Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge’s reputation for enticing owners to discover their darkest side, whatever that means, would be undercut if just anyone could buy the same car. To that end, every one of these cars is bespoke its owner. Not just with the starlight headliner, but with interior colors as well. Rolls-Royce really wants to be bold with the Black Badge, so you’re only limited by your imagination when speccing out your Ghost. Oh, and your wallet, but can you really put a price on this level of luxury?

1) The Spirit of Ecstasy’s extra dash of grace

One of the neatest, yet most subtle features of this black-on-blue Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge is the Spirit of Ecstasy herself. Yes, you can summon or dismiss her at the touch of a button – that’s obvious. However, when you’re driving at speed, she leans forward for the sake of aerodynamics. If you need any proof that this Roller is embracing the future, it’s that. Some of you probably remember the days when RR couldn’t be bothered about aerodynamics. Days when the grille was as large as Westminster Abbey with the Spirit of Ecstasy perched bolt-upright on top. Not anymore, though; while a Rolls-Royce may still be the king of the automotive world, it too must bow to the god of aerodynamics.

BONUS) The sound of silence

Everyone knows the adage “silence is golden”. The Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge is certainly silent, and golden describes the price you have to pay for that level of silence.

 

Check out the video above to see what all Roman has to say on the Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge, and be sure to check out The Fast Lane Car on YouTube for more top lists, news and reviews!