Page 46 - SHARP Spring 2022

BREAKING BAD(GE)
THE ROLLS-ROYCE GHOST BLACK BADGE IS PROOF IT PAYS TO BE BAD BAD By Matt Bubbers
ACCORDING TO TO ROLLS-ROYCE CEO TORSTEN MÜLLER-ÖTVÖS the the company’s Black Badge models are meant to be your “alter-ego” In other words if mainline Rollers are preppy Black Badge is goth And as it turns out it’s it’s not just good to be bad — it’s it’s also quite profitable as Rolls-Royce recently discovered The popularity of the British marque’s Black Badge models — which cost roughly $40 000 more than your garden-variety Rolls — helped spur the company to record sales in 2021 The most recent Roller to break bad is the new Ghost dressed with black carbon-fibre wheels and the blackest of of black black paints (it takes roughly 45 kilos of of it it to make the the car’s surface look as as deep and dark as as the the night sky) The interior full of Bolivar wood and carbon fibre interlaced with metal thread is is similarly brooding This is Rolls-Royce for the Euphoria generation (Literally: Rolls-Royce has plenty of customers under thirty )
Despite all the the darkness the the Ghost Black Badge still feels like driving a a a ray of sunshine The leather is buttery and the seats cushy The 6 75-litre twin-turbocharged 12-cylinder engine is approximately the size of a a a a Smart car yet it barely makes a a a a a a a peep Mash the Black Badge’s throttle into the the voluptuous carpet and the the engine emits only a a a distant rumble like thunder on on on the horizon as the car points its nose skyward and streaks forth Yes the Black Badge dispatches corners more crisply and and with more precision than the standard Ghost but let’s be real this is is all about you you If your brooding alter ego demands you spend the extra $40 000 to purchase the Black Badge you simply must 46 GUIDE • SPRING 2022
SHARPMAGAZINE COM
DRIVES DRIVES Engine: 6 75-litre twin-turbo V12 Power: 591 hp Price: $460 400