“With Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis, we draw inspiration from a total solar eclipse: a seldom-seen and spellbinding phenomenon that reflects the rarity and beauty of Rolls-Royce Private Collections. In capturing the magic of this celestial alignment, our Bespoke Collective of designers, engineers and craftspeople have once again elevated contemporary craftsmanship, with a landmark series of exquisite details that project the marque’s culture of ambition and excellence. We are exceptionally proud to present these motor cars to 25 of our most significant clients around the world – it is these individuals who inspire greatness within our brand, and who drive us to create ever more bold and richly detailed expressions of modern luxury.” Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is delighted to present the Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis Private Collection, inspired by the seldom-seen wonder of a solar eclipse. Harnessing the incredible forces of this celestial phenomenon, these exquisite commissions explore the captivating interplay of light and darkness, recreating the awe-inspiring moment when the Moon completely obscures the Sun.
The purity of Rolls-Royce Ghost, infused with the subversive Black Badge spirit, presents the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective with the perfect canvas and limitless possibility to express the beauty of this wonder of the universe.
The launch of these highly Bespoke motor cars, limited to just 25 examples, coincides with the annular solar eclipse visible in parts of the Western Hemisphere on 14 October.
EXTERIOR: GOLDEN DARKNESS
The mysterious, ethereal light cast by a total solar eclipse is captured in the Lyrical Copper exterior colour of the motor car. This stunning Bespoke finish incorporates powdered copper pigment, which appears darker until it catches the light when it produces a rich and dramatic iridescence. Mandarin adorns the inserts below the Pantheon Grille and brake callipers, recalling the intense pulses of sunlight witnessed as the eclipse progresses. The same Mandarin hue is used for the hand-painted coachline, which includes a delicate abstract representation of the transition from sunlight to darkness as the Moon approaches to cover the Sun.
ANIMATED STARLIGHT HEADLINER
The Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis features a fully Bespoke Starlight Headliner with a special animation that, like the eclipse that inspires it, gives those inside a true sense of awe and wonder. As the coach doors close and the engine is started, the ‘stars’ in the Starlight Headliner darken and a mesmerising sequence begins, replicating the totality of the solar eclipse, when the dark silhouette of the Moon completely obscures the bright light of the Sun. A circle of 940 ‘stars’ is formed, representing the bright corona of light around the lunar silhouette. This is surrounded by a further 192 illuminating ‘stars’, recreating the otherworldly spectacle of stars visible in the sky during daylight, which occurs only during a total solar eclipse.
The animation remains visible for precisely seven minutes and 31 seconds – the longest possible duration of a total solar eclipse. Once this time has elapsed, the full constellation of stars in the night sky is restored. This highly technical feature required a year of painstaking development, in which the Bespoke Collective produced three complete prototypes to perfect the design and sequencing of the ‘stars’.
ILLUMINATED FASCIA AND ‘DIAMOND RING’ TIMEPIECE
The illuminated fascia of Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis is adorned with 1,846 laser-etched ‘stars’ in a symbolic timeline of a total eclipse. A single Bespoke designer had sole responsibility for adjusting the individual size and position of each ‘star’ to create the mesmeric effect; a delicate and exacting process that took over 100 hours to complete.
The composition culminates in a Bespoke timepiece, which incorporates a brilliant-cut 0.5-carat diamond, recalling the ‘Diamond Ring’ effect, when a single, dazzling point of light can be seen on the Moon’s outline in the split seconds just before and immediately after it obscures the Sun. The bezel geometry has been modified to accommodate the precious gem, as this is the first time in Rolls-Royce history that a gemstone has been integrated into the clock’s bezel. The assembly underwent rigorous adhesion tests, which included climatic cell cycling from -30°C to +90°C, to ensure the diamond is robustly secured. The timepiece is finished with an etching on its dark aluminium surround, revealing the bright metal underneath. This beautiful piece of contemporary craftsmanship is the result of over 14 design iterations.
