The latest limited-edition Rolls Royce is the Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis Private Collection, a car that features design elements inspired by solar eclipses.
Fittingly, it was unveiled ahead of the annular solar eclipse visible in parts of the Western Hempishere on Oct.14.
The Ékleipsis Private Collection is based on the Ghost Black Badge, the dark-themed version of Rolls' smaller sedan. It adds a splash of Lyrical Copper paint that recalls a solar eclipse, in which the moon passes in front of the sun, temporarily obscuring it. The paint color is made with copper pigment that produces an iridescent finish under direct light. Another bright color—Mandarin (orange)—is used for the grille inserts, brake calipers, and a side pinstripe.
Inside, the Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis Private Collection features a unique version of Rolls-Royce's Starlight Headliner, the system that uses integrated lighting elements to create an image of the night sky in the headliner. Here, a sequence replicates a solar eclipse. Lighting elements darken when the rear doors are closed and the engine is started, then form a circle of 940 individual lights representing the outline of the sun behind the moon, with an additional 192 "stars" behind it.
Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis Private Collection
The animation lasts exactly seven minutes and 31 seconds—the longest possible duration of a solar eclipse—and took a year to develop, according to Rolls-Royce. Once the sequence is completed, the headliner shows a full night sky.
The dashboard fascia also features 1,846 laser-etched "stars" showing the timeline of a solar eclipse. The design takes 100 hours to complete, with a single designer overseeing the placement of each star.
A dashboard clock incorporates a half-carat diamond. It's the first time any gemstone has been integrated with a Rolls-Royce dashboard clock, and to make sure the diamond stayed in place, the assembly was tested in a climatic cycle that went from -22 degrees Fahrenheit to 194 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rolls-Royce Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis Private Collection
A solar eclipse also creates the effect of a 360-degree sunset, something Rolls-Royce tried to capture in two-tone perforated leather upholstery. Over 20,000 individual perforations reveal orange spots beneath the black leather seats. Umbrellas hidden in the doors also have orange piping.
Black Badge models get the same twin-turbocharged 6.8-liter V-12 as the standard Ghost, but producing 592 hp, compared to 563 hp for the standard car. Power is sent to all four wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission. Rolls says Black Badge models will do 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds, while the top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph.
All Black Badge Ghost Ékleipsis Private Collection cars have been spoken for, but it's likely only a matter of time until Rolls-Royce launches another limited-edition collection.
