Unleashing the Dark Side of Luxury: A Road Test Review of the 2018 Rolls Royce Wraith Black Badge

When it comes to ultra British luxury cars, only one brand has managed to generate a unique appeal and a sense of grandeur that has come to define its iconic history. That brand, of course, is none other than Rolls Royce, which has always managed to steal the show in its own unique way. Its most recent attention-grabbing feat was a few years ago in 2016 when the brand unleashed a Rolls Royce Wraith Black Badge at the legendary Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Placing sixth in the Supercar Run portion of the event, the Black Badge was a glimpse of something special. But with the average age of Rolls Royce buyers falling from 55 to 43 years of age in the past few years, can the Black Badge truly appeal to well-heeled younger clientele without sacrificing the basic elements that define it as a proper Rolls Royce motor car?

The exterior styling of the Black Badge builds upon the already stately DNA that defines the standard Wraith coupe. The front fascia of our tester is distinctly Rolls, with a bold front grille, retractable Spirit of Ecstasy ornament, and elegant headlights that transition to a stately coupe side profile boasting the visually distinctive “coach doors.”

The rear is a bit more modest but is rounded off with a handsome pair of taillights. However, the Black Badge is an example of what would happen if the Wraith was enrolled in villain school. Black trim is the color of choice here, with our tester being the darkest car (no, we’re not joking) that Rolls Royce has ever produced.

This relatively obscure achievement is made possible by repeated hand-polishing of all seven layers of paint, which allowed the Black Badge to maximize its sinister appeal, especially in the Wisconsin sunshine.

To further enhance things, the typically bright chrome work gets darkened, with the grille work and other chrome accessories joining in on the act. The “RR” badge inverts its traditional color scheme and arrives as a silver on black masterpiece, while the normally chrome Spirit of Ecstasy ornament transforms into a smoky black vamp that looks like a seductress under a street lamp on a cobblestone road at night.

If black is not your thing, Rolls Royce will let you pick from its vast suite of colors (all 44,000 of them), ensuring that no color taste goes unfulfilled. If we were choosing, though, we would gladly shelve the other 43,000 or so hues and stick with the default black color scheme on our tester to achieve the maximum effect of the Black Badge’s distinct styling alterations.

The end result is a Rolls that shuns traditional stereotypes, which means those who partake in wearing tweed coats and full suits need not apply. Instead, Rolls is targeting “the risk-takers and disruptors who break the rules and laugh in the face of convention.” This roughly translates to younger buyers, and Rolls is eager to cite past owners who allegedly fit that unique mold, including aviation pioneer Howard Hughes, boxer Muhammad Ali, and The Who drummer Keith Moon.

The interior of our tester also reflects Rolls Royce’s commitment to wowing the senses, with Black Badge models featuring surfaces covered in special carbon fiber carefully woven with aluminum accents. The surface is then coated in six coats of lacquer, creating a distinctively styled piece of eye candy.
The interior of our tester also embraced the color blue (Cobalto Blue to be exact), with the seats, door panels, and even the center dashboard being splashed with the lively hue. Speaking of the seats, they are comfortable and reasonably supportive, though buyers looking for more sporting thrones will have to head to either rival Bentley or the local Lamborghini dealer for more bolstering.