The Bespoke Collective Team at Goodwood, United Kingdom – the home of Rolls-Royce Motorcars – adds another gem to its stunning collection – Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan Blue Shadow.
While all 62 examples have already been allocated worldwide, Pursuitist adherents will appreciate the creativity and craftsmanship this special motorcar offers.
“With Black Badge Cullinan Blue Shadow, we venture to the fabled Kármán Line, where the constraints of Earth give way to the infinite freedom of outer space: a zone of incomparable beauty, mystery, and boundless possibility. In creating Blue Shadow, the Bespoke Collective of designers, engineers, and craftspeople captured this spirit by embarking on their own voyage of discovery, once again pushing the boundaries of craftsmanship. Blue Shadow is a testament to our relentless pursuit of perfection and a celebration of the spirit of exploration, designed for the unique individuals who expand horizons and represent the very best of human endeavor.”
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Lift Off
Wearing the crown of the “World’s Finest Motorcars,” the bar is constantly raised for the storied marque from Goodwood to create even higher standards of ultimate luxury.
With that, Rolls-Royce presents the Black Badge Cullinan “Blue Shadow” Private Collection, exploring the beauty and mystery of space. For this unique creation, leading Rolls-Royce designers drew inspiration from the Kármán Line, the invisible boundary 62 miles above the Earth’s surface, where our planet’s atmosphere ends and outer space begins.
In this mystical, ethereal region, the blue of the sky we see on Earth fades into the blackness of space, creating an intense dark-blue zone where darkness becomes visible. It is a beautiful, silent, mysterious world reserved for a select few, perfectly encapsulating the essence of Blue Shadow.
This new Bespoke interpretation of Black Badge Cullinan was available exclusively through the marque’s Private Offices and was strictly limited to just 62 examples globally, one for every mile from Earth to the Kármán Line. All 62 examples have been allocated to clients worldwide.
EXTERIOR: THE SHADES OF BLUE
The new Bespoke ‘Stardust Blue’ exterior paint captures the deep blue color of the upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. The finish of the thermal tiles used to shield homebound Space Shuttles from the intense heat of atmospheric re-entry are recalled in the satin-tinted grille surround and aero bumper insert sets.
Drawing further from the materials used in spacecraft, the Spirit of Ecstasy is created using 3D printing techniques in titanium and finished with a thin layer of blue-tinted lacquer which adds pearlescence while revealing the titanium’s grained texture. The Black Badge infinity logo and “Blue Shadow” Private Collection name are engraved on the Spirit of Ecstasy base and infilled with Charles Blue. Completing the exterior aesthetic, Blue Shadow’s wheels are subtly darkened using a translucent lacquer.
INTERIOR: ELEVATED PERSPECTIVE
At the Kármán line, the visible edge of Earth’s atmosphere appears as a blue halo. This transition from blue sky to the darkness of space is captured on Blue Shadow’s unique painted fascia and door panels. These were created using six layers of paint, combining five blue shades with a deep black hue to produce a mesmerizing three-dimensional effect.
The final touch is a clear-coat layer incorporating blue and clear glass particles to add further depth and luster – the ratio was precisely identified down to a fraction of a percent: it is exactly 0.05%. The fascia is completed with a Bespoke clock, unique to the Private Collection, which features light blue anodized details and “Blue Shadow” engraving.
“EDGE OF SPACE” HEADLINER
With the Blue Shadow model, Rolls-Royce has taken the marque’s fabled Starlight Headliner to an even more stellar level: an intricate Moon embroidery, surrounded by an array of “stars,” teleports the passengers to the edge of space. Representing the Moon’s surface with its multitude of craters in three dimensions, the embroidery incorporates five different colors of thread, each applied with a different technique to produce a distinctive texture. In total, the embroidery is created from 250,000 separate stitches – a process that takes two entire days to complete.
Filling the cabin with a gentle glow and a sense of wonder, the Starlight Headliner contains a total of 1,183 “stars” – 799 white and 384 blue – each individually placed in the leather canvas through perforated holes, precisely chalked and punched by hand. To add to the Headliner’s mystique and ambiance, the twinkling effect of the fiber-optic “stars” is further enhanced for an even more enchanting glow.
NEW ART CANVAS: PERFORATED LEATHER
In a first for Rolls-Royce, the front and rear seats feature a unique perforated artwork, inspired by the view of Earth from space. The pattern is formed from tiny perforations in the leather, which together create the impression of organic, ever-shifting clouds swirling over the continents and oceans.
These perforations are made in two different sizes: the smaller (just 0.8 mm in diameter) form the land, while the slightly larger (1.2 mm) define the sea; the blank spaces of leather in between represent the clouds. Each seat has over 75,000 perforations, all individually placed. The pattern took two weeks to design and underwent five trials before it attained the highest level of quality required by the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective. The result is perfect alignment, ensuring a cohesive, uniform appearance across all four seats.
The seats’ perforation pattern is extended to the picnic table backs. Once lowered, the picnic tables themselves are finished in Piano Black veneer and incorporate a glass sparkle finish, echoing the view into the darkness of space. Each table also includes the Collection theme text, inlaid in polished aluminum beneath the top lacquer layer – “The Blue Shadow occurs at the outer extremes of our world, affording an extraordinary perspective, and the ability to touch the stars.”
BESPOKE ACCESSORIES
The Bespoke Collective created a series of unique accessories to complement Black Badge Cullinan Blue Shadow. The exclusive indoor car cover continues the pattern seen on the seats. To accompany driver and passengers on their adventures, there is a unique luggage set that continues the Private Collection’s colorway.
Clients had the opportunity to also commission an exact 1:8 scale replica of their full-size Black Badge Cullinan Blue Shadow, featuring fully functioning exterior and interior lights, opening and closing coach doors, and an interior re-creating all the Collection details, including the Bespoke Collection Illuminated Treadplates.
Be sure to read our earlier “Purple Reign” Cullinan review under the “Autos” rubric above.
