Proving beyond a doubt that there are truly no bounds to its bespoking capabilities, Rolls-Royce has unveiled its newest Bespoke commission in the form of the Black Badge Ghost Gamer inspired by vintage video gaming’s 8-bit universe. Thoughtfully integrating inspired references to gaming’s dawning age, it was created for its tech entrepreneur client who harbors a deep passion for early arcade culture. Every individually crafted element transforms the car itself into a stunningly formed journey of discovery; from the ‘Cheeky Alien’ exterior Coachline motif painted by hand, to the ‘Pixel Blaster’ Starlight Headliner along with a concealed cache of joystick-era Easter eggs.
This is Rolls-Royce’s first ever Bespoke commission to be born from such pop cultural inspirations, even as the contemporary collectables landscape sees a rapidly emerging trend defined by early digital media formats, video games and vintage consoles. Several Rolls-Royce clients themselves are even actively engaged in this growing market, driven not just by increasing value, but a nostalgic personal connection & desire to preserve these late 1970s and 1980s artefacts that so defined their formative years.
With that in mind, the aim here was to give the client that same thrill they felt when they first pressed start on an arcade machine every time they step into the car’s immersive atmosphere. To bring life to this uniquely exciting brief, the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Design team spent an entire month immersing themselves in the 8-bit aesthetic that defined that iconic gaming era – from the games themselves & archive photographs of arcade halls, to authentic promotional and cabinet artwork. They then interpreted this rich source material into stunningly immersive Bespoke features intentionally arranged to make the process of discovering every element feel like a uniquely riveting gamified experience.
Starting from the outside, the Black Badge Ghost Gamer features a striking trademark two-tone finish with a Salamanca Blue main body & deep-shimmer Crystal over Diamond Black upper body, reflecting the neon-hued super-metallic aesthetic of classic arcade hardware. Complimenting this is a unique hand painted motif developed closely with the client to define the commission, nicknamed the ‘Cheeky Alien’.
This appears as a green Coachline motif with a pink 8-bit explosion design on the motor car’s right side, echoed by a yellow and blue variant on its left. Formed from 89 individual ‘pixels’ each measuring just 3mm by 3mm, it brings the bitmapped graphics of early video games to mind. Up front, the Illuminated Pantheon Grille continues this retro-futurist theme, while black brake callipers complement the 22” forged 7-spoke Black Badge wheels & round out the exterior specification.
Moving inside, the game really begins with the Black and Casden Tan interior suite’s richly layered tactile homage to that early digital era. Every nuanced detail rewards deeper exploration by conveying the visual language that defined video game arcades of the late 1970s. Bespoke ‘Player 1’ & ‘Player 2’ graphics are embroidered into the front seats, with ‘Player 3’ & ‘Player 4’ in the rear. Rendered in an 8-bit-style font, their stitching colours were derived from the flickering electric hues of vintage arcade monitors.
Block-coloured ‘Cheeky Alien’ embroideries on each headrest contrast them. 89 individual ‘pixels’ constitute each artwork, creating a richly tactile graphic effect like the Coachline motifs. Meanwhile, Black Badge Technical Fibre is used to finish the ‘Waterfall’ area between the rear seats. It also plays host to another artistic tribute to early gaming iconography: two inlaid stainless steel ‘flying saucer’ spaceships hovering over a hand-painted lunar scene with starscape backdrop, inspired by artworks found on early arcade game cabinets.
Over two weeks of intensive development went into the intricate crafting of this remarkable battle scene, needing the refinement of multiple paint iterations to form the final period-perfect hues. Black & Mandarin paint was used to bring the final artwork to life, comprising a Black background, Mandarin highlights, and blended mid-tones created by mixing them both. The design was then applied by a combination of traditional brushwork, a specialised sponge technique for texture & depth, and subtle airbrush blending, all executed entirely by hand.
All of the cabin’s Technical Fibre surfaces boast a subtle silver sparkle for added celestial intrigue. Some even feature hidden arcade era ‘Easter eggs’, from the rear picnic table’s inlaid metal ‘Cheeky Alien’, to an 8-bit motif engraved into the front black chrome ‘eyeball’ air vent’s concealed side. Even its hallmark illuminations are reimagined to invoke early gaming’s visual cues as part of the overall commission.
A signature Ghost debut feature, its Illuminated Fascia has been subtly reinterpreted to evoke the ‘Laser Base’ backdrops featured in many of those early games. This even includes a gunship formed from 85 individual stars, with the constellations themselves optimized to make the ship appear to be storming right through the starfield itself.
The crowning glory of Black Badge Ghost Gamer’s interior suite, however, must surely be its ‘Pixel Blaster’ Starlight Headliner. Fibre-optic lights are placed by hand to manifest a formation of no less than 80 bitmapped battlecruisers, spanning the canopy’s entire space. Having long been a Goodwood signature, the Shooting Star function is even reprogrammed to simulate laser fire instead, with beams of light pulsing from the ships to further enhance nostalgic drama across the ceiling’s night sky.
Engraved Bespoke Illuminated Treadplates complete this evocative commission, lighting up when the doors are opened to display the classic arcade-game prompts of ‘PRESS START’, ‘LOADING…’, ‘LEVEL UP’ and ‘INSERT COIN’; rendered in 8-bit graphic lettering that matches the seat embroidery. Taken as a whole, this commission is indeed a true reflection of the adaptable responsiveness Black Badge embodies in embracing the passions, tastes and cultural inspirations of this new collector generation that really dares to play differently.
