The Cullinan is arguably the most luxurious SUV money can buy and yet Rolls-Royce keeps finding ways to make it even more extravagant. This new version is based on the more potent Black Badge, meaning you get the uprated twin-turbo, 6.75-liter engine with 591 horsepower and 664 pound-feet (900 Newton-meters) of torque. While the V12 is a gem on its own, this limited-run derivative is special for another reason.
Carrying the “Blue Shadow” moniker, this Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge takes inspiration from the Kármán Line. If you haven’t heard of it, this is a proposed conventional boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and outer space set by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) at an altitude of 62 miles (100 kilometers). For this reason, the opulent SUV will be produced in a limited series of 62 units, all of which have obviously been sold already.
All vehicles come painted in Stardust Blue, an eye-catching shade derived from the deep blue found in the upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. As for the satin-tinted grille surround and aero bumper inserts, their finish is a nod to the thermal tiles used by space shuttles. Even the Spirit of Ecstasy is a tribute to spacecraft as the hood ornament was made using 3D printing techniques in titanium before applying a thin blue-tinted layer.
Step inside and you’ll be immediately greeted by the intricate Starlight Headliner with a complex Moon-inspired embroidery. There are no fewer than 250,000 stitches in the ceiling for a process that takes two days to complete. Rolls-Royce has inserted 799 white and 384 blue fiber-optic stars for a grand total of 1,183, with each having been individually positioned in the perforated holes of the leather canvas.
The Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan Blue Shadow is Goodwood’s first model to have perforated artwork in the front and rear seats, taking inspiration from the view of Earth from space. It consists of numerous perforations in the leather to give the impression of clouds hovering over oceans and continents. These perforations are impressively small (0.8 mm and 1.2 mm in diameter), and each seat hosts more than 75,000 perforations that must be individually placed.
The special edition comes bundled with a bespoke luggage set as well as an indoor car cover with the same look as the seat pattern. Customers can order a matching 1:8 replica of the SUV fitted with functional lights inside and out, not to mention doors that open/close and an interior that faithfully replicates the real thing, right down to the illuminated sills.
Source: Rolls-Royce
