Check out the Space Age Rolls

Mar 08, 2023

The obsession with space travel that's got industry leaders from Elon Musk to Boeing hoping to transcend the stratosphere has made its way into luxury car design.

The Black Badge Cullinan "Blue Shadow Private Collection," is a special-edition nod to the new space age limited to just 62 examples—all of which already have buyers. The inspiration is the Kármán line, a division 62 miles above the earth separating our atmosphere and outer space. It's worth pointing out that the atmosphere doesn't end abruptly at that line, but instead gets thinner and thinner. But the concept of "where space begins" certainly has some cachet.

The Blue Shadow is an appearance package. What the buyer gets:

One of the big advantages of cars like the Cullinan Blue Shadow is that they require no retooling, mechanical upgrades or chassis modifications—it's all hand work by company artisans. And that means that creating an exclusive car is not cripplingly expensive. Gerry Spahn, head of communications for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in the Americas, says there are two reasons for creating special editions—beyond the monetary considerations.

"The first reason is that we want to push the imagination of our customers, provoke them a little bit—it can be hard to envision what we can actually do," Spahn says. "And the second reason is we wanted to challenge our artisans to experiment and play, to do the things they’ve always wanted to try. In the Blue Shadow, that meant innovations in painting the fascia, among other things."

The Cullinan is by far the bestselling Rolls-Royce, accounting for about half of global sales. Last year, Rolls-Royce sold 6,021 cars with an average price of US$534,000. Sales were up 7.8% from 2021, which was itself a record year. With 35% of sales, the U.S. is its top market (followed by China). The company said that transaction prices have climbed as high as they have because of the Bespoke program, which creates limited editions and one-of-a-kind cars like the Blue Shadow.

Customers can and do get the paint color they want, the wood they want (even if it's rare Hawaiian koa) and special-order interior appointments. Unique body styles are possible, too, through the Coachbuild program. The Boat Tail cars are an example of this, as is the earlier Sweptail from 2017, which cost an estimated US$12.8 million. The design process can take four years, and lots of consultation with England.

The 62 Blue Shadow cars were gone in two weeks, Spahn says, with regular customers being given the first chance to buy one. Maybe 15 or 17 will come to the U.S. "There's no strict allocation for American customers," he says. "It depends on client demand. The build is still underway, and the first cars are going to our top collectors."

And how much do they cost? Rolls-Royce isn't saying. The regular Black Badge Cullinan starts at US$425,000. "The price for the Blue Shadow is commensurate with the work that went into it," Spahn says. "It will be one of the most valuable collector series we’ve done."