• Rolls-Royce unveils first Black Badge Collection of 40 Wraiths and 30 Dawns, named Adamas
• Laboratory-grown black diamonds encrust Black Badge infinity symbol
• Spirit of Ecstasy transformed in machined carbon fibre
• Carbon structure inspired Starlight Headliner features colour gradation
The Bespoke Collective of the House of Rolls-Royce has conceived a darker iteration of Black Badge Wraith and Dawn, presented in a limited Collection, named Adamas. Drawing inspiration from the name, meaning ‘untameable’, ‘invincible’ and also ‘diamond’, the Collective celebrate the darker side of contemporary craftsmanship, expertly weaving a dark aesthetic of unbreakable carbon structures into just 40 Black Badge Wraiths and 30 Black Badge Dawns. Technical fibres and molecular compounds are manipulated and recognised for their systematic, beguiling beauty.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce, commented, “Adamas is a Collection that fuses the extraordinary competence of our Bespoke craftspeople from the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood, West Sussex, with the rebellious spirit of Black Badge. The result is a motor car for those who seek more than the definitive of engineered luxury conveyance. This is a motor car for the risk-taker who is not afraid to embrace a bold and progressive statement of true and modern luxury, in its darkest form.”
On encountering Adamas, one is immediately drawn to the Spirit of Ecstasy, who finds herself taken from the edge of darkness, into the black. She is formed for the first time in history of machined carbon fibre, personifying the very essence of the Collection.
The entrancing figure is engineered from 294 layers of aerospace grade carbon fibre, which takes 68 hours to produce with a technical weave angle of precisely 25 degrees. She confidently resides on a specially created titanium base, vapour blasted to adopt a darkened aesthetic, bearing the words ‘BLACK BADGE ADAMAS’, and the infinity logo.
One recalls the colours of the first iteration of Rolls-Royce Black Badge. The Mandarin Orange interior for Dawn and Cobalto Blue interior for Wraith from the original cars have spread to the exterior of Adamas. Darkened versions of these hues envelop the body in a hypnotic Aphrodite Red over Black and Morpheus Blue over Black two-tone respectively. These are the first two-tone Black Badge cars. These colours, as though touched by darkness, have a deep colour transition, providing a mesmerising iridescent effect. Patrons are able to specify their chosen Adamas in either colourway.
Below, black grille vanes are added to the already darkened grille surround of Black Badge, underlying the sinister, untameable nature of Adamas.
Stepping inside, one’s eye is drawn to the clock, encrusted with black diamonds. Harnessing the carbon structure in its most explicit form, 88 laboratory-grown diamonds form the Black Badge infinity symbol, providing a jewellery-like reminder of the restless spirits of the inhabitants of these motor cars. Mounted upon a carbon fibre back-plate, the black diamonds are perfectly engineered to deliver exquisite clarity and colour. The face of the clock is embellished with machined aluminium chaplets and a polished aluminium inner bezel, adding dramatic detail to the contrasting white face.
Perhaps one of the most captivating expressions of technical craft is the interpretation of the diamond theme on the starlight headliner of Wraith Adamas. 1,340 individual fibre optic lights are configured as though forming the molecular structure of carbon as it becomes a diamond, presenting a motif reminiscent of a powerful spine running through the interior cabin. Available in either hue, co-ordinating perfectly with either colour scheme, the starlight headliner for the first time incorporates graded shading, using varying tones of the chosen colour palette to accentuate the subject.
Pearlescent effect leather, a Collection Car debut, echoes the exterior hue. Offset by a two tone steering wheel and accentuated by rich woven black leather on the door panniers and transmission tunnel, the interior celebrates the darker side of luxury craftsmanship in even the smallest of details.
The Collection premieres a new dark brushed metal fascia, designed to correspond with the carbon fibre. Cold to the touch, this metal finish flows through the motor car, through both front and rear centre console lids, emphasising the unbreakable strength at the core of Black Badge Adamas.
As a final touch, when one enters or alights from the atmospheric cabin of Adamas, one encounters an illuminated tread plate, reading either ‘Black Badge Wraith Adamas – One of Forty’ or ‘Black Badge Dawn Adamas – One of Thirty’, reminding the occupant of the power and precious nature of this Collection.
