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Not every Rolls-Royce Cullinan Black Badge comes in black

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — When Rolls-Royce recently unveiled the Cullinan Black Badge, the released press photos were of a very black car in a very black environment. But that did not match the car that was actually shown to the press. Quite the opposite, actually. The small event at the BMW Zentrum factory in South Carolina took place at night under a set of bright lights, and the car that came through the curtain wore a bright white body. We were fortunate enough to spend a brief time with the white Black Badge and snapped some photos of its details. As a reminder, all Black Badges have upgraded performance on top of the altered visual cues. Its twin-turbocharged 6.75-liter V8 has been upgraded to make 600 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque, and the brakes, suspension and exhaust have been retuned as well. We spent an extremely limited amount of time in the Black Badge, so we cannot offer full comments about how it drives, but we can say the exhaust offers a nice insulated grumble in "Low" mode, the quickness off the line doesn't make any sense for a vehicle its size (trust us, it is huge), and it seemed controlled while cruising up the curves onto the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, where these photos were taken.  The white paint exaggerates the parts Rolls-Royce darkens on all Black Badge models. The Spirit of Ecstasy, the grille surround, the inverted badging, the side frame finishers, the trunk handle, the trunk trim, the lower air inlet finisher, and the exhaust pipes have all gone black. Inside, this particular Cullinan has a red leather interior with patterned carbon fiber accents. It also has light contrast stitching, which includes infinity signs, a symbol used on Sir Malcolm Campbell's Rolls-Royce-powered Blue Bird K3 hydroplane. Check out all the details, including the built-in event seats in the trunk, in our massive gallery above. Featured Gallery White Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan View 55 Photos Design/Style Rolls-Royce Luxury rolls-royce cullinan

Autoblog's top 50 car photos of 2016

This one shouldn't need much explanation. We like cars a whole lot, and that includes not just driving them but taking great pictures of them. We've collected our 50 favorite images from this year in the mega-gallery above. It's a mix of old and new, with a healthy dose of vintage and modern race cars mixed in, and not one single shot under the harsh lights of an auto show. So click through and enjoy. Featured Gallery Autoblog's Top 50 Photos of 2016 View 50 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2016 Autoblog.com Audi BMW Chevrolet Dodge Ferrari Ford Lamborghini Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Porsche Rolls-Royce Volvo Convertible Coupe Motorcycle Luxury Racing Vehicles Performance Supercars Classics

Rolls-Royce reveals new Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament for electric era

It’s a big day in Rolls-Royce land, as the mega-luxury British car company just revealed a new Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament to grace its future vehicles. In the world of automobiles, the Rolls-Royce hood ornament is one of the most iconic, and now itÂ’s getting a new look for the electric era. Or as Rolls prefers, “she” is getting a new look. The first Rolls-Royce vehicle to wear this new Spirit of Ecstasy will be the upcoming Spectre electric car. Its design is tied to the brandÂ’s electrified future, too. Rolls-Royce says the new design is sculpted to both look and be more aerodynamic than the outgoing model. Instead of standing with legs straight, tilting at the waist and feet together, the new ornament is “braced for the wind, one leg forward, body tucked low.” Height-wise, the new ornament is 82.73 mm tall, while the outgoing ornament was 100.01 mm tall. Plus, the robes (they're not wings!) flapping behind her have been reshaped to be more aerodynamic and look more realistic. Left: Current Spirit of Ecstasy; Right: New Spirit of Ecstasy Why is aero such a great focus? Well, aero is everything when it comes to electric car range and efficiency. Rolls-Royce says its current Spectre prototypes have a drag coefficient of just 0.26, making the Spectre the most aerodynamic Rolls-Royce ever. That figure is expected to be even better once the production design is finalized, Rolls says. “111 years ago today, the Spirit of Ecstasy became an official part of Rolls-Royce,” says design director Anders Warming. “Yet, she has come to represent a spiritual direction for our brand. Her form perfectly captures the marque – she leans forward, expressing our relentless pursuit of progress, and her dress gracefully flows in the wind, echoing the serenity of our products in motion. For Spectre and beyond, she becomes lower and more focused; braced for unprecedented speed and the exciting future her presence will define.” The ornament is the product of 830 hours of design modeling and wind tunnel testing. Instead of drawing it out on paper or real-life sculpting, though, this Spirit of Ecstasy was designed via digital “sculpting” on a computer. That said, the actual construction of the ornament will continue to be finished by hand after undergoing its “lost wax casting.” This hand finishing process means that even in the age of computers, Rolls promises that every single ornament will be minutely different from the next — itÂ’s about charm.