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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

249 reasons you want to go to Goodwood Revival

At its most basic, Goodwood Revival is a long weekend worth of car races featuring cars made before 1970. There are lots of those, though, including some pretty great ones all over the world. But nothing is like Goodwood Revival because it's so much more than "just" vintage car racing.  First, you have to look the part. Attendees are strongly encouraged to dress in period clothing from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, with a strict dress code enforced should you want to enter the paddock. The goal is to create a more authentic atmosphere to match the cars and the meticulously restored and recreated paddocks, grandstands and other facilities of the reborn Goodwood circuit. Now, the dress code was relaxed this year since the Saturday was literally the hottest Sept. 9 on record in that part of England, and the organizers didn't want people dropping dead because they needed to wear an ascot. Some people definitely took the "relaxed" bit too far, but there was still plenty of atmosphere maintained. It really does make a big difference, as those "relaxed" individuals were often akin to seeing a Starbucks cup in a scene from "Game of Thrones."  You can see what I came up with below along with former Autoblog editor Reese Counts and various other Goodwood attendees. Second, there's the parking lot. But I'll let this entire separate post detail that. Third, there's the enormous carnival-like area featuring vintage-looking rides and various boutiques. Both of those are on the outside portion of the track, and honestly, you could easily just spend your entire day in the parking lot and carnival/shopping area without even crossing over into the circuit area. There you'll find more shops, food and drink opportunities, plus obviously, race car paddocks and the track itself.  Fourth, there are airplanes! I heard there are fewer than in the past, but they're there and they're cool. The Goodwood circuit started out life as the perimeter road around the World War II airfield RAF Westhampnett.  Fifth, with all of the above, Goodwood Revival really is fun for the whole family. It isn't just a bunch of old guys sitting around in lawn chairs. There are plenty of women and adorably dressed children, including babies in vintage prams. It's also not an event that's exclusively for the uber rich, even if they are certainly in full force given who has the sort of money needed to go vintage racing.

Rolls-Royce's future models will be electric-only starting in 2030

Rolls-Royce's first series-produced electric car, the Spectre unveiled in 2022, won't be its last. The BMW-owned company announced that every new car it launches after 2030 will be electric-only, though it stressed that there's still space in its range for V12-powered models. "All future Rolls-Royces, new ones, will be only electric while maintaining what Rolls-Royce stands for," company boss Torsten Muller-Otvos told British magazine Car. He added that this thinking explains the Spectre's overall design. "That's why we also decided to go with classical Rolls-Royce proportions. It needs to look like a Rolls-Royce: monolithic, great stature, it carries proudly the pantheon grille. It drives like a Rolls-Royce, it accelerates like a Rolls-Royce, it wafts like a Rolls-Royce ... it has all of the same materials — while being electric," he said. That doesn't mean that Rolls-Royce's design department is stuck in a rut. The modular platform that underpins the Spectre (pictured) will serve as the foundation for other EVs, and Muller-Otvos told Car and he's open to experimenting with "very different technologies" and "different shapes," though he stopped short of providing specific details. "[Electric technology fits perfectly with the brand," he opined. Rolls-Royce expects the Spectre will be able to drive for up to 260 miles on a charge. That's not much, but the company explained driving range isn't a big concern for its customers. They mostly use their cars in urban centers and they're able to charge at home and at work. If you're saving up for a V12-powered Rolls-Royce, it's not too late. "I still foresee a very good business for us in future for Cullinans, for Ghosts," noted Muller-Otvos in the same interview.