As of 2023 the average age of new Rolls-Royce owners is 42, if you can believe it, and the 120-year-old brand’s percentage of owners who are under 40 is growing. Reflected in Rolls-Royce’s increasingly younger owners are the exuberant specs — while a few decades ago basically all Rollers were subtle colors like a beige or classic black, now many of the Rolls-Royces I see are baby blue, orange, or in the instance of this Cullinan I saw last weekend, bright green with crystals in the clear coat. As one does.
I’m happy to see any Rolls-Royce in a bright color, but I knew how special this was from the moment I spotted it across the parking lot in Malibu. What you see here is a Cullinan Black Badge in Crystal over Fame Green, with what appears to be a Mandarin pinstripe. The Crystal finish is offered on nearly a dozen different colors, some of which can be had with a standard finish as well. It’s made up of six layers hand-polished between each application, the last of which contain tiny crystal particles sprinkled in. In the sunlight you can really see the crystals work their magic, sparkling intensely and adding more depth to the lovely green color. How much does this option cost? Well it depends on the model, but think somewhere around $20,000.
Orange brake calipers on a Rolls-Royce might seem scandalous, but they do work when you take into account the orange pinstripe. Then you peek inside and see that it’s covered in bright Mandarin leather, which Rolls was a trend-setter with after launching the Dawn with a full orange interior in 2015. I do appreciate that the Black Badge models use real dark chrome instead of just cheap-looking gloss black paint for all the exterior trim, too.
Is this the sort of spec you’d go for in a new Rolls-Royce? It definitely is for me, though I’d do something in the purple family. I love seeing how well Rolls has adapted to its new younger audience, supporting their brighter, bolder ideas. When you can customize basically every aspect of your car in terms of color and materials, why wouldn’t you? And you certainly wouldn’t want to have the same boring spec as someone else, either.
