On Saturday, October 14, significant portions of the Western Hemisphere will experience a partial solar eclipse, with the moon expected to obscure up to 80% of the sun in cities such as Dallas, Texas. To commemorate the occasion, Rolls-Royce designed a special version of the Ghost dubbed the Ékleipsis Private Collection Black Badge. There are only 25 examples being created, and they are all reserved.
The Ékleipsis is painted with Lyrical Copper, imparting the Ghost a gloomy aura in dimly lit environments but a shimmering appearance under brighter illumination. Mandarin appears on the front bumper and brake calipers, “recalling the intense pulses of sunlight witnessed as the eclipse progresses,” according to Rolls-Royce. Along the Ghost’s shoulder line is a delicate, hand-painted Mandarin coachline with a dotted motif intended to represent the “transition from sunlight to darkness.”
Rolls-Royce is renowned for its Starlight headliner, which incorporates hundreds of small lights to simulate the night sky. The Ékleipsis has a unique configuration, with an animation that plays when the doors are closed and the engine is started, displaying a circle of 940 “stars” representing the corona of light that appears around the moon during a total eclipse, surrounded by 192 other LEDs that represent the stars that become suddenly visible during the day during a total eclipse. After seven minutes and thirty-one seconds, the utmost duration of a total solar eclipse, all of the LED stars light up. According to Rolls-Royce, this animation took an entire year to develop.
On the dashboard is an intricate piece of artwork comprised of 1846 laser-etched “stars,” which took a single technician 100 hours to produce. On the left is a one-of-a-kind timepiece with a diamond bezel weighing 0.5 carats, inspired by the “diamond ring” effect that occurs when a single point of light is visible just before and after the moon passes in front of the sun. The two-tone cushions feature over two hundred thousand perforations in a distinct pattern, revealing Mandarin accents beneath the black leather.
The door sill plates are illuminated, and the umbrella concealed in the doors — a Rolls-Royce trademark — is trimmed with Mandarin piping. In addition, the Ghost Ékleipsis includes a distinctive indoor vehicle cover. Rolls-Royce reports that all 25 examples have been claimed, and while no prices were disclosed, we’re willing to wager that these customers paid considerably more than the Ghost’s base price of $351,100.
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