THE ROLLS-ROYCE BLACK BADGE GHOST TOURIST TROPHY: HONOURING CHARLES ROLLS’ 1906 TT VICTORY – AutoMart Canada

• Rolls-Royce Motor Cars presents the Black Badge Ghost Tourist
  Trophy, inspired by The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls’ victory in the
  1906 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy
• Bespoke commission displayed on the Isle of Man in the 120th
  anniversary year of Rolls’ triumph
• Recalls the Light 20 H.P. Rolls-Royce driven by Rolls and his
  riding mechanic, Eric Platford, featuring Bespoke details rooted in
  the history of the race
• Black Badge Ghost gives contemporary form to Rolls’ restless
  appetite for risk, speed and mechanical possibility

“Charles Rolls lived with an extraordinary sense of adventure.
As a racing driver, balloonist, aviation pioneer, engineer and
innovator, he helped define the courage and curiosity that still
shape Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today. His victory in the 1906 Isle of
Man Tourist Trophy was not simply a sporting achievement: it was a
test of judgement, nerve and faith in a finely prepared motor car.
The Black Badge Ghost Tourist Trophy honours that spirit, recalling
both the motor car he drove and the character that made his
achievement so significant.”

John Beckley, Regional Director, United Kingdom, Europe and
Central Eastern Asia, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

“Charles Rolls was a high-voltage Edwardian: experimental,
audacious and moving faster than the world around him. His victory
in the 1906 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy demonstrated both courage and
discipline – a demanding course, limited fuel, a finely prepared
motor car and an absolute belief in what machines could make
possible. The Black Badge Ghost Tourist Trophy carries that spirit
with restraint. Every Bespoke detail is rooted in the race, yet the
overall expression is contemporary, quietly assured and deeply controlled.”

Alistair Barkley, Designer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has presented the Black Badge Ghost
Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man, marking 120 years since Charles
Rolls’ victory in the 1906 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy.

The commission takes its inspiration from the Light 20 H.P.
Rolls-Royce driven by Rolls and his riding mechanic, Eric
Platford. Held over four laps of the Isle of Man course, the
Tourist Trophy tested touring motor cars in the most exacting terms:
speed had to be balanced with endurance, mechanical sympathy and
carefully judged fuel use.

The event took place on the Highroads Course, which was shortened
to 40.38 miles. Rolls started fourth and was leading by the end of the
opening lap. By the final lap, he had built a 10-minute advantage – a
remarkable margin in a race governed by restraint as much as pace. He
and Platford completed four laps of the course in 4 hours, 6 minutes,
and 0.06 seconds, at an average speed of 39.4 mph. There was just one
pint and one ounce of fuel remaining in the 20 H.P. at the end of the
race; it is this level of precision, aptitude and attention to detail
shown by Rolls and Platford that continues to define Rolls-Royce Motor
Cars today.

Charles Rolls was independent in thought, technically fluent and
restless in pursuit of what machines could make possible. It was his
restless quest for the new and the extraordinary which drew him to the
exhilaration of early motor racing, ballooning and aviation. In Black
Badge Ghost, that restlessness finds a contemporary form – assertive
in character, exacting in detail and disciplined in execution.

The Black Badge Ghost Tourist Trophy carries the memory of the
race through quiet, precise Bespoke details – each one connected to
the Island, the course, the winning motor car or the man behind the achievement.

THE COLOUR OF VICTORY

The exterior of the commission is finished in Dark Emerald,
selected to recall the green hue of the Light 20 H.P. Rolls-Royce
driven by Rolls in the 1906 Tourist Trophy. A single Tan Coachline
provides a restrained contrast, accompanied by a hand-painted
Coachline motif featuring the number 4 in Arctic White. The number
references Rolls’ starting position for the race, and the four laps of
the course he completed in just over four hours.

A PRIVATE ARCHIVE

Inside, the Black and Tan palette creates an atmosphere of
controlled intensity. Black leather and Black Badge Technical Fibre
give the cabin a darker, contemporary edge, softened by Tan leather,
stitching and seat piping, and the warmth of Mocassin lambswool.

The rear Waterfall carries an embroidered outline of the Isle of
Man Short Highroads Course, placing the landscape of the victory
within the intimacy of the cabin. Further references are concealed
within the central ‘eyeball’ air vents, where engravings record
details from the race-winning motor car and the event itself,
including the registration number AX157, chassis number 26350B, race
date 27.09.1906, and start and finish line coordinates, 54˚09’27.1” N
4°29’ 54.7” W.

Bespoke Illuminated Treadplates fitted to all four door sills
also reference chassis number 26350B. Together, these elements form a
discreet private archive within the Black Badge Ghost Tourist Trophy.

WLTP (combined) CO2 emission: 359-348 g/km; Fuel consumption:
17.9-18.3 mpg / 15.8-15.4 l/100km.