In the rarefied realm of Rolls-Royce Bespoke Design, imagination is crafted with the same precision as fine engineering. The latest creation, the Black Badge Ghost Gamer, stands as one of the most imaginative commissions yet: a glamorous motor car inspired by the vibrant 8-bit universe of early arcade gaming. For Bespoke Designer Joshua McCandless, the project was an exhilarating month-long deep dive into the neon-lit nostalgia of late-70s and early-80s gaming culture.
“We immersed ourselves in the 8-bit aesthetic… we wanted the client to feel the same thrill they felt when they pressed ‘start’ on an arcade machine for the first time,” McCandless shares. With its combination of expressive design, exquisite craftsmanship, and the formidable power of the Black Badge Ghost Series II, which delivers 17.9–18.3 mpg (15.8–15.4 l/100km) with combined CO₂ emissions of 348–359 g/km (WLTP), the result is a luxury object that feels alive with nostalgia, futurism, and the unmistakable confidence of the marque.
A New Era of Collecting: Arcade Culture Meets Haute Luxury
For a growing community of modern collectors, vintage arcade artefacts have transcended nostalgia to become cultural treasures. Early game cartridges, 8-bit artwork, and original cabinet machines are now prized not only for their rarity, but for the emotional connection they evoke — a sense of innocence, joy, and discovery.
Black Badge Ghost Gamer is the first Rolls-Royce ever to tap into this world. Commissioned by a tech entrepreneur who sees arcade culture as an emerging collectible space, the motor car reimagines 8-bit aesthetics as contemporary art. Every element, from bold graphics to hidden “joystick era” Easter eggs — has been designed to be uncovered gradually, turning the car itself into a beautifully crafted game.
Press Start: The Exterior as Pixel-Perfect Performance Art
Presented in an expressive two-tone finish, the car pairs Salamanca Blue with a shimmering layer of Crystal over Diamond Black, creating a chromatic glow reminiscent of arcade cabinet screens. The Bespoke Coachline carries the commission’s signature motif, a cheekily irreverent 8-bit alien, hand-painted from 89 individual 3mm ‘pixels’ and finished in vintage game-inspired colourways.
Illuminated details heighten the retro-futurist mood: the glowing Spirit of Ecstasy, a radiant Pantheon Grille, and 22” seven-spoke Black Badge wheels with black brake callipers. Together, they form an exterior that feels both playful and powerful, an electrified expression of the Black Badge personality.
Ready Player One: An Interior That Invites Discovery
Inside, the Black and Casden Tan interior suite becomes an immersive gallery of digital-age symbolism. The seats are embroidered in an 8-bit font with Player 1 and Player 2 up front, Player 3 and Player 4 in the rear — a subtle nod to multiplayer arcade camaraderie. Each headrest features the pixelated Cheeky Alien, its 89 stitched squares creating a tactile, graphic artwork.
Between the rear seats, the Waterfall panel transforms into a miniature universe: stainless-steel spaceships hover above a hand-painted lunar landscape inspired by early arcade cabinet art. The multistage painting process, involving brushwork, sponge techniques, and airbrushing, required over two weeks to perfect, its Black and Mandarin tones creating a vivid, retro glow.
Silver-sparkled lacquer adds a cosmic shimmer across the Technical Fibre surfaces, some of which hide secret ‘power-ups’:
• a metal alien inlaid in the rear picnic table
• an 8-bit engraving hidden on the reverse of the front air vent
Every surface invites exploration — a luxury car reimagined as a treasure hunt.
High Score: A Celestial Light Show Reimagined
The atmospheric lighting, a hallmark of Rolls-Royce, has been entirely reinvented for this commission. The Illuminated Fascia evokes classic arcade ‘Laser Base’ visuals with a gunship formed from 85 miniature stars, while surrounding constellations have been subtly repositioned to create the impression of forward motion.
Above, the ‘Pixel Blaster’ Starlight Headliner becomes a spectacular digital sky. Eighty bitmapped battlecruisers are composed of hand-placed fibre-optic lights, while the Shooting Star function has been recoded to simulate pixel laser fire — beams pulsing across the canopy in a theatrical play of movement and light.
Even the treadplates join the game, illuminating in 8-bit lettering with prompts such as PRESS START, LEVEL UP, and INSERT COIN whenever the doors sweep open.
A New Generation of Bespoke
Delivered to a client who straddles technology, innovation, and design, Black Badge Ghost Gamer reflects the tastes of a new luxury generation, one unafraid to blur the lines between high art, digital culture, and personal mythology. It illustrates the agility of the Black Badge philosophy: bold, expressive, and created for those who play differently.
This extraordinary commission does exactly what the finest Bespoke Rolls-Royce creations do: it transforms nostalgia into sculpture, passion into performance, and the magic of play into a singular automotive masterpiece.
