Art in motion: Rolls-Royce unveils Black Badge Cullinan by artist Cyril Kongo

Über luxury has long been associated with craftsmanship, exclusivity, and performance. But every once in a while, a creation arrives that pushes beyond engineering and enters the realm of art itself. 

In an era where collectors are increasingly seeking objects with individuality and emotional resonance, the collaboration between Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and French artist Cyril Kongo feels less like a car launch and more like the unveiling of a moving gallery. 

With the debut of the Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo, the iconic British marque has transformed one of its boldest motor cars into an immersive artistic universe—where paint replaces convention, stars become storytelling devices, and luxury becomes deeply personal. Limited to just five collector commissions worldwide, the project blurs the boundaries between automotive design, contemporary art and cultural expression, proving that modern royalty no longer merely travels in comfort; it travels surrounded by imagination.

All five motor cars share the same creative theme, but each features a unique expression of Kongo’s work. This project has been curated through the marque’s Private Offices in New York, Seoul and the original Private Office at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood.

Black Badge Cullinan is a powerful canvas for Kongo’s work. As the darker, more subversive alter-ego of Rolls-Royce, Black Badge is the most daring expression of the brand. This mirrors the intensity of Kongo’s art, which appears on the Starlight Headliner, picnic tables, fascia and Waterfall between the rear seats.

Using the interior surfaces of Black Badge Cullinan, Kongo brought ‘The Kongoverse’—the artist’s aesthetic universe—to life within the motor car. This unique expression is shaped by destiny, imagination and the power of individuality: themes that became central to Kongo during this landmark project.

“What made this collaboration so special was the constant conversation between my universe and Rolls-Royce’s. Every idea was treated with care and curiosity. I was fully immersed in the brand’s creative studio,” said Kongo.

To bring his vision to life, Rolls-Royce embraced Kongo as a member of the marque’s Bespoke Collective of designers, engineers, and artisans. Though the marque has a rich heritage of collaborating with leading creatives, this project represents an unprecedented depth of co-creation. From the outset, Kongo was embedded within the Bespoke Collective, working alongside the Rolls-Royce teams at the Home of Rolls-Royce. He was involved in every stage of the project’s conception, design, and realisation, with a dedicated space created for him where Kongo painted each element by hand.

“The way we worked together with Cyril Kongo was unprecedented. Six months before production began, we brought him to the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood and immersed him in our world, meeting our specialists and craftspeople, sharing our tools and techniques, and placing our full paint palette at his disposal,” said Phil Fabre de la Grange, Head of Bespoke, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “When we came to co-create the motor cars, we set up dedicated workspaces within our Bespoke facilities, where Cyril and our specialists worked hand-in-hand, integrating his artistic language into each element. The collaboration fostered a continuous exchange of ideas and a shared spirit of curiosity and creative confidence. This fully embedded, in-house approach gave Cyril the freedom to explore his vision in the moment, true to the spontaneous nature of his art.” 

Each motor car shares the same interior colour treatment: a black foundation punctuated with vivid bursts of colour. For the first time, the interior is divided into four distinct zones, each defined by a contrasting colourway—Phoenix Red for the driver’s seat, Turchese for the front passenger’s seat, and Forge Yellow and Mandarin for the rear. These colours appear through stitching, piping, seat inserts and the ‘RR’ monograms on the headrests, as well as the lambswool carpets. From this shared palette, Kongo hand-painted five individual interior artworks, transforming each vehicle into a true one-of-one collector’s piece.

A hand-painted Starlight Headliner forms the focal point of each Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo. Imagined planets, constellations and references to quantum physics flow across the ceiling alongside equations and formulae that symbolise infinite imagination. To realise his vision, craftspeople prepared more than 70 paint colours, allowing Kongo complete freedom to create his compositions using sponges, airbrushes and brushes.

Each of the 1,344 illuminated ‘stars’ was individually marked by the artist before being hand-punched and placed by Rolls-Royce artisans. Every Starlight Headliner also features eight Shooting Stars, including one spanning the entire length of the ceiling—a Rolls-Royce first.

The artistry extends across the fascia, centre console, rear console, picnic tables and Waterfall between the rear seats, where Kongo’s hand-painted Kongoverse designs create one continuous visual composition. Rolls-Royce artisans then applied ten layers of lacquer to protect and enhance the artwork before sanding and polishing each surface to a brilliant finish.

“I want people to discover this artwork step by step. The more you explore, the more you see. The exterior should only hint at the universe inside,” Kongo said.

Finished in Blue Crystal Over Black, each Cullinan also carries a Gradient Coachline and uniquely coloured brake callipers—another Rolls-Royce first. The Phoenix Red ‘tag’ motif continues across illuminated treadplates and even the umbrellas hidden inside the doors. 

All five Black Badge Cullinans by Cyril Kongo motor cars have already been allocated to collectors worldwide, making them not just luxury automobiles, but rare, rolling works of art.