Rolls-Royce Motor Cars presents Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo; five exuberant Private Commissions featuring veneer and leather interior surfaces individually hand-painted by world-renowned multi-disciplinary artist, Cyril Kongo. 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 conceived for the collaboration with Rolls-Royce – 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.

An Unprecedented Collaboration

“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.”
Cyril Kongo, Artist

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. 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.”
Phil Fabre de la Grange, Head of Bespoke, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Vivid Worlds: Adventures in the Kongoverse

“My art reflects the infinite power of imagination – picturing worlds that do not exist, but which could. To bring this vision to life with a Rolls-Royce was unforgettable.”
Cyril Kongo, Artist

Each motor car shares the same interior colour treatment: a Black foundation 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 are expressed 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 motor car into a true one-of-one collector’s piece.

Starlight Headliner: The Kongoverse, written in stars

“When I first saw a Starlight Headliner, it inspired me straight away: they are a universe in motion, and truly immersive. I knew this feature would be my centrepiece.”
Cyril Kongo, Artist

A hand-painted Starlight Headliner – a roof lining creating the impression of a serene night sky within the motor car with 1,344 fibre-optic ‘stars’ – is the focal point of each Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo. In each artwork, Kongo introduces imagined planets and constellations alongside references to quantum physics – a subject that has fascinated him since sharing a studio with his brother, who is a physicist. Equations and formulae are embedded within his compositions, symbolising the infinite potential of the imagination: a theme echoed in the infinity symbol, which codifies all Rolls-Royce Black Badge motor cars.

To realise his vision, Interior Surface Centre craftspeople prepared more than 70 paint colours, giving Kongo complete creative freedom to bring his artwork to life. Each composition was applied using a combination of sponges, airbrushes and brush tools.

After painting the Starlight Headliner, Kongo worked closely with Bespoke engineers to define the precise placement and colour of all ‘stars’. Each ‘star’ was counted and individually marked by the artist before being painstakingly hand-punched and placed by the marque’s artisans. Each Starlight Headliner features various combinations of Blue, Phoenix Red, Forge Yellow, Cobalto Blue, Twickenham Green or Lime Green illuminations and eight Shooting Stars, including a final ‘star’ that spans the entire length of the ceiling – a Rolls-Royce first.

As a final, hidden detail, Kongo’s signature ‘tag’ motif is painted on the leather lining inside the sun visor and inside the luggage compartment lid. This hallmark design is also faithfully recreated in fine embroidery on the door leather.

Hand-painted interior surfaces: a continuous composition

“We talked about how to make the piece groove, how to keep the rhythm inside the motor car. For me, painting is like jazz. You move, but everything stays connected.”
Cyril Kongo, Artist

Each Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo features a Bespoke woodset individually hand-painted by the artist, extending across the fascia, centre console, rear console, Picnic Tables and the Waterfall between the rear seats. Together, these elements form a single, continuous composition within the motor car.

Ahead of Kongo’s arrival, the Interior Surface Centre prepared each of the 19 veneered pieces by painting them in black and mounting them on specially created fixtures within the marque’s paint laboratory. Working directly onto these surfaces, Kongo applied his signature Kongoverse designs using airbrushes of varying sizes to achieve different levels of detail.

To enhance and protect the artworks, Rolls-Royce artisans applied ten layers of lacquer to each surface. Each piece was then sanded and polished to a brilliant finish, ensuring the depth and durability expected of a Rolls-Royce interior.

Bespoke Exterior: A Powerful Canvas

“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.”
Cyril Kongo, Artist

Each Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo motor car is presented in a rich Blue Crystal Over Black finish: the deep black paint is further elevated with a lacquer infused with blue particles that shimmer in sunlight, allowing the surface to appear almost blue in certain light. In a Rolls-Royce first, each features a Gradient Coachline: Phoenix Red transitions to Forge Yellow along the left side, Mandarin fades into Turchese along the right, with Kongo’s distinctive ‘tag’ symbol incorporated as a Bespoke motif within both. In another Rolls-Royce first, behind each 23-inch Part Polished Black Badge alloy wheel is a different coloured brake calliper: Phoenix Red, Turchese, Forge Yellow and Mandarin – colours selected to match the Coachline and the vivid colour accents in the interior.

The Phoenix Red ‘tag’ graphic used in the exterior Coachline is carried through to the Bespoke Illuminated Treadplates and the black Bespoke umbrellas concealed in the doors, where it appears as a subtle motif on the canopy.

Curated by Private Offices: The Power of Connection

The Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo project has been curated by Rolls-Royce Private Offices in Seoul, New York, and the original at Goodwood. Private Offices are creative hubs, available by invitation only, which serve as extensions of the Home of Rolls-Royce and further elevate the experience of commissioning a Bespoke Rolls-Royce motor car.

Each Private Office has a dedicated Rolls-Royce team based permanently in the region. Their deeply personal relationships with clients give them a unique insight into the cultural cues, passions, and interests of local collectors. It is through this lens that the Cyril Kongo collaboration took shape as both an artistic statement and a reflection of contemporary collector culture.

All five Black Badge Cullinan by Cyril Kongo motor cars are allocated to collectors worldwide.