When Rolls-Royce announced its Black Badge treatment option in 2016 many felt the stubborn dust that had settled over the luxurious marque lift.

The decision worked with Black Badge models now accounting for up 40% of all Rolls-Royces sold.

Now, some five years on, Rolls-Royce has introduced the new Ghost Black Badge – a more powerful version of the luxury saloon introduced last year – designed intently at bringing younger buyers into the Rolls-Royce fold.

The new model sees a 6.75-litre V12 engine with 441kW and 900Nm of torque at your disposal. Hardly quaint. Moreover, the power is delivered via an all-wheel-drive system and re-engineered drivetrain and chassis for more “urgent” performance.

This means gearshifts from the eight-speed automatic gearbox are 50% quicker, while boasting a tweaked exhaust note. Yes, an exhaust note from a Rolls-Royce.

Other sporty tweaks include more voluminous air springs, designed to reduce body roll under hard cornering, a bespoke throttle map, tuning for the all-wheel-drive and four-wheel steering systems, raising the brake pedal’s biting point.

Being a ‘Black Badge’ model comes with some menacing styling points. Here, the exterior of the Ghost Black Badge shares design touches with it is siblings including darker chrome shade for the exterior grille and Spirit of Ecstasy and the 21-inch alloy wheel design.

Those aforementioned alloys are worked around a carbon-fibre barrel that consists of 22 layers of carbon. A 3D-forged aluminium hub is bonded to the rim using aerospace-grade titanium fasteners and finished with the marque’s hallmark Floating Hubcap, ensuring the Double R monogram remains

On offer is a new “signature black”, that Rolls-Royce says is the darkest in the entire industry. Also might be the heaviest with 45kg of paint that the marque atomizes before applying it to the car, twice.

Naturally, there are 44,000 different shades – including two-tone paints – on offer.

Inside black wood veneers and technical fabrics offer a ‘Post Opulent’ allure while the Shooting Star headliner is still, well, the star of the show. Like the exterior, the colour combination of the seats is fully customisable.

The Black Badge Ghost launches Q1 2022 in Australia, pricing to be announced.  rolls-roycemotorcars.com