street art meets luxury as cyril kongo graffitis rolls royce black badge

inside cyril kongo-graffitied rolls-royce black badge cullinan

A Rolls-Royce motor car has never been a static object of luxury or curation of materials. From the psychedelic swirls of John Lennon’s Phantom V to the biomimetic structures of Iris van Herpen’s Syntopia and the tea-house-inspired tranquility of Kengo Kuma’s Dawn, a Roll-Royce has always been a bespoke, kinetic expression of its owner. The Black Badge editions, launched in 2016, accelerated this narrative by offering a darker, more uncompromising spirit for those who diverge from the expected. 10 years later, this evolution of art and automotive arrives at a new frontier for luxury, as graffiti artist Cyril Kongo tags five Rolls-Royce Black Badge Cullinan models. Each unique design combines street culture and pinnacle craftsmanship to immerse passengers into the rebellious spirit of the city as well as the creator’s psyche.

designboom joined  Cyril Kongo and Rolls-Royce for the world premiere in East London.

all images courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce and Cyril Kongo redefine understanding of canvas

The project redefines how the understanding of luxury is no longer defined by silence or minimalism, but by the expressiveness of the human and our hand. It also challenges the perception of graffiti as solely street art. By embedding the artist directly into the Bespoke Collective at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood for six months, the marque explored a new depth of co-creation on a daily basis. This immersive process rethought the relationship between brand and creator, allowing Kongo to treat the surfaces of the Black Badge Cullinan — from the fascia to the lambswool carpets — as a seamless, jazz-like composition that pulsates with life. He turned the car into the perfect canvas for Kongo’s ‘Kongoverse’, a place of fantasy, symbols, and imagined planets.

‘When I first saw Black Badge Cullinan, I felt compelled to create my own interpretation of the universe it belonged to – what I call ‘The Kongoverse.’ It is a place of fantasy, mathematical formulas, symbols, pyramids, atoms and imagined planets,‘ explains Cyril Kongo.

exploration of car’s exterior canvas

The exterior of each of the five commissions hints at the vibrant universe within through a first-of-its-kind Gradient Coachline. This feature transitions from Phoenix Red to Forge Yellow on one side, and Mandarin to Turchese on the other, incorporating Kongo’s distinctive tag. This play of light and color is echoed in the 23-inch alloy wheels, which hide four differently colored brake calipers. By revealing its secrets step by step, the design encourages curiosity and exploration, making the act of approaching the vehicle a discovery in itself.

step inside the kongoverse car

Inside, the artist asks occupants what if the roof was not a ceiling but a window into a quantum realm? The project redefines the marque’s iconic Starlight Headliner by treating it as a celestial map of the Kongo’s mind, featuring 1,344 hand-punched ‘stars’ alongside hand-painted equations and constellations. This experimentation with light and physics suggests a design direction where technology serves to amplify human wonder, creating an immersive environment that feels both deeply personal and infinitely vast.

Every interior surface is treated as part of a single, flowing narrative. The artist hand-painted the Bespoke woodset — stretching across the fascia, picnic tables, and the waterfall between the rear seats — using airbrushes to achieve intricate levels of detail. To ensure the durability of these artworks, Rolls-Royce artisans applied ten layers of lacquer, sanding and polishing each piece to a brilliant finish. This process transforms the car’s interior into a multisensory experience where the art grooves, maintaining a rhythmic connection between the driver and the space.

These five private commissions show that the future of luxury is not found in uniformity, but in the power of the unique. By legitimizing the graffiti tags as a hallmark of pinnacle craftsmanship — appearing on everything from the illuminated treadplates to the umbrellas concealed in the doors — Rolls-Royce and Cyril Kongo reinforce that the next frontier of luxurious design is one of daring optimism.