ROLLS-ROYCE TURNS CULLINAN INTO MOVING ART
Rolls-Royce has partnered with contemporary artist Cyril Kongo on five hand-painted Black Badge Cullinan commissions blending street art, luxury craftsmanship and collector culture.
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Luxury carmakers have long flirted with fashion and art, but Rolls-Royce’s latest collaboration pushes further into collector territory.
The British marque has unveiled five bespoke Black Badge Cullinan commissions created in collaboration with internationally recognised contemporary artist Cyril Kongo, whose graffiti-inspired works have appeared on everything from haute horology pieces to private aircraft.
The project, curated through Rolls-Royce Private Offices in New York, Seoul and Goodwood, transforms the luxury SUV into what the company describes as a “one-of-one collector’s piece”.
A hand-painted ‘Kongoverse’
Each vehicle features individually hand-painted interiors inspired by Kongo’s self-described “Kongoverse”, a visual world shaped by imagined planets, mathematical formulas, symbols and quantum physics references.
The artworks extend across the Starlight Headliner, fascia, centre console, picnic tables and rear waterfall section, with more than 70 paint colours used throughout the process.
One of the project’s standout details is the hand-painted Starlight Headliner, where Kongo worked alongside Rolls-Royce engineers to place all 1,344 illuminated stars individually.
The vehicles also introduce several firsts for the brand, including a gradient coachline with colour transitions and different coloured brake callipers behind each wheel.
Collector culture meets contemporary art
Born in Toulouse in 1969, Kongo first emerged from the Paris graffiti scene before becoming a sought-after name among luxury collectors and global brands.
Rolls-Royce said the collaboration reflects growing interest among high-net-worth collectors in contemporary and street art-inspired commissions.
The launch also forms part of the 10-year anniversary celebrations for the Black Badge family, Rolls-Royce’s darker and more performance-focused sub-brand introduced in 2016.
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Exotic-car buyers increasingly expect exclusivity to begin after the model allocation is secured. Lamborghini’s two Temerario Ad Personam cars make that idea explicit, using colour, materials and fine detailing to give the same electrified super-sports platform two distinct personalities.
Presented publicly at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the pair are not a conventional numbered special edition. They are demonstrations of Lamborghini’s Ad Personam program — effectively rolling portfolios showing how deeply an owner can shape a Temerario beyond the standard configurator.
That distinction matters in a segment where rarity is relative. A new Lamborghini remains scarce in ordinary traffic, but at major collector gatherings similar specifications can cluster quickly. Bespoke colour and material choices give an owner a more defensible form of individuality, particularly when the combination has a coherent narrative rather than simply collecting expensive options.
Lamborghini describes the two cars as contrasting interpretations of sportiness and Italian tailoring. The work extends across paint, exterior accents, upholstery and small cabin details, showing how texture and tone can alter the character of an aggressively shaped car without changing its fundamental form.
Beneath the tailoring is the Temerario’s High Performance Electrified Vehicle architecture. Its electrified powertrain marks a new chapter for Lamborghini, but personalisation helps preserve the emotional, object-like quality expected by clients. Technology may define how the car performs; Ad Personam defines how it belongs to one owner.
There is also a commercial logic. Bespoke programs deepen relationships between brands and collectors, increase transaction value and make delivery feel like the end of a creative process rather than a retail purchase. The client is encouraged to think as a patron and collaborator, even while working within the manufacturer’s engineering and homologation limits.
Restraint remains the real skill. A vast options palette can produce a spectacular car or an incoherent one. The strongest commissions repeat a small number of colours and materials, respect the body’s lines and use unusual details where they will reward close inspection.
As electrification makes the engineering beneath high-performance cars more complex and potentially more shared, manufacturers are placing greater value on the layer owners can see and touch. The Temerario Ad Personam pair argues that the future of the supercar will be measured not only by speed, but by how personally it can be made.
Fact box
– Model: Lamborghini Temerario
– Program: Ad Personam
– Display cars: Two contrasting bespoke configurations
– Public debut: 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed
– Powertrain category: High Performance Electrified Vehicle
– Purpose: Demonstrate bespoke exterior and interior personalisation
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