8-bit Pixels and Cheeky Aliens
It’s not very common in Rolls-Royce land to commission bespoke builds based on video games, but the British brand has broken that tradition by introducing its latest Ghost Gamer. According to Rolls-Royce, the one-off special is built for a wealthy individual who is passionate about vintage arcade games.
Rolls Royce
On the exterior of this very Blue Rolls—Salamanca Blue, to be precise—sits the obligatory painted coachline, but also a hand-finished motif the company calls “Cheeky Alien.” The 8-bit aesthetic that defined late 70s and early 80s gaming continues on the inside through bespoke embroideries, with “Player 1” and “Player 2” on the front seats and “Player 3” and “Player 4” at the rear. Treadplates featuring “Insert Coin,” “Press Start,” “Level Up,” and “Loading…” are sprinkled in for added flavor.
Rolls Royce
The “Cheeky Alien” signature finds its way inside, as evidenced by the four different extraterrestrials embroidered onto each of the headrests. What’s more impressive is perhaps the attention to detail on some of the highlights. The pixelated player names are in a mix of white, red, and blue, which don’t make a lot of sense until you realise they are meant to resemble the flickering hues displayed on vintage arcade monitors.
“Silly” Ghost
It’s worth pointing out that this is a Ghost Black Badge underneath, and therefore features the “usual” 22-inch forged wheels and the illuminated Pantheon grille, albeit with the Black Badge treatment. The Starlight Headliner, a hallmark feature of every Rolls-Royce interior, now sports a “Pixel Blaster” aesthetic. In the words of the company itself, “A formation of 80 bitmapped battlecruisers spans the canopy, each crafted using hand-placed fibre-optic lights. The marque’s signature Shooting Star function has been reprogrammed to simulate laser fire, and beams of light pulse from the ships across the ceiling, adding nostalgic drama to the night sky.”
Rolls Royce
We appreciate traditional automakers going out of their way and experimenting with something different. A fun and playful design exercise? Yes. But calling it silly won’t be inappropriate either. It does invoke the child in you. More power to the owner for commissioning what is a genuine throwback to a bygone era.
