KOCHI: Venu Gopalakrishnan, managing director of Litmus7 Systems Consulting Pvt Ltd, has become the first Indian to acquire the Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II Black Badge—a “vehicle positioned as the most agile and technically advanced in the brand’s history”.
The car, which carries an on-road price tag of approximately Rs 16 crore, was purchased through the Chennai-based dealer KUN Exclusive.
The Ghost Series II Black Badge, launched in India earlier this year, features a 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine with enhanced power and torque.
It also includes all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, and Rolls-Royce’s Black Badge Planar suspension system. The interior is finished with hand-woven carbon fibre panels and a black-chrome clock cabinet — a design seemingly aimed at those for whom luxury must be visibly assertive.
This isn’t Gopalakrishnan’s first high-profile automotive acquisition. Earlier in the year, he made headlines for placing a record Rs 46 lakh bid on a VIP registration number—KL 07 DG 0007—for his Lamborghini Urus Performante. The bid set the benchmark for the most expensive number plate in the country.
While such purchases speak to personal success in the startup space, they also raise questions about the growing culture of conspicuous consumption in a country still grappling with stark economic divides.