Into the VISIODROM by crane:
Rolls-Royce presents new vehicle with spectacular action

The VISIODROM in the Gaskessel Wuppertal not only offers Europe’s largest 360-degree screen, but also set the stage for the new Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge last Friday. But how was the luxury car, which weighs around three tons, able to get inside the listed building undamaged? “It’s all really crazy,” commented Axel Kurz, one of the shareholders of VISIODROM GmbH, as the vehicle, which cost almost 500,000 euros, hovered 90 meters above the rooftops of the city. The company’s own crane from Heckinghausen was not up to the task, so a specialist company from Cologne was hired. But even their 185-tonne crane had to be extended by 25 meters. Crane operator Oliver Koch managed the seemingly impossible: he safely maneuvered the Ghost Black Badge through the opening in the roof of the gas boiler, which had previously been specially cleared for the operation. Only a few centimeters remained between the roof construction and the exterior mirror. The idea and concept for this spectacular technical implementation came from the two architects of the gas boiler, Daniel Mai and Marcello GroĂź. Without them and the courage of the client, the event would never have taken place.

European premiere of the Rolls-Royce Ghost

Spectacular show with live music

“What I saw here in Wuppertal left me speechless,” explained Andy Toy, Manager at Rolls-Royce and responsible for the presentation of the luxury cars. The Briton has already seen many elaborate presentations or planned them himself, such as recently in Miami, where the Ghost Black Badge was also presented to the public. The managing directors of Visiodrom, Thomas Drescher and Dirk Emde, were also fully convinced by the event: “This is exactly the kind of event we need in our city. If we have buildings and places that are unique in Europe, then we have to use them to our advantage and make Wuppertal bigger, not smaller.” Fittingly, the organizers did not let themselves get carried away and offered the 100 or so invited guests a spectacular show to welcome the British guest of honour to VISIODROM. Live music and a fog show ensured a brilliant performance when the Ghost Black Badge was finally driven up. The special model has since been collected from the VISIODROM by crane cab. We can look forward to the next events in and around the Gaskessel Wuppertal.