Rolls Royce Wraith - Inspired by Fashion
Although based on the heavier, blockier Ghost (which is itself based on the BMW 7-Series), Rolls-Royce aimed to give its smaller coupé brethren a more dynamic appearance. This was done via the fastback profile, its long C-pillar swooping with a grand arch to the trunk. It’s wider by 28 mm than the Ghost, with more muscular rear haunches. And the grill is deeper-set — the blades recessed 44 mm, for a more jet-like appeal, referencing the brand’s vaunted aeronautics history. Rolls even tilted the Spirit of Ecstasy hood angel forward five degrees, to give her the forward motion of a track athlete. It was crucial to exterior designer Andreas Turner to preserve the dynamic spirit of car -- a theme that is echoed in the Wraith's highly evolved interior. This attention to detail is underscored best by its woodwork, exemplified in Rolls-Royce’s proprietary Canadel Panelling. The optional open-pore wood is fastidiously bookmatched on the center console, the movement of its grain funneling front to back. Matched by the world’s largest wood panels on the doors, this chevron pattern is all about motion, pointing the car’s feng shui back and down towards the road. In yet another nod to its history, Rolls dubbed this non-glossy, rough wood “Canadel” after the cove in southern France where Sir Henry Royce had a summer home. Similar open-pore woods have recently become de rigueur in the luxury segment -- adopted by everyone from Range Rover to Jeep’s top-of-the-line Summit Grand Cherokee -- in order to broadcast the trim as authentic wood, not some cheap veneer, thank you very much.
On the dashboard, the only option available with the gorgeous
Canadel wood is a glossy black piano trim -- you cannot get burled wood
here, nor straight wood grain. The total concept is to match the
exterior's feeling of dynamism with the interior, the feeling of motion
created in the fastback echoed in the movement of the wood’s grain.
Rolls wanted the aesthetic motion to run forward, into the noir. Into
the piano black. Which might make you wonder: Is the Wraith is an
instrument of good or evil? While you would jump to the
assumption that
this is a vehicle built for the forces of light, remember it is called
the Wraith after all -- an undead apparition renowned for its
nerve-tingling terror. It's not called the Rolls-Royce Cherub for a
reason.
Just to be clear, you can get burled wood on the dashboard -- but only with leather door panels that won't corrupt the circular, flushing dynamic theme of the wood. There's no straight horizontal grain on the dash either, because then the lines would just be running in circles. And Rolls-Royces don’t run in circles -- just in powerful, inexorable gallops forward.
The venerable British automaker is so set on not allowing the driver to feel a disturbance, or work too hard or even interact with his vehicle, that the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever built does not come with paddle shifters. It’s not even an option, no matter how much money the Sultan of Brunei throws their way. Which is precisely the unique paradox of the Wraith. By name, by reputation, by its very manifesto, Rolls’ mission is to spare the driver from as much intrusion as possible, to cushion him in sable-lined bubble wrap so he doesn’t feel a thing -- not the shifting of gears, not the disrespectful interruption of potholes and bumps, nor the rude physicality of braking. Nothing in the Rolls-Royce experience should require more effort than the brushing of your hand across an infant’s cheek. The entire practice should be inputless… which is the antithesis of “sporty,” and why Rolls will shirk that term and in its place offer “dynamic” -- a marketing speak two-step at best. But if Rolls-Royce is truly trying to build a driver-focused coupé, one that is as pleasurable to drive as it is to lounge in (atop heated and air-cooled supple leather seats, nonetheless), then why not give the driver the option to shift?
Because that simply is not the Rolls-Royce experience. Their executives would claim the Satellite Transmission, used in conjunction with the “Low” setting, mitigates the need for paddle shifters, even if more performance-oriented drivers might disagree.
Maybe those executives are right -- maybe the Wraith doesn’t need any shift control. But it also doesn’t need inch-thick lambswool floor mats, or an umbrella that pops out of the door in case of inclement weather. It doesn’t need a “Starlight Headliner” with 1,340 fiber-optic nodules attached to the roof to imitate the sensation of driving under a starry night -- even while underground. The Wraith doesn’t need many of the things that make a Rolls-Royce a Rolls-Royce. But is it a better car with them? Yes, of course it is.
The Wraith is a two-door sports coupe with 2+2 seating and suicide doors. Rolls arranged a fashion-themed photo shoot to promote it at the factory in Goodwood, England
The Wraith is a V-12, 642-horsepower coupe, controlled by an eight-speed automatic transmission
Seats
The Wraith comes with Rolls-Royce’s famous starry-night headliner, which
uses tiny LED lights to create what looks like the night sky along the
ceiling of the car. Seats feature massagers and heaters.
Wheel and dash
The interior is a stark arctic white and black onyx with
embroidered headrests, a jewelry pearl-designed clock on the dash, and a
two-tone steering wheel that Rolls’s seamstresses in Goodwood have
figured out how to make look seamless.
The Hood
The Spirit of Ecstasy on the hood of the Wraith illuminates with the
push of a button. The headlamps are auto-dimming and light-sensitive
xenon.
Features
The Wraith is fitted as standard with
leather upholstery, wood trim, a navigation system with a 10.2-inch
display, an 18-speaker AM/FM/CD stereo system, four-zone automatic
climate control, front and rear parking sensors, a proximity key,
automatic xenon headlights, heated front seats, Bluetooth connectivity,
power-closing doors, a power-operated trunk and 20-inch alloy wheels.
Options include adaptive cruise control, a head-up display, a side, rear
and top-view camera system, ventilated and massage front seats,
high-beam assistance, a lane departure warning system and a night vision
system.
Safety
Wraiths are fitted with front, front side and full-length side curtain
airbags in addition to traction and stability control systems. A lane
departure warning system is optional.
Practical Review
The Wraith echoes back to the classic pre-WWII Grand Tourers of ages
past, not the performance-oriented GTs of the modern age. It has more in
common with the iconic "Round Door" Rolls-Royce P1 than a Jaguar E-Type
or even Bentley Continental. It was built with long-range drives in
mind, the very raison d’être of a classic Grand Tourer, and it does so
with the grace, gravity and performance of a trimaran.Although based on the heavier, blockier Ghost (which is itself based on the BMW 7-Series), Rolls-Royce aimed to give its smaller coupé brethren a more dynamic appearance. This was done via the fastback profile, its long C-pillar swooping with a grand arch to the trunk. It’s wider by 28 mm than the Ghost, with more muscular rear haunches. And the grill is deeper-set — the blades recessed 44 mm, for a more jet-like appeal, referencing the brand’s vaunted aeronautics history. Rolls even tilted the Spirit of Ecstasy hood angel forward five degrees, to give her the forward motion of a track athlete. It was crucial to exterior designer Andreas Turner to preserve the dynamic spirit of car -- a theme that is echoed in the Wraith's highly evolved interior. This attention to detail is underscored best by its woodwork, exemplified in Rolls-Royce’s proprietary Canadel Panelling. The optional open-pore wood is fastidiously bookmatched on the center console, the movement of its grain funneling front to back. Matched by the world’s largest wood panels on the doors, this chevron pattern is all about motion, pointing the car’s feng shui back and down towards the road. In yet another nod to its history, Rolls dubbed this non-glossy, rough wood “Canadel” after the cove in southern France where Sir Henry Royce had a summer home. Similar open-pore woods have recently become de rigueur in the luxury segment -- adopted by everyone from Range Rover to Jeep’s top-of-the-line Summit Grand Cherokee -- in order to broadcast the trim as authentic wood, not some cheap veneer, thank you very much.
Just to be clear, you can get burled wood on the dashboard -- but only with leather door panels that won't corrupt the circular, flushing dynamic theme of the wood. There's no straight horizontal grain on the dash either, because then the lines would just be running in circles. And Rolls-Royces don’t run in circles -- just in powerful, inexorable gallops forward.
The venerable British automaker is so set on not allowing the driver to feel a disturbance, or work too hard or even interact with his vehicle, that the most powerful Rolls-Royce ever built does not come with paddle shifters. It’s not even an option, no matter how much money the Sultan of Brunei throws their way. Which is precisely the unique paradox of the Wraith. By name, by reputation, by its very manifesto, Rolls’ mission is to spare the driver from as much intrusion as possible, to cushion him in sable-lined bubble wrap so he doesn’t feel a thing -- not the shifting of gears, not the disrespectful interruption of potholes and bumps, nor the rude physicality of braking. Nothing in the Rolls-Royce experience should require more effort than the brushing of your hand across an infant’s cheek. The entire practice should be inputless… which is the antithesis of “sporty,” and why Rolls will shirk that term and in its place offer “dynamic” -- a marketing speak two-step at best. But if Rolls-Royce is truly trying to build a driver-focused coupé, one that is as pleasurable to drive as it is to lounge in (atop heated and air-cooled supple leather seats, nonetheless), then why not give the driver the option to shift?
Because that simply is not the Rolls-Royce experience. Their executives would claim the Satellite Transmission, used in conjunction with the “Low” setting, mitigates the need for paddle shifters, even if more performance-oriented drivers might disagree.
Maybe those executives are right -- maybe the Wraith doesn’t need any shift control. But it also doesn’t need inch-thick lambswool floor mats, or an umbrella that pops out of the door in case of inclement weather. It doesn’t need a “Starlight Headliner” with 1,340 fiber-optic nodules attached to the roof to imitate the sensation of driving under a starry night -- even while underground. The Wraith doesn’t need many of the things that make a Rolls-Royce a Rolls-Royce. But is it a better car with them? Yes, of course it is.
Rolls-Royce will make a limited number of the Wraith “Inspired by Fashion,” depending upon client interest. (Models not included.) Don’t expect to see hundreds of these on the road. Price- Rs5,50,00,000 (US$ 3,27,925.00)
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