2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith

Vehicle Overview

The new Rolls-Royce Wraith is essentially a two-door version of the Ghost sedan, making it an ultra-luxury fastback coupe. Despite being a massive “gentleman’s grand tourer” in Rolls-Royce’s words, the new Wraith is blisteringly fast. A twin-turbo 6.6-liter V-12 is under the hood, churning out 624 horsepower and enabling the car to streak to 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds. A “GPS-enhanced” eight-speed automatic transmission will reportedly read the car’s position, direction and speed, and then match it with the road ahead to preselect the appropriate gear. Rolls-Royce calls the technology Satellite Aided Transmission, and it debuts on the Wraith.

Exterior:
The Wraith is based on the Ghost sedan, and shares its proportions and many styling attributes. Unique is a fastback roof that features a dramatically sloped rear window, leading down to a full trunk opening. The long coupe doors are hinged at the rear, what most call “suicide” doors but Rolls-Royce refers to as “coach doors.”

Interior:
A hand-built interior features real wood veneers, hand-stitched leather and a fiber-optic starlight headliner. There is only room for four, but those four have significant room to stretch out. A full complement of electronic multimedia and information systems are available, including navigation.

Under the Hood:
Wraith features a 6.6-liter V-12 engine good for 624 horsepower, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission that receives input from the car’s GPS-enabled navigation system. It can detect where the car is heading, what kind of terrain and traffic it may face, and can automatically preselect a gear depending on that information.

Safety:
The car features Rolls-Royce’s Advanced Crash Management system, using sensors that can adjust seat belts and airbags to best protect occupants. Front, side curtain, side impact and knee bags are all standard. A head-up display is available, as is a night-vision system that can identify road hazards, pedestrians and animals with a yellow warning triangle via the head-up display.