Rolls-Royce Wraith hits Australia

A reinvigorated Rolls-Royce marks its 10th year under BMW ownership with the release of the Wraith coupe – the most powerful car ever to wear the Spirit of Ecstasy.

Despite that mantle, it’s not the costliest. A drive-away price of $645,000 means it’s $36,000 pricier than the base Ghost but puts it just shy of the $655K long-wheelbase Ghost, $164K below the entry price for the flagship Phantom and well beneath the next two-door in the Rolls line-up, the Phantom coupe ($942K).

While the Wraith sits on the Ghost platform, Rolls-Royce execs stress it’s a very different machine in every way. It’s marginally smaller in every dimension, most noticeably in being 130mm shorter overall and 183mm in the wheelbase.

If the latter exacts its interior cost in rear legroom, it’s still pretty accommodating back there. The Wraith is designed as a no-compromise four-seat grand tourer. The boot holds a reasonably generous 470 litres, but big wheel-wells leave it wanting for width over the axle.

The 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12 has been tweaked to boost power to 465kW from the sedan’s 420kW. Peak torque of 800Nm (up 20Nm on the Ghost) is available from just 1500 all the way up to 5500rpm. The net result is a silent but deadly 0-100km/h time of 4.6 seconds -- three points quicker than the Ghost.

Official combined-cycle fuel economy for the 2360kg Wraith is 14.0L/100km, with CO2 emissions of 327g/km.

The Wraith expresses its sporting priorities in being 50mm lower than the sedan, but 24mm broader across the rear track. The air suspension has been tweaked to benefit high-speed cornering, but Rolls insists it does not affect the marque’s signature “magic carpet ride” and “waftability”.

Under the skin is the matrix of high technology one might expect of BMW’s super-luxe brand-in-residence. In launching the new model, the company doesn’t bother mentioning the panoply of gear plucked from the EfficientDynamics suite – things like regenerative braking and on-demand ancillaries are a given.

“Simply, we already have the cleanest engines in the super-luxury segment,” Asia Pacific General Manager Dan Balmer told motoring.com.au.

Putting aside the 18-speaker, 1300-Watt bespoke audio package, the technological highlight of the Wraith is its satellite-aided transmission (SAT), which connects the eight-speed ZF auto up to the car’s GPS system. This effectively allows the transmission to see ahead, readying itself for junctions, roundabouts, gradients and changes in terrain to map out gear changes in advance.

Past these lies a plethora of luxury and convenience measures. A one-touch button on the steering wheel calls gives direct voice-command access to navigation, phone, email, text messaging and a host of vehicle settings, which then come up on the 10.25-inch centre screen.

The navigation system accepts destination inputs by voice and via the Rolls-Royce Connect smartphone app – the latter even remotely.
Rather than using a touch-screen, Rolls has augmented the i-Drive based Spirit of Ecstasy rotary controller with a touchpad allowing users to pull-and-pinch images in the manner of a smartphone screen, and input characters by writing with a finger.

While Rolls doesn’t subject its vehicles to NCAP crash testing, safety kit is in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class league. Along with driver aids like a head-up display, adaptive cruise and infrared night vision, primary safety systems include emergency brake priming and audiovisual warnings.

The marque’s Advanced Crash Management System (ACSM) makes comprehensive use of a raft of sensors to keep the car’s safety systems abreast of changes in driving conditions at the rate of 2000 readings a second.

In addition to the usual front, side and curtain airbags, the driver and front passenger both get kneebags. Manoeuvrability is aided by a 360-degree top-view camera package.

Company execs are taciturn on the matter of sales numbers and projections (they’ve sold half a dozen to date this year in Australia).

But Asia Pacific regional director Paul Harris told media at the launch that the company’s research is cause for confidence the Wraith may outsell the Ghost in the coming couple of years.

“Especially with economic recovery in the United States, with its taste for two-doors,” he said.

Like other Rolls-Royces, the Wraith has a long and costly list of standard list options, with an even longer and costlier bespoke service, giving buyers the chance to personalise their cars down to the tiniest detail – as long as they’re prepared first to pay, and then to wait.

Like every new Rolls, the Wraith comes with a four-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. The price includes all service and maintenance (except glasswork and tyres) for the duration of the warranty regardless of mileage, plus 24/7 roadside assistance.

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