Car Reviews

The Wraith – Rolls Royce’s Most Powerful Car

The Wraith is the most powerful car ever to be built by Rolls Royce, and is the closest thing to a sports car that the company has ever produced.

Its power comes from a big 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12, which produces 590lb ft and 624bhp. Rolls-Royce refuse to disclose any of their vehicles performance figures. Instead they traditionally describe a car’s performance as being “adequate”. That said, the Wraith is sufficiently powerful to propel itself from zero to 100 kph in just 4.4 seconds – which is similar to an Audi RS4 – despite a massive kerb weight of 2435kg.

Inside, beautiful wood paneling runs throughout and looks no different to that you’d find in a superyacht. The car’s other instruments further conform to a nautical style. In addition to lots of wood, there’s lots of leathers, and the leathers used in a Rolls-Royce are reputed as being the softest that money can buy – and they are.

The lambswool carpet mats are the most pleasing on the feet as is possible to be. If you ever get into any Rolls Royce, take off your shoes and feel this for yourself.

The rear-hinged ‘coach’ doors feel surprisingly light as you swing them open, and can be closed by the press of a button.

But, don’t be misled by this car’s traditional and luxurious style; all the best and latest technology is used, and often either hidden or ‘enhanced’. For example, a 10.3in high-definition multimedia display is hidden behind a sliding wood panel, and the iDrive-style rotary controller is enhanced by being made from crystal cut glass and decorated with a tribute to the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot.

The voice control system can be used to control the navigation, telephone and audio systems. Seldom do you need to repeat a command.

All luxury cars built today are to some degree works of art, focusing on form as much as function. The more expensive they are, the more this is the case. Therefore, you shouldn’t be surprised to know that Rolls Royce’s are the motoring equivalent of driving an exclusive art gallery.

Having this car for a few hours to drive around Bahrain was an amazing experience. Its power is awesome and yet so very smooth. Its ride is amazingly comfortable. The particular colour for this Wraith was haunting. It was supposedly some shade of blue, but in the light appeared often to be blends of either purple or mauve. Driving the Wraith certainly got me noticed, and when I visited a hotel the valets acted around me as if I were royalty.

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