The Wraith is quite simply one of the most dramatic Rolls Royce you’ll ever see. At first glance, its instantly recognizable, with a long tall bonnet, proudly jutting out and proclaiming the road with the “Spirit of Ecstasy”. Rolls Royce Wraith Exteriors The Rolls Royce Wraith is quite simply one of the most dramatic Rolls Royce […]
Exteriors
The 2016 Rolls Royce Wraith is quite simply one of the most dramatic Rolls Royce you’ll ever see. At first glance, its instantly recognizable, with a long tall bonnet, proudly jutting out and proclaiming the road with the “Spirit of Ecstasy”. But as your eyes take in the rest, you’ll notice how the roofline quickly falls into the rear to give it a sense of energy, even when standing perfectly still. It’s easy to see it as relatively compact and sporty, until you realize its massive 17 feet of length!
Up front, its large grille is flanked by thin rectangular headlamps that carry an air of seriousness you won’t find on any other car. The grille helps the bonnet protrude upwards, portioning the 2 tone paint finish and giving the car its flamboyance. And if you’d like to choose you own color, Rolls will give you a choice of 44,000 surface paints!
Featuring the largest coach doors in Rolls Royce history, the drama is heightened as they are rear hinged and open to almost 90 degrees hinting at the beautiful woodgrain inside. The wood grain finish on the doors is the largest panel ever fitted on a car and requires careful attention from Rolls Royce craftsmen.
The car’s panels are brazed by hand with almost 6000 welds across the car and sanded to ensure that each part fits perfectly. The large 20 inch wheels, are proportioned according to the Rolls Royce DNA of 2:1, wheel to body height, giving them their imposing presence.
This is clearly the most intriguing Rolls Royce built by the blue blooded British car maker in the last decade.
Performance:
The wraith hosts the most powerful Rolls Royce engine ever built. A 6.6 liter twin turbo charged V12 engine produces 624 horsepower and propels you from 0-100 in just over 4 seconds, a formidable feat considering its roughly 2 ton weight. And it will do all of that with silky smooth ease, never once letting you think its not in control or at a loss of power.
The fact that it can reach these numbers is not as surprising as the fact that it can do so without the drama of, say, a Bentley Continental GT, which makes a much bigger deal of it. That, in essence, is what’s so remarkable about the Wraith, and is what defines the car.
While you won’t find a Sport mode or paddle shifters, what you do get is a “low” mode on the gear shifter, which effectively selects a lower gear, similar to what Sport modes would do. But even better, is that the 8 speed ZF Auto uses GPS to read the road ahead, and matches the gear for it. So say, you’re going to take an exit and then accelerate hard, it will hold the gear for you until you take the exit rather than upshifting like normal cars.
But then, there’s nothing normal about the Rolls Royce Wraith. It drives like a Rolls, effortless steering on your fingertips. Push it hard on the highway, and it responds will elegance and composure. Driving on inner city roads, you’ll feel much more body roll and a delayed response time, but then again, you’re driving a 2 ton car that is 17 feet in length!
Interiors:
Open the chrome door handles, sit and press the button on the side, and the door closes smoothly for you, welcoming you inside to a world full of rich materials and cabin comforts you would expect from a Rolls.
219 pieces of the most supple leather are hand stitched by craftsmen to resonate with the fast backs silhouette. You can choose your style of wood grain and the “Canadel” paneling named after Sir Henry Royces house in France, is book matched to mirror the grain throughout the cabin.
As you sit nice and low, you begin to appreciate the piano black of the front fascia, through a plush leather wrapped steering wheel. Attention to detail on cabin materials takes a new meaning, as everything you put your hands on, seems to have a purpose.
The chrome tips on the seats are an extra effort in reinforcing the coupes sporty ambitions and its these little traces that let us know that this, unlike the Ghost or Phantom, is a drivers car.
One of the most inspired interior fittings is the optional Starlight Headliner on the roof, fitted with 1340 fibre optic lights to recreate the night sky. As much as one would like the glass roof, this is one of the most tantalizing effects when driving this car at night.
Comfort:
The Rolls Royce Wraith has a generous cabin that allows front passengers a roomy, spacious experience, but it will also host to rear passengers in comfort and reasonable legroom. This car truly allows 4 people the space to enjoy their environment.
Individual climate controls, allow both front driver and passenger to operate their air con independently with 7 settings ranging from soft to max. The beautifully fitted analogue clock on the right is the classic expression of driving a Rolls and features an exquisite engraving of the cars logo.
The slightly old-fashioned front cluster, merges beautifully with a small screen to give you vital information on the car. The speedometer’s arrow straight orange tipped needles give an almost military precision to a classic design. The steering wheel is host to a range of function from cruise control, to volume all through rich chrome buttons.
The 10.3 inch high definition multimedia display, is revealed behind a discrete sliding wood panel to reveal rich graphics, especially on the navigation. The crystal cut glass of the rotary controller, is etched with the Spirit of Ecstasy, and allows easy navigation through all of the cars multimedia options.
The Rolls Royce Wraith features an eighteen-speaker Bespoke Audio System that produces a sound that is incredibly rich and deep. To ensure this cinematic experience, external microphones help it to automatically adjust the settings to compensate for exterior noise. Whether you choose ‘studio’ or ‘theatre’ sound, advanced technology actively eliminates loud and quiet spots within the car to produce the smoothest, most even sound imaginable.
The 2016 Rolls Royce Wraith is fitted with front and rear cameras as well as a 360 degree camera, a voice activated satellite navigation, the Rolls Royce iPhone Connect App, a heads up display and Bluetooth, but all of this technology is discrete and unobtrusive to the delight of many, if not all, Rolls Royce buyers.
Verdict:
The 2016 Rolls Royce Wraith is the torch bearer of a whole new era for the British car maker. You can call it their rebel, but what it really is, is the suave, refined gentleman’s coupe – brimming with firepower, outrageously luxurious and the envy of its competition.
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