Wanna Wraith?

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Not to be outdone by the bull from Wolfsburg, BMW’s adopted super-luxury brand, Rolls Royce, offers its “most powerful and dynamic Rolls-Royce in history.” The Wraith, a car “with just a hint of the noir,” as Rolls says in an email.

The car looks a little bit like when a Plymouth Barracuda went to 4th base with a Phantom. It’s the Rolls version of a fastback muscle car. The V12 engine makes 624 bhp and propels the big bruiser from 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds.

In the gizmo department, the Wraith has a Satellite Aided Transmission (a.k.a., clever, clever SAT:) Via GPS mapping, “the correct gear is always pre-selected for the road terrain ahead.”

In Europe, the car will cost €245K ($320k) – downright approachable, compared to the Wolfsburg bull.




Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • CJinSD CJinSD on Mar 05, 2013

    Looks like something Boyd Coddington would have slapped his name on. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

  • Amca Amca on Mar 06, 2013

    Can't wait 'til they get one in the (window) of my local dealer. I must say I don't go for the two tone, nor for the stainless accents on the hood and windshield structure of the Phantom coupe and drophead. Too fussy. There's an all black Phantom drophead in my neighborhood. None of that fussy stainless. Marvelously thuggish looking - my first thought on seeing it is always of Darth Vader's helmet. If I won the Lotto and needed a Rolls, I think a navy blue one-tone over tobacco brown (or maybe more toward mahogany) Wraith coupe would be ideal. On the other hand, Bentley is said to be preparing a Mullsane coupe . . . .

    • Kyree Kyree on Mar 06, 2013

      Yes, they probably are, considering that the Mulsanne is the replacement for the Arnage, and the Arnage had coupe (Brooklands) and convertible (Azure) bodystyles, and all three of them--despite using antiquated technology--were far more classy than the Volkswagen-derived Continental line...

  • CoastieLenn No idea why, but nothing about a 4Runner excites me post-2004. To me, they're peak "try-hard", even above the Wrangler and Gladiator.
  • AZFelix A well earned anniversary.Can they also attend to the Mach-E?
  • Jalop1991 The intermediate shaft and right front driveshaft may not be fully engaged due to suspected improper assembly by the supplier. Over time, partial engagement can cause damage to the intermediate shaft splines. Damaged shaft splines may result in unintended vehicle movement while in Park if the parking brake is not engagedGee, my Chrysler van automatically engages the parking brake when we put it in Park. Do you mean to tell me that the idjits at Kia, and the idjit buyers, couldn't figure out wanting this in THEIR MOST EXPENSIVE VEHICLE????
  • Dukeisduke I've been waiting to see if they were going to do something special for the 60th Anniversary. I was four years old when the Mustang was introduced. I can remember that one of our neighbors bought a '65 coupe (they were all titled as '65 models, even the '64-1/2 cars), and it's the first one I can remember seeing. In the '90s I knew an older gentleman that owned a '64-1/2 model coupe with the 260 V8.
  • SCE to AUX "...the complete Mustang model lineup to peruse"Will the fake Mustang show up, too?
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