Rolls Royce unveils the Wraith in Australia

We love cars, and the chance to sit in one worth well over half a million dollars was not one we were going to knock back. So we sent Chris Bowen along to check it out. Let’s be clear, he’s got more chance of getting a ride to the International Space Station than he is at driving this beast – but we didn’t let that stop us!

This week at Sydney’s Overseas Passenger Terminal alongside Sydney Harbour and opposite the iconic Sails of the Sydney Opera House – Rolls-Royce unveiled the highly anticipated Wraith. Priced from $645,000, it’s the stuff of pure fantasy.

The Wraith is basically the first short wheel based Rolls Royce. A contemporary two-door coupé with a fastback design and extraordinary power under the longest Rolls bonnet ever.

Wraith produces some dizzying numbers. Powered by a 465kW V12 engine married to 8-speed automatic transmission the 0-100 km/h sprint is achieved in 4.6 seconds. That’s lunacy for well over two tonnes of all sorts of exotic metals and wood.

Paul Harris, Regional Director, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars – Asia Pacific, said: “The most powerful Rolls-Royce motor car in history has been eagerly awaited by our Australian customers. We foresee it being a sought-after addition to the Rolls-Royce family in Australia, a market which has embraced two-door Rolls-Royce cars. Wraith stretches the boundaries for Rolls-Royce and will help steer our future.”

Rolls Royce doesn’t bother discussing normally impressive technology such as intelligent cruise control, or forward adaptive lighting. That’s so yesterday.

Satellite Aided Transmission is more 2013. The technology processes GPS data to predict the driver’s next move, automatically selecting the correct gear for the road ahead at motorway junctions and roundabouts. It’s like a forward scout, although just how much coverage and detail available for Australia is still unclear (EFTM is prepared to take a road trip to find out!).

The example presented to us was finished in Diamond Black lower and Jubilee Silver upper paint work. Personally I’d employ a 24 hour guard to ward off unwanted finger prints.

Traditional coach doors open to reveal a sumptuous interior complete with the softest leathers and expanses of wood called Canadel Panelling. I sat inside giggling myself silly for some reason, I mean seriously how good is life going if you actually can buy one of these.

We were told of agility improvements and the sensation of riding on a bed of air. They call it waftability.

Of course we will be the judge off all that.

How will it fair against the EFTM Rubber Stamp? Time won’t tell.

Anyway at least we have the pics.