As Rolls-Royce looks to an all-electric future, its final V12 coupe has been revealed – the Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow. Exclusivity is assured, with just 12 examples being built, each featuring a number of fresh cosmetic tweaks.
The decade-old Wraith has featured the same 614bhp 6.6-litre, twin-turbocharged V12 throughout its life with the Black Badge model available and offering an additional 70Nm of torque since 2016. As you’d expect, the Black Arrow special edition is based on the Black Badge model and on the engine cover there’s a yellow plaque inscribed with ‘Final Coupe Collection’ in black lettering.
The changes aren’t limited to this subtle nod under the bonnet, however. The exterior body colour is a mix of Celebration Silver to the front and Black Diamond at the rear. Rolls-Royce says the paint took 18 months of testing and development before they achieved the desired result and is one of the most complex finishes the firm has created. Contrasting the body colour are the bright yellow inserts on the front bumper (similar to those on the Wraith Landspeed Edition), wheels and struts behind the radiator. The Spirit of Ecstasy emblem also has a yellow ring to its base.
Rolls-Royce has given the interior some fresh colours and trim as well. The seats, steering wheel, dashboard and door cards all receive some bright yellow treatment with the seats themselves covered in a new ‘Club Leather’ which offers an even greater sheen to contrast the black interior. The dash also includes some unique artwork of the car’s V12 engine.
The Black Arrow pays tribute to Rolls-Royce’s past. Back in 1938, Captain George Eyston set a land speed record of 357.497mph with ‘Thunderbolt’ – a seven-tonne, eight-wheeled machine with two Rolls-Royce V12 engines (incidentally one of these engines came from Malcolm Campbell’s Blue Bird land speed record holder of 1933). The clock in the Black Arrow’s dash has 357.497mph noted underneath it and between the two rear headrests there’s an arrow with an infinity symbol above it.
Above the car’s occupants is a headliner depicting the Milky Way with 2,117 fibre-optic lights. Rolls-Royce says the layout is the same as the night sky over the Bonneville salt flats in Utah on 16 September 1938 – the date the Eyston set his record.
Rolls-Royce hasn’t revealed how much the Wraith Black Arrow costs, probably because it has already sold all 12 examples.
Now read our review of a prototype version of Rolls Royce’s all-electric Spectre…
