Rolls-Royce Wraith

The now-discontinued Rolls-Royce Wraith 6.6T V12 brought a more driver-focused shape and character to the modern Rolls-Royce range without abandoning four-seat comfort. Its public South African derivative identity is unusually well documented: the Citizen new-car guide dated 20 April 2016 lists Wraith 6.6T V12 with an eight-speed automatic, two doors, six airbags, ABS, stability control and a POA price. Local evidence places Wraith in South Africa by December 2013, and an AutoTrader South Africa article dated 10 June 2020 still compared buying a new Wraith with buying a used example. That later article gave an approximate new retail price of R8.5 million and quoted Rolls-Royce Johannesburg's four-year ownership package, service cover regardless of mileage and four-year unlimited-kilometre warranty. Rolls-Royce closed the global Wraith order book in March 2022, but that supplies an outer bound rather than proof that South African orders remained open until that date. The technical values here are tied to the May 2016 World specification, not the different 2013 launch sheet. That 2016 document records 5285 mm length, 1947 mm width, 1507 mm height and a 3112 mm wheelbase. The Wraith has two doors, four seats, a 470-litre luggage compartment and an 83-litre fuel tank. Front and rear headroom are 1002 mm and 941 mm; legroom is 1054 mm and 937 mm. The compatible DIN base kerb mass is 2360 kg and gross vehicle weight is 2810 kg, yielding a same-definition payload of 450 kg. The separate EU and approval mass conventions remain contextual rather than replacing the canonical kerb value. The 6592 cc twin-turbo V12 produces 465 kW at 5600 rpm and 800 Nm across 1500-5500 rpm. It is paired with the 8HP90 eight-speed automatic, a 2.813 final-drive ratio and Rolls-Royce Satellite Aided Transmission, which uses navigation information to anticipate suitable gear selection. Official performance is 250 km/h and 4.6 seconds from 0-100 km/h. The May 2016 EU5 claim is 14.3 l/100km combined with 327 g/km CO2. Standard wheel specification is staggered 20-inch, with 255/45 front and 285/40 rear tyres and ventilated 374 mm front and 370 mm rear brake discs. The official Wraith press kit gives buyers more than headline performance. It describes Phantom-grade leather, Canadel Panelling, four-occupant accommodation and the available Starlight Headliner. It also details Active Cruise Control, night vision with pedestrian and animal detection, automatic high beam, front, rear and top-view cameras, and an iBrake warning and brake-preconditioning system. Safety equipment in the press material includes front, side, head and curtain airbags plus knee protection. These features should still be verified against the actual commissioned car because Rolls-Royce equipment and Bespoke choices can vary, but they establish the period technology available to the derivative. Wraith is therefore not merely a shorter Phantom. It is its own fastback grand tourer with model-specific dimensions, powertrain calibration, chassis stance and cabin packaging.