Rolls-Royce Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow unveiled

Rolls-Royce has revealed the Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow as its last V12-powered coupe, ahead of its switch to pure electric power. The special-edition Wraith marks 10 years of the coupe’s production, which has been limited to just 12 units and is already sold out. Rolls-Royce refers to it as a “fitting finale” for the two door, four-seat coupe.

The Black Arrow follows the Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge, which was launched in 2016, with the traditional Rolls-Royce special edition conventions of providing drivers with uprated power, brakes and suspension, as well as a unique interior.

Finished almost entirely in black and silver, the Black Arrow draws inspiration from the famous seven tonne, eight-wheeled, dual V12-powered Thunderbolt of 1938, which broke the land speed record by hitting a top speed of 575.33kph.

The new Wraith also gets a glass-infused paint finish, and its bumper inserts, wheel pinstripes, V-struts, Spirit of Ecstasy and engravings are all finished in yellow, paying homage to the Thunderbolt. 

On the inside, it features open-pore wood door lining, which Rolls-Royce says represents the Bonneville Salt Flats, where the Thunderbolt set its record.

Meanwhile, the seats, armrests, transmission tunnel and lower dashboard are all finished in black ‘Club Leather’, while the steering wheel, seat tops and headrests are coloured yellow. 

The roof lining also has the highest number of LED lights ever used in a Rolls-Royce, with 2,117 fibre optic ‘stars’, arranged to depict the position of the stars in the Milky Way on the night of September 16, 1938 — the day of the record. 

Rolls-Royce has not revealed any technical information of the car nor a price tag. The Wraith Black Badge packs 632hp and 870Nm from its twin-turbocharged V12, so it is likely that the Black Arrow will offer similar performance figures. 

In October last year, Rolls-Royce revealed its first ever electric car — the Spectre. The two-door, four-seat electric coupe is positioned as a spiritual successor to the long discontinued Phantom Coupe. The Spectre is based on the same Architecture of Luxury space-frame platform that also underpins the Phantom flagship saloon. Final technical details are not out, but preliminary data suggests the Spectre’s electric powertrain makes 585hp and 900Nm, and has a WLTP-range of 520km. The new EV coupe is a start to the British brand’s commitment to go EV-only by 2030.