H Rolls-Royce ανακοίνωσε ότι στην έκθεση της Γενεύης τον Μάρτιο θα παρουσιάσει την Wraith Ghost Coupe, το δυνατότερο μοντέλο που θα έχει βγει ποτέ από το εργοστάσιο της Βρετανικής εταιρίας στο Goodwood.
Το αυτοκίνητο θα φορά τον twin-turbo V12 κινητήρα 6,6-λίτρων, ο οποίος θα αποδίδει 608 άλογα, με τα 0-100 χλμ/ώρα να τα κάνει σε 4.7 δευτερόλεπτα. Θα διαθέτει μεγαλύτερα φρένα, σφιχτότερη και χαμηλότερη κατά 10mm ανάρτηση.
To μεταξόνιο της Wraith Ghost Coupe θα είναι κατά 180 mm μικρότερο από τα 3.295 mm της Ghost ενώ το συνολικό μήκος της θα αγγίζει τα 5.200 mm. Θα ζυγίζει 2.300 κιλά και η Rolls-Royce θα δώσει τρεις teaser φωτογραφίες στις 12, 19 και 26 Φεβρουαρίου. Οι πωλήσεις της θα ξεκινήσουν από το φθινόπωρο με αρχική τιμή κοντά τις £205.000 (€260.000).
[Πηγή: Rolls Royce]
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MOST DYNAMIC AND POWERFUL ROLLS-ROYCE IN HISTORY SET FOR DEBUT AT GENEVA MOTOR SHOW
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today confirmed the launch of its next model, Rolls-Royce Wraith.
The car will be presented for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show on 5 March 2013, with first deliveries to customers expected in the fourth quarter of 2013. Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, confirmed the news at the company’s World Dealer Conference in London this morning.
“Rolls-Royce Wraith will draw superlatives when it is unveiled in Geneva,” he explained to representatives of the 100-strong global dealer network. “Expect the boldest design, the most dramatic performance and the most powerful Rolls-Royce that has ever played host to the famous Spirit of Ecstasy figurine. We will present a model whose starting point is luxury, refinement and exclusivity, traits that have made Rolls-Royce the world’s pinnacle luxury good for the last 108 years. This is a car not only defined by a timeless elegance, but one that encapsulates a sense of power, style and drama,” added Müller-Ötvös.
BMW Group board member and Rolls-Royce Chairman Harald Krüger, affirmed the company’s latest step in the drive for sustainable growth. “The BMW Group is confidently investing into the long-term future of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars,” he said. “And this exceptional new car will build on the finest principles of the company’s forefathers – the world’s best engineering, the employment of cutting edge technology and peerless craftsmanship.”
Wraith will be the most dynamic, powerful and beautiful Rolls-Royce in the company’s history. It is a breathtaking car that will set a new benchmark in the ultra-luxury segment and will reaffirm the position of Rolls-Royce at the absolute pinnacle of automotive luxury.
The launch will revive one of the most famous Rolls-Royce names first used in 1938. The ethereal name Wraith perfectly expresses the character of the new Rolls-Royce. “Wraith alludes to an almost imperceptible but powerful force, something rare, agile and potent, a spirit that will not be tethered to the earth. It is the perfect name for our new model.” added Müller-Ötvös.
When you encounter Wraith, your world stands still as it whispers by. It possesses an unmistakable presence but is difficult, if not impossible, to corral. It defies attempts to contain it.
Wraith draws inspiration from the story of the Honorable Charles Rolls, one of the company’s founding forefathers and a man who indulged a passion for innovation, engineering and, most importantly, adventure. Rolls was a passionate racing driver, balloonist and aviator winning the praise of King George V, who hailed him the ‘greatest hero of the day’ on becoming the first person to cross the English Channel and return non-stop in a flying machine.
Like Rolls, the new car embraces the very finest things in life – elegance, beauty, refinement and luxury – to be enjoyed by a new generation of confident gentlemen and women. It will boldly shape the future of Rolls-Royce, building on the success of Phantom and Ghost, bringing new customers to the marque.
In the weeks leading up to Geneva, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars will reveal additional information and a series of teaser images to be released at 00:01 GMT on the following dates:
- 12 February 2013
- 19 February 2013
- 26 February 2013
ROLLS-ROYCE WRAITH
In the decade since Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ re-emergence as the most revered name in motoring, the word Phantom has become synonymous with peerless luxury. Its launch in 2003 emphatically heralded the marque’s return to the very pinnacle of excellence, presenting a hand-made luxury good without equal to connoisseurs across the world.
Ghost followed in 2009. It revived one of the most celebrated names in motoring history, embodying the effortless dynamism that characterises the car, as well as the inherent beauty of its 20th Century namesake.
Choosing a name to reflect the newest Rolls-Royce model’s unique character was therefore vital. The task was to find something to suit a car that promised to draw superlatives; the boldest design and the most dynamic, powerful car in the marque’s 108 year history. Yet, a car with more than a hint of the noire.
The choice was clear. The newest addition to the Rolls-Royce family would be called Wraith.
Origins of the word
Derived from Scots dialect, wraith follows traditional Rolls-Royce nomenclature in drawing ethereal inspiration. However, it also hints at a profound sense of darkness, a name that alludes to something more menacing; a nimbler, caliginous foil to Ghost and Phantom’s stately presence.
Though the word ‘wraith’ can be broadly defined, it describes an almost imperceptible force, an otherworldly entity that imposes its presence before swiftly returning to the dark.
When Wraith is present, for that fleeting moment, the world stands still.
Fittingly, the word’s origins are something of a mystery. Scholars believe it first appeared in a Scottish 15th century translation of Virgil’s Aenid, whilst theories exist it has origins in the Gaelic word for ‘guardian angel’.
It was Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns who popularised the word in 1784 – using it in his brooding song ‘Ballad on the American War’:
An’ Chatham’s wraith, in heav’nly graith,
(Inspired Bardies saw, man)
Wi’ kindling eyes. Cry’d, ‘Willie, rise!
Would I hae fear’d them a’, man!’
Beyond this famous verse, there are precious few examples of its use in literature. Indeed, wraith received little attention until 1938 and the introduction of the first Rolls-Royce to bear the name.
1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith
Launched in 1938, Rolls-Royce Wraith featured a marriage of dynamic power delivery and hallmark Rolls-Royce luxury, an approach emphatically endorsed in Britain’s Autocar shortly after the car’s debut:
‘…it seems of little consequence what the precise maximum speed figure is when such astonishingly easy and completely effortless running is available at, say, 75 mph.”
2013 Rolls-Royce Wraith – the spirit of adventure
The Honourable Charles Stewart Rolls one of the company’s founding forefathers, embodies many of Rolls-Royce Wraith’s characteristics.
A man of extremes, he was born an aristocrat but eschewed the path his social standing suggested, choosing instead to indulge a passion for innovation, engineering and adventure. And racing.
His desire for adventure took him to the infamous Paris to Madrid town-to-town, an event in which many of his fellow drivers failed to return. But his attentions were soon to turn to even more daring pursuits.
From 1908, Charles Rolls divided his time between his burgeoning motor concern and winning the adulation of the British public through his new passion for endeavors in the air.
He won the praise of King George V who hailed him “the greatest hero of his day” when he became the first man to cross the English channel and to return non-stop in a flying machine. Sadly this drive would lead to his untimely demise aged just 32, testing the very limit of his Wright Flyer’s capabilities in high winds at an air show in 1910.
So much of the man’s debonair character can be seen in Rolls-Royce’s latest model: enigmatic, never still, and possessing a relentless appetite for adventure. But, like our founding forefather, Rolls-Royce Wraith is also a model that embraces the very finest things in life: luxury, elegance, refinement and the trappings of exclusivity.
Were he alive, this is the car Charles Rolls would choose to drive. And, like all those who work at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today, he would have been proud to call it Rolls-Royce Wraith.
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