In 1936, Rolls-Royce introduced the motoring public to its Phantom III model — a world record-setting pre-war Rolls that also represented the marque’s first car to be fitted with a V12 engine. In the near century that’s followed, this dozen-cylinder engine architecture has become a key component to Rolls’ identity, however, as it prepares to shift to an all-electric lineup, the company is now giving its signature powertrain one final farewell with the Rolls-Royce Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow — the firm’s very last V12 coupe model.
This special edition release is based on Rolls’ existing Black Badge Wraith — the most powerful model ever released in the brand’s history — and is powered by its same 624-hp twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V12, though the mill has been capped off with a special yellow-accented polished engine cover that’s been machined from a single piece of billet. Riding on carbon fiber-rimmed wheels with bright yellow pinstripes, the exterior of the car wears an ultra-elaborate gray livery contrasted via yellow bumper inserts. Alongside sporting suicide-opening doors that are made from over 320 individual pieces and lined with ultra-complex open-pore Black Wood, the interior of the cabin has been trimmed in a new proprietary material called Club Leather that boasts an ultra-deep black hue and a high sheen. What’s more, the interior also features a myriad of yellow accents plus deconstructed V12 engine dash graphic inlays.
The car also pays homage to Captain George Eyston’s 1938 world land speed record in which he piloted a twin Rolls-Royce V12 R Series engine-powered “Thunderbolt” machine to a speed of 357.497mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. As such, the Black Arrow-spec luxury grand tourer features a 1930s-inspired clock with a fascia bezel that’s inscribed with the car’s 1938 record setting top speed figure, as well as a bespoke Starlight Headliner that incorporates 2,117 hand-arranged fibre-optic ‘stars’ — the greatest number ever seen in a Rolls-Royce — that show the sky’s constellations precisely as they appeared over Bonneville in 1938 when Eyston achieved his land speed record. This already elite automotive offering is made all the more exclusive by the fact that only 12 units of the Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow will be produced for the entire planet.
Though Rolls-Royce Motor Cars hasn’t revealed pricing for the Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow, all 12 units being produced are already spoken for.
