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Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Arrow marks end of V12 coupe era

Rolls-Royce is offering luxury car fans one last taste of the velvet hammer. In marking the end of the line for the Wraith coupe and its sumptuous V-12 engine, Rolls Royce announced an extremely limited model: the Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow edition. In keeping with it being the last V-12 coupe, Rolls-Royce is only making 12 of the cars — which are already subscribed to clients in other parts of the world, since Rolls delivered its last North American Wraith a little over a year ago. “As the last examples of this landmark motor car get ready to leave Goodwood, we commemorate WraithÂ’s status as the last series V12 coupe we will ever make,” Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos said in a statement. “This magnificent final V12 coupe Collection captures both the significance and spirit of Wraith through the marqueÂ’s hallmark and peerless Bespoke capabilities.” The Wraith debuted back in 2013 and was a big hit for Rolls-Royce fans looking for a modern interpretation of a Rolls-Royce coupe. The British automaker says it brought in a new, younger generation of buyers for the brand - with the coupe featured in popular movies and music. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. In keep with RollsÂ’ bespoke capabilities as Muller-Otvos mentioned, the Black Arrow edition will use special open-pore Black Wood veneer for its internal panels, including a rear “waterfall” panel that separates the rear seats. The seats, door details, and lower dashboard panel will be lined with special new “club leather” materials, that feature enhanced color contrast and more natural leather markings. Rolls says this is to give drivers a more “club-armchair type of driving seat.” Of course the most important feature of this special edition is its V-12 engine. Here the 12-cylinder thatÂ’s so smooth one can barely hear it displaces 6.6 liters and outputs 624 horsepower and 605 lb-ft of torque. Yahoo Finance reviewed the standard Dawn Black Badge (the WraithÂ’s convertible sibling) and it was a smooth, powerful, and rather unique driving experience. Now this amount of luxury and exclusivity does not come cheap. While pricing was not released for this special edition Black Arrow, the standard Wraith coupe starts around $350,000.

Lunaz electrifying classic cars with coachbuilt, millimeter precision

One day last year, as David Lorenz waited by the side of the road for repair help with his classic car, he had an idea: Why not update all of that ancient mechanical "character" with a modern electric drivetrain? That would give an owner the beauty of the past, the mechanicals of the present, and the powertrain of the future. Jaguar does it with the E-Type Zero, and Aston Martin's in the game with the reversible EV powertrain swap for the DB6 Volante. And so Lorenz founded the British engineering firm Lunaz Design, named after his daughter Luna and headquartered at the Silverstone Technology Park. The company's first products are almost ready for order, starting with a 1953 Jaguar XK120 and a 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V. Lunaz conversions aren't a matter of pulling an engine and installing a battery pack; Lunaz reengineers classics. Managing Director Jon Hilton oversees a team bringing experience from carmakers such as Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jaguar, McLaren, and Rolls-Royce, with Hilton's resume including six years with Cosworth Engineering followed by eight years in Formula One. To develop the Lunaz offerings, a chosen car is stripped to the metal and weighed so that engineers understand the weight distribution at each corner, then the car is stripped to the chassis and 3D-scanned. This yields information allowing designers to create a powertrain that fits to the millimeter and stays true to the handling dynamics of the original vehicle. During the rebuild, the company says, any imperfections are remedied "using traditional coachbuilding techniques." The Jaguar and the Rolls-Royce get battery packs in two locations, one under the hood and one under the trunk floor. Lunaz says it can fit more battery for its in-house design into each car that way. The Jaguar's 80-kWh battery feeds two electric motors sending 375 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels. The Phantom V uses a 120-kWh battery pack, but its output hasn't been released. While remaining true to the exterior and interior design of each car, Lunaz fits LED lights and modern tires, a modern suspension, better brakes with regenerative braking, power steering, an upgraded propshaft, and a fly-by-wire throttle. Safety and comfort additions include cruise control, traction control, and anti-lock brakes. Inside, the instrument cluster gets battery gauges, there's modern climate control, an infotainment screen with satellite navigation, and a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Rolls-Royce Ghost meets its muddy maker in Jakarta flood

When severe weather or a natural disaster strikes an area, it's hard to get sentimental over trivial possessions like cars, but at the same time, as auto enthusiasts, it always pains us to see a rare car lost regardless of the circumstances. Heavy rains in Jakarta, Indonesia have produced the worst flooding in the city since 2007, which according to Reuters has left an estimated 18,000 people displaced from their homes in addition to six deaths, leaving the roadways covered covered in feet of water.
One of the many cars claimed by the rising waters was this Rolls-Royce Ghost that is surrounded by water that almost fully covers the massive wheels. There is no word as to how much water got inside this Ghost, but it was obviously enough that it could be bailed out by the bucket.