Rolls Royce Wraith 'Eagle VIII' Collection
To be revealed at Villa d'Este, limited to 50 and celebrating 100 years of transatlantic flight - Rolls doing what Rolls does best
As achievements worth marking with a special edition Rolls-Royce go, a century of transatlantic flight sounds worthier than most. In June 1919, Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Brown flew from St John's in Newfoundland to Clifden in Ireland, a non-stop, unaided journey of almost 2,000 miles. Their plane was a Vickers Vimy bomber, modified from its WWI use. Their engines? A pair of 20.3-litre, 350hp, Rolls-Royce Eagle VIIIs. But of course.
Hence this Eagle VIII Wraith, a tribute to a treacherous journey with Rolls-Royce as a key component. This new car's appearance is described as "evocative of Alcock and Brown's compelling night time adventure" - the instruments failed almost immediately, Brown navigating them by the stars eventually - and painted Gunmetal with a Selby Grey upper two-tone. The grille vanes are there to link back to the engine cowling on the Vimy, while a brass feature line is "a hint at the detailing that lies within."
What lies within, in fact, are a host of bronze accents, with speaker covers, headrest monograms and plaques "redolent of the brass sextant so integral to the success of the transatlantic journey." And that's just the start. The fascia uses Smoked Eucalyptus wood "vacuum metalized in gold before being inlaid with silver and copper, to depict the rich details seen in the night time images of the Earth from above"; the clock glows a faint green at night, to mimic the illumination provided to Alcock and Brown by the plane control panel; and the famed Rolls Royce starlight headliner has its 1,183 starlight fibres arranged to show the celestial arrangement at the time of the flight in 1919. You want attention to detail? You got it...
Torsten-Muller Otvos describes the Wraith Eagle VIII as "at once an object of desire; an homage to heroes and a protagonist to today's visionaries." A creation of the Bespoke Collective at the House of Rolls-Royce, 50 of these Wraiths will be made for "discerning collectors". Form your orderly queue at Goodwood now...
I always find it amusing that we refer to the manufacturer as "Rolls" when in fact Charles Rolls was the marketing man and Henry Royce the engineer.
But then Karl Benz was the engineer and Mercedes was the daughter of Emil Jellinek, an Austrian entrepreneur who promoted Daimler automobiles, yet we refer to the brand as "Mercedes". Go figure.
S'what stopped me buying that Mclaren F1 too, Geoff.
A centenary of transatlantic flight, definitely worth celebrating, and the ideas team have done very well to come up with some original ideas, whilst utilising the very best skills developed by Rolls Royce's bespoke team. I personally think the roof lining, and the dashboard, as naff as the concept might be, look brilliant. Would I want to drive it every day, erm, no. Would I want to take my wife out for dinner in it, hmm, no.
As the press release says "one for the collectors".
Makes Aston Martin's Red Arrows Vanquish look more than a little gaudy. Although the two of these does make the beginnings of an automotive equivalent of a Franklin Mint collection. Your move Bentley...
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