The New Rolls Royce Wraith Is Here

This is a two-door version of the Ghost, Rolls-Royce's most "accessible" model, assuming you have access to a bank account with more than 250 large in it. Intended to be a driver's car, the Wraith is powered by a twin-turbocharged V-12. With a swoopy, low (for a Roller) roofline and a sportier design, it aims to broaden the marque's appeal to a younger audience. Meaning those under 80.

A Rolls-Royce can certainly be more dynamic than in the past," Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös told us last year, and this car tries to prove it. There are only so many ways Rolls-Royce can push the envelope without risking its status at the absolute top of  the pyramid. There will be no SUV, and no car below the Ghost. But the Wraith is a logical and relatively easy expansion of the range.

Like the Ghost sedan, the Wraith rides on a heavily modified version of the BMW 7-series chassis. The car  power comes from a twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V-12, closely related to the 6.0-liter V-12 found in the BMW 760i and will be sold sometime in 2014, for around $300,000. On the Market, this an interesting competition for the Bentley Continental GT, the Mercedes-Benz CL600, a gently used Cirrus SR22 airplane, and other of that same class.