The Rolls-Royce Wraith will be comparatively cheaper in Australia than any other market in the world when it arrives in local showrooms around September this year.
Rolls-Royce South and East Asia Pacific general manager Dan Balmer confirmed the all-new Wraith coupe would wear a circa-$645,000 price tag in Australia, positioning it on par with the four-door Ghost on which it’s based.
While the two-door variant will carry a price premium in other markets, Balmer said Australia’s love affair with luxury performance coupes encouraged the local division to sharpen the pencil on Wraith pricing.
“It’s what I call ‘made for Australia’ this car,” Balmer said. “It’s a two-door, driven car, and our customers just love to drive themselves here.
“It will expose us to new people here, no doubt about it.”
Early examples of the Wraith will miss out on the new model’s innovative satellite-aided transmission (SAT) technology, however, with Rolls-Royce confirming the system is not currently fully supported by Australia’s satellite network.
Using GPS mapping data to read the road ahead, the Wraith’s ZF eight-speed automatic applies SAT technology to ensure the optimum gear is pre-selected to suit the terrain ahead.
Rolls-Royce intends to work on a solution for Australia, but at this stage has not put a date on when SAT will be operational in locally delivered cars.
The Rolls-Royce Wraith is the third model line in the bespoke British manufacturer’s line-up, joining the Ghost and the flagship Phantom.
A 465kW/800Nm 6.6-litre V12 engine launches the Wraith from 0-100km/h in 4.6 seconds, making it the fastest and most powerful Rolls-Royce in the company’s 108-year history.
Available features in the new model include Phantom-grade leathers, Canadel wood panels, a Starlight headliner with 1340 fibre optic lights hand-woven into the roof liner, and Rolls-Royce’s ‘on-board valet’ voice-activated navigation and connectivity system.
While declining to speculate on sales projections, Balmer said the Wraith had the potential to become the marque’s top-selling model in Australia once becoming established in the market.
Rolls-Royce sold 22 vehicles in Australia last year, at a ratio of roughly six Ghosts to one Phantom.
