I will start with a bold statement: Modern Goodwood Rolls-Royces, regardless of model, are the finest cars ever created. The build quality is second to none, and even remarkable cars from earlier eras do not compare to a modern Rolls. The Pick of the Day is my single favorite modern Rolls-Royce, a 2016 Rolls-Royce Wraith listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in Boca Raton, Florida.
The Rolls-Royce Wraith was introduced at the 2013 Geneva Auto Show as the replacement for the Phantom Coupe. Unlike the latter, which shared its chassis with the four-door Phantom saloon, the Wraith featured the Ghost’s shorter chassis. This made the Wraith feel quite a bit more sporting than the Phantom Coupe. I personally prefer the proportions of the Wraith as well.
This specific example is said to be an exceptionally well-maintained example and looks to be in excellent overall condition, which should not be surprising as it has covered less than 16,000 total miles from new. It is painted in Silver over a Creme Light leather interior. All the panels look to be in perfect condition, as do the wheels. Factory equipment, aside of the fully handcrafted leather interior, includes fine wood veneers in Piano Black, power-adjustable heated front seats with memory, dual-zone automatic climate control, navigation and infotainment with Bluetooth connectivity, rear-view camera and parking sensors, lane departure sensors, keyless entry, soft-close doors, Starlight Headliner, adaptive air suspension, comprehensive electronic stability and braking systems, and a transmission that uses geolocation via the GPS system to predict shifting patterns based on the road and elevation changes. It also appears from the photos that this Wraith includes Rolls-Royce’ bespoke audio system, which is better than many audiophile home audio systems.
The Wraith, despite its size and 5,500-pound weight, is truly a gran turismo. Under the hood is a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V-12 engine featuring 624 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, which translates to a 4.3-second 0-60 sprint, an elapsed time of 12.6 seconds in the quarter-mile, and a 155 mph top speed. You probably won’t be racing for pinks with a Wraith, but the knowledge that you could (and could win) is quite satisfying.
What is especially amazing is that while you are doing this, the Wraith completely isolates you from any drama, redefining the idea of luxury performance. Even more surprising is just how capable it is on twisty roads. I once had a Wraith press car on a concours rally several years back and was on the rear bumpers of many “true” sports cars, much to their amazement and dismay.
When this car was new, it had a sticker price of somewhere north of $289,000 (and likely somewhere north of $300,000 for this one). Thanks to the gift of depreciation, you can buy this practically new 2016 Rolls-Royce Wraith for one half of that amount: $149,900. These are very special and rare cars — though total production of the Wraith is not published, consider that Rolls-Royce builds around 5,000 cars a year, with most being Ghost and Phantom models. You are not likely to see another one in your neighborhood, or at many car shows. In addition, they are getting to be more and more popular as future collector cars, so buying what is basically a brand-new example at a price this low seems to be a complete no-brainer to me.
Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com
