Adieu V12: Rolls Royce to put the engine to rest with Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow

Stricter emissions norms have made it difficult for large capacity internal combustion engines (ICE) to survive. In recent years, we have bid goodbye to several V12s, V10s and V8s from multiple luxury and performance carmakers. The latest to be added on this list is the V12 from Rolls Royce.

This motor will witness its grand swansong with the limited edition Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow unveiled recently. Limited to only 12 units, all units of the ultra-luxury coupe sedan are already spoken for. It is being termed as a “fitting finale” to the two door, four-seat coupe.

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The Black Arrow edition follows the British marque’s special edition protocol where it is boosted with power, offered premium brakes and suspension, as well as a unique interior over the standard Wraith Black Badge which was launched in 2013. However, Rolls Royce hasn’t officially revealed prices for this special edition model.

A gradient paint cover

The new Black Badge draws inspiration from the seven tonne, eight-wheeled Thunderbolt which broke the record for clocking the fastest speed on land in 1938. The dual V12-powered behemoth clocked a top speed of 575.33 kmph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Commemorating the same, the coupe wears a dual-tone colour scheme featuring Celebration Silver and Black Diamond.

More significantly, the Wraith Black Arrow is wrapped in a Gradient paint that changes from silver to a metallic black, depending on the angle from which the car is seen. A glass-infused Crystal paint over layer has been applied to the Black Diamond paint to enhance the transition between the two colours, achieving a striking motion blur effect from front to rear.

Besides the intricate paintwork, the exterior is sprayed with yellow highlights in places like bumper inserts, wheel pinstripes, V-struts, Spirit of Ecstasy and engravings, thus paying homage to the original Thunderbolt.

Club leather interiors

Inside the cabin, the Black Arrow is bestowed with a new material type developed specifically for this model. The armrests, seat gussets, transmission tunnel, door detail, door panniers and lower dashboard panel are all finished in Club Leather. Also, the roof lining gets the highest number of LED lights ever used in a Rolls-Royce, with 2,117 fibre optic stars, that have been arranged to mimic the Milky Way galaxy.

Generous use of Bright Yellow inside the cabin provides a nice contrast to the all-dark theme. Atop the seat, the outer headrest features an embroidered arrow motif that harks back to the arrow symbol painted on Thunderbolt’s aluminium body. Further, the dashboard portrays bespoke work of art featuring the V12 engine, engraved on a single sheet of black-coated aluminium.

Adieu, V12

Powering the Black Badge Wraith is a 6.6-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine that dishes out a gigantic 625 bhp and 870 Nm of peak torque. This motor has been codenamed N74B66 (N=New Gen, 7=V12, 4=Turbocharged with variable valve-timing, B=Benzine/Petrol, 66=6600cc).

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Further, to lend exclusivity, a bespoke plaque is mounted on the engine cover to signify this as the last V12 ever to be fitted to a Rolls-Royce coupé. Rolls Royce aims to turn into a fully electric brand by the end of this decade and its first attempt at an electric car is named Spectre. Slated to make its global debut later this year, the all-electric saloon is currently undergoing rigorous testing.

(Images courtesy: Rolls Royce)