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This is it. The end of the line. There will be no more Rolls-Royce V12 coupes after this one. We’re shedding a collective tear at the last of the V12s at Rolls, where they’ve been a hallmark of the brand since day one.

As Rolls Royce embarks on its new all-electric future, it drew the line a the 2024 Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow to mark the end of V12 production. Sure the new Spectre is nice, but it will never be a V12.

The Rolls Royce Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow takes inspiration from Thunderbolt

The Rolls Royce Wraith in black on the Bonneville Salt Flats
The Wraith will disappear with this special edition | Rolls-Royce

The electric Rolls-Royce is here, it’s called the Spectre. But, before that car can see the light of day, Rolls-Royce released the Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow to commemorate the last V12. The Wraith is a gigantic coupe with four seats and enough leather, chrome and wood to furnish a new Versailles. But, it takes a lot of its inspiration from the famous V-12-powered Thunderbolt. That car set a world land speed record of 357 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1938.

How much is a Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow?

The last V12 in a Rolls Royce Coupe
The last V12 in a Rolls-Royce Coupe

As they say, if you have to ask you can’t afford it. But, there we only be 12, so if your order isn’t in now, forget about it. But, most estimates put the car at somewhere north of $500,0000. A regular Wraith, if you can call any car like this regular, starts at $320,000.

What makes the Rolls-Royce Wraith so special?

The interior of the Rolls Royce Wraith in black and yellow
The Wraith Black Arrow interior in the last Rolls-Royce coupe with a V12 | Rolls-Royce

The Rolls-Royce Black Badge Wraith Black Arrow is significant in ways that go beyond the V12. The two-tone paint foes from Black Diamond to Celebration with a glass-infused crystal paint. It gives the car a subtle texture, on purpose, that’s polished for 12  hours to give it a glass-like sheen. The Black Arrow also gets a new set of painted yellow V-shaped struts in front of the engine and  Carbon-fiber Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament.

Inside, it gets special wood trim made from 320 multi-directional and lasered marquetry pieces to mimic the texture of the Bonneville Salt Flats. It’s an interesting inspiration for such a British company. But, the Thunderbolt is recreated in polished aluminum and placed behind glass on the front console. This feature will undoubtedly start some conversations.

This is the last V12 coupe

Side view of the 2023 Rolls Royce Spectre
The 2023 Rolls-Royce Spectre will replace the Wraith | Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce will likely make more V12 Ghost sedans, but this is the end of the line for a V12 two-door from Goodwood. We saw the Silver Dawn sunset in 2021. Rolls doesn’t like to list the power figures for its engines, but Car and Driver says the massive twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 48-valve V12 makes 624 horsepower. Though it can power the car to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, it only gets 13 mpg in town. That’s one of the major reasons we have to say goodbye to one of the great engines of the last century.

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Dan Mayfield

Dan joined MotorBiscuit in 2022 with over 20 years of experience in journalism and a lifelong passion for anything related to the automotive industry. He grew up wrenching a 1949 Ford pickup truck and an MGB with his dad, learning how not to wire a fuel pump (he inadvertently set the MGB on fire).

After earning a bachelor’s degree in photojournalism from the University of New Mexico, Dan has contributed his expertise to a range of local outlets, including the City of Albuquerque, US Eagle, and the Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity.

On weekends, Dan spends Saturdays enjoying “cars and coffee” chats and, on Sundays, he’s watching the Route 66 Cruise roll through town. He also races motorcycles, and it’s not unusual to find him elbows-deep in his latest cafe racer build.

Taking advantage of the local desert terrain, Dan also enjoys exploring and driving off-road in his trusty Ram Rebel pickup truck, which provides personal insights into his contributions to our Trucks, SUVs, & Crossovers coverage. Dan strives to give our readers unique information about the dynamic automotive market, reading anything that has to do with cars, trucks, bikes, 4X4s, and, in his words, “everything with a motor.”

Dan has earned a number of accolades from the Public Relations Society of America, and is a University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism Fellow.