• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • First Look: Kia Pushes Boundaries with New EV9
  • Lucid Moves to Cut 1,300 Employees
  • Rebooted Meyers Manx Returns to Its Racing Roots, Sponsors NORRA 1000 Race
  • Spring Cleaning Includes Your Car
  • Fifty Million Apartment Dwellers Need a Way to Plug In
  • Tesla Back in Court on $137M Race Discrimination Suit
  • E-Fuels Provide a Lifeline for Ferrari and Porsche
  • Upstart Fain Sworn in as UAW President on Eve of Bargaining Convention
  • Week Ahead: UAW Gets a New Leader
  • The Rearview Mirror: Ford’s High-End Failure
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro S
    • A Week With: 2023 Infiniti QX80
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis GV80 Prestige 3.5 Turbo
    • First Drive: 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
    • First Drive: 2023 Dodge Hornet GT
    • First Drive: 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70
    • First Drive: 2023 Nissan Ariya e-4orce AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Jeep Compass Limited
    • A Week With: 2023 Cadillac Escalade V-Series
    • A Week With: 2023 Volvo XC40 AWD Ultimate
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > reviews > A Week With: 2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge

        A Week With: 2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge

        Smoked chrome and carbon fiber lowers "visual volume."

        Larry Printz
        Larry Printz , Assistant Managing Editor
        Feb. 04, 2021
        2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge front
        The 2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge features smoked chrome trim, reducing the “visual volume.”

        If you want proof that we live in some of the least imaginative times ever, consider that three-quarters of all U.S. light vehicle sales are something drably utilitarian, be it an SUV, minivan or pickup truck.

        In an era when the demand for traditional cars is shrinking faster than the ozone layer, the 2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge is indeed a rare jewel: a full-size grand-touring luxury coupe.

        It disavows the notion that form follows function, that modern design edict that has robbed so much of our product design of its exuberance, romance and sense of wonder. Here function follows form. No, it’s not sensible; that’s what economy cars and are for.

        After all, no one buys a Rolls-Royce to avoid walking, or because it makes sense. You buy it because of its stunning sense of self, its uniqueness as an object. It’s an indulgent automotive bauble for someone who knows how to reward themselves for a life well played.

        2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge side
        The Wraith’s length lends its lines a gracefulness missing in modern car design.

        Overview

        For 2021, the Wraith carries over unchanged, but given how few are sold each year, there’s little reason for year-to-year revisions. There is a plethora of design details that can be changed to fit your style, which explains the $125,900 in options, the biggest of which is for the $50,000 Black Badge Package.

        This version comes with an extra 37 pound-feet of torque, a sport-tuned exhaust, 21-inch carbon-alloy composite wheels, along with the requisite exterior black detailing, and dark chrome applied to the grill and the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. Inside, there’s carbon fiber where you’d normally see wood, a full-grain leather interior, ventilated front seats, and contrast stitching.

        Exterior

        The Black Badge’s smoked chrome trim did lower the Wraith’s visual volume, which was offset by its Adriatic Blue paint job. This is one huge two-door coupe, at nearly 208 inches long with a 122.5-inch wheelbase.

        2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge door
        The Wraith’s rear-hinged doors are a decidedly retro touch that only Rolls-Royce offers.

        But that length lends its lines a gracefulness missing in modern car design. Surfaces have sophisticated clean look that’s refreshing. Then again, its rear-hinged doors, a decidedly retro touch that only Rolls-Royce offers, distinguish it from every other car in the market, ensuring you’ll always make a memorable appearance when you arrive anywhere.

        Interior

        There are many remarkable things about the Wraith’s cabin, but it’s most memorable feature is the optional $17,500 Shooting Star Headliner, which uses LED lighting to mimic a starlit sky with shooting stars. It’s just one of the over-the-top interior bits that make the Wraith so desirable, like its incredibly plush lamb’s wool floormats, a $1,575 treat for your feet.

        “… No one buys a Rolls-Royce Wraith because you want to avoid walking, or because it makes sense. You buy it because of its stunning sense of self, its uniqueness as an object …”

        2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge rear seats
        The front and rear seats have a center console, and all four seating positions have their own automatic climate controls.

        Then there are the power door closers that shut the rear-hinged doors once you’ve inside, and a motorized door that hides the infotainment screen when the car shuts off. There’s even a “Power Reserve” gauge, a sort of inverse tachometer that shows how much engine power you have remaining. The interior is exquisitely finished, with every surface or component feeling of far better quality than in other cars. Both front and rear seats have a center console, and all four seating positions have their own automatic climate controls.

        Powertrain

        A car that makes this much of a statement needs an engine to match, and that would be a twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V-12 with an 8-speed automatic transmission that delivers 624 horsepower and 642 pound-feet of torque – 50 more than the standard Wraith to the rear wheels.

        Technology and Safety

        While you will get airbags, a bevy of parking cameras, and adaptive headlights, you’ll find that driver-assist systems like lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and a night-vision camera are optional, while others, such as blind spot assist or forward-collision mitigation, aren’t available.

        While the Wraith does come with a 10.3-inch infotainment screen, operated by a controller on the center console along with shortcut buttons. Yes, there’s Bluetooth, audio streaming, Wi-Fi connectivity, a navigation system 2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge specificationsand an 18-speaker audio system. It lacks Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but it does have a CD player, and a 20GB hard drive for storing music ripped from CDs or USB drives

        Driving Impressions

        When it comes time to drive, you’ll find the Wraith imparts a tranquility that makes for a relaxing ride. Its double wishbone front suspension and multilink rear suspension and self-levelling air springs with roll stabilization and variable damping control provide a ride that feels as if you’re floating above the fray. There is body lean during cornering, but it’s well controlled.

        Overall, the Wraith has faster steering and a stiffer suspension than the Ghost, with which it shares its underpinnings, but you’ll never mistake it for being sporty. And it’s an easy drive for its size, something not always true of larger cars. Engine power is as overindulgent as the car itself, delivered in an uninterrupted smooth stream of power. Braking is impressive given this car’s size and weight.

        Wrap Up

        A week spent with the Rolls-Royce Wraith is to experience a car that truly makes you feel as if you’ve entered another world. It imparts a special feeling that few cars do and is becoming increasingly unique in an industry that too often prioritizes sporty handling and cold-blooded functionalism at the expense of comfort, indulgence and uniqueness.

        2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge seats2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge rear2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge interior

         

         

         

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published
        2023 Infiniti QX80 front 3-4

        A Week With: 2023 Infiniti QX80

        March 24, 2023

        A Week With: 2023 Genesis GV80 Prestige 3.5 Turbo

        March 23, 2023
        2023 Genesis Electrified GV70 front 3-4 REL

        First Drive: 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70

        March 21, 2023

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        What Are You Looking For?

        See More
        Buying a Luxury Car? See our recommended reviews and guides.
        Buying a Luxury Car? See our recommended reviews and guides.
        Reviews and Resources When You Are Looking For a New Car
        Collection
        SUV Reviews and Guides
        Collection

        SUV Reviews and Guides
        Collection
        Car Reviews and Guides
        Collection

        Car Reviews and Guides
        Recommends
        The Best Car Insurance Companies in 2022 (with Costs)
        Recommends

        The Best Car Insurance Companies in 2022 (with Costs)
        Recommends
        Best Car Warranties – 2021 Comparison (Factory & Extended)
        Recommends

        Best Car Warranties – 2021 Comparison (Factory & Extended)
        Close
        Reviews and Resources When You Are Looking For a New Car
        Collection
        SUV Reviews and Guides
        Collection

        SUV Reviews and Guides
        Collection
        Car Reviews and Guides
        Collection

        Car Reviews and Guides
        Recommends
        The Best Car Insurance Companies in 2022 (with Costs)
        Recommends

        The Best Car Insurance Companies in 2022 (with Costs)
        Recommends
        Best Car Warranties – 2021 Comparison (Factory & Extended)
        Recommends

        Best Car Warranties – 2021 Comparison (Factory & Extended)
        Close
        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: