Rolls-Royce is known for its dramatically luxurious and powerful cars, but which particular Rolls-Royce is the fastest?
The fastest Rolls-Royce is the Wraith, but it doesn’t win the competition by a huge amount. The Wraith travels from 0-60 in around 4.5 seconds, closely followed by the Dawn and Ghost at around 4.8 seconds.
Read on to learn more about Rolls-Royce, the vehicles it offers, and why it’s considered the pinnacle of luxurious cars.
Rolling Down The Road
There’s no doubt about it; Rolls-Royce is one of the biggest names in the motor industry, and certainly one of the most luxurious. The original Rolls-Royce company was founded way back in 1904, and almost immediately set its sights on the production of powerful cars.
It was in Manchester in 1904 that the first car with a ‘Royce’ name was built, by Henry Royce, an electrician and engineer with a love for cars. Then, a short while later, Henry Royce just so happened to meet Charles Rolls, the owner of an old-timey car dealership.
Their professional relationship blossomed, and before long, Rolls had decided to take on and sell every vehicle that Royce could build for him. However, he wanted a big piece of the pie and requested that Royce included his name on the vehicles.
Therefore, Rolls-Royce was born, although it could have been named Royce-Rolls. When the duo got started, they were manufacturing and distributing four different models of Rolls-Royce, all boasting a considerably high price tag.
At the lowest end of the spectrum, one could purchase a ten-horsepower Rolls-Royce for around fifty thousand dollars (in today’s money). Alternatively, if you were feeling flush, you could opt for a thirty-horsepower vehicle that cost around one hundred thousand dollars.
It took almost no time at all for Rolls-Royce to expand, owing to the mass popularity of its expertly crafted vehicles. By 1921, the Manchester-born company had opened a plant in Springfield, Massachusetts, to help cope with overwhelming demand.
Around that time, America was the global king of car production, with many huge names cutting their teeth in the industry. Although Rolls-Royce would experience its fair share of adversity, it still remains a popular vehicle of choice for the elite in the United States.
This adversity fell upon Rolls-Royce’s shoulders throughout the 1960s, and by the start of the 1970s, Rolls-Royce was forced to liquidate. However, the spirit of Rolls-Royce remained strong and was revived several times across the next few decades.
Return To Form, Back To Luxury
By 2021, ‘Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited’ was a dominating force in the motoring industry, now sitting proudly under the BMW banner. This new company was formed in 1998 after the licenses to the brand name were handed to the German vehicle group, BMW.
Today, Rolls-Royce manufactures five vehicles, all of which are dramatically luxurious, expensive, and impressive. They also boast awe-inspiring names: Wraith, Phantom, Cullinan, Ghost, and Dawn – the latter vehicle is Rolls-Royce’s newest creation.
At the lowest end of the spectrum, you’ll be paying around three hundred thousand dollars for a Rolls-Royce, by opting for the Ghost. However, if you want something a little more substantial you can purchase the Phantom, and part ways with half a million dollars.
While the entire range is mostly identical from one vehicle to the next, the real standout model is the Cullinan. This is Rolls-Royce’s first real SUV, and it’s every bit the sumptuous and powerful vehicle you’d imagine it to be.
That’s a mid-range model, coming in at just over three hundred thousand dollars, and it’s positively bursting with luxurious fittings and fixings. For 2021, Rolls-Royce introduced the Dawn, a capable and remarkable convertible model.
Although, if you’re looking for the fastest Rolls-Royce, you’ll want to pick the Wraith, which boasts a 0-60 record of around 4.5 seconds. Although, Rolls-Royce formed an agreement with BMW to always limit the top speed of every vehicle it manufactures.
After all, a Rolls-Royce isn’t built for breakneck top speeds, but luxurious cruising. To that end, every Rolls-Royce produced is electronically limited to 155 miles-per-hour, regardless of its size, build, or level of specification and trim.
Let’s be honest – a Rolls-Royce is a dramatically enormous and staggeringly heavy car, and although it has a powerful engine, it isn’t built for the track. If you have that much money to spend and you want a super-fast vehicle, maybe you should opt for a Lamborghini.