News Source: topspeed.com

Although rarely associated with racing,  Rolls-Royce  has had a busy Goodwood Festival of Speed this year,  where it unveiled two one-off cars  and broke its own record up the hill  with a Wraith.  Now that the show is over, the Brits have returned to their habit of launching bespoke models based on their existing products. This time around it’s still a Wraith, but one that’s more than just an appearance update.

Meet the Wraith St. James Edition, the company’s most powerful vehicle yet.

Also crafted by the Bespoke division, which had already created at least three new Wraiths over the past eight months, the St. James Edition comes with all the bells and whistles we’ve come to expect from Bespoke. It has a striking exterior paint and a custom interior on top of everything that already makes the Wraith a breathtaking vehicle.

However, this particular car is a lot more special than I imagined. Not because it has bespoke badges or a color that’s not exactly common for a Rolls-Royce. Nope, this Wraith actually received a mild bump in horsepower; the first time that’s happened since Bespoke started building one-off models regularly a few years ago. But you’ll have to keep reading to find out more about that.

Much like any other Wraith customized by the folks at Bespoke, the St. James Edition is about a new color, new wheels, and a lot of chrome. But while the bright-red color is far from mind-blowing, it gives the Wraith a look, most likely because red-painted Rolls-Royces aren’t very common. It’s probably why I can’t decide if I like it or not. Sure, bright shades of red go well with fastbacks, but the Wraith is a bit too massive to be as sexy and sleek as, say, a red 2015 Mustang.

The good news is Rolls used plenty of chrome to highlight the paint job. The huge front grille, the door handles, the window frames, and the trim in the front bumper intake are there to remind us that this is indeed a Rolls-Royce and not just any old massive coupe screaming for attention. Rounding out the package is a set of two-tone wheels finished in silver and gloss-black. Fancy!

For some reason Rolls-Royce did not release photos of the coupe’s interior, except for a picture showing a chrome side sill and its "Hand Built in Goodwood, England" plaque. However, judging by the door panels, the entire cabin is likely dressed in black. Although I’m not a fan of black interiors, it’s an excellent choice considering the red exterior. Of course, a brighter, two-tone upholstery as seen in the 2015 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe Al-Adiyat Collection  would’ve been nice as well, but you can’t go wrong with black.

Even though there aren’t any official details to go by, I’m positive the St. James Edition comes with every surface covered in the softest leather highlighted by contrast stitching. The wood dashboard likely features the familiar Bespoke clock as well as a themed section as seen on other similar creations. Given this special edition bears the name of St. James, the patron saint of Spain and Portugal, I’m expecting this coupe to feature a few related motifs, though I wouldn’t bet on anything religious.

This is where the Wraith St. James Edition stands out in a pack of Wraiths, as the massive 6.6-liter V-12 under the hood was tweaked to generate 632 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. That’s eight extra horses over the standard model, which not only makes it the most powerful Wraith in production, but also Rolls-Royce’s most potent vehicle yet. Sure, some may argue that eight extra horses isn’t much, and I couldn’t agree more, but looking back on other Bespoke models, this is a big deal.

Though the added power won’t help the coupe  get to 60 mph any quicker than the standard car, it’s acceleration is still impressive at only 4.4 seconds. Bear in mind that this vehicle weighs nearly 5,400 pounds and it’s as quick as a 2016 BMW 435i ZHP Edition  and quicker than a 2015 Chevrolet SS  in a straight line. The Wraith’s top speed is equally impressive at 186 mph. The same ZF eight-speed automatic found in all Rolls-Royce models handles the shifting. There’s no word as to how many of these cars will be built and how much they will cost, but considering the regular Wraith is priced from about $300,000, the St. James Edition should fetch even more.