With its 624-horsepower V12 engine, the two-door Wraith is Rolls-Royce's fastest, most powerful car. But the point here isn't to go challenging Bentleys to drag races. The point of a Rolls-Royce is pure, luxurious pleasure. Pressing down the gas pedal and feeling this big car smoothly, quietly surge past everything else on the road is sheer bliss. Think of your favorite, most decadent dessert experienced in the form of an automobile -- rich and smooth, not too sweet but with a hint of darkness.
The Wraith's designers have also done a wonderful job of creating a car that, inside and out, captures Rolls-Royce's century of history while feeling thoroughly contemporary. The coupe seems staid without seeming stuck. Technology like a GPS-aided transmission -- it can preselect the right gear based on a computerized map of curves and hills ahead -- and a headliner that sparkles with fiber-optic "stars" are both right at home here.