Legendary carmaker Rolls Royce chose the Geneva Auto Show as the platform to launch its most power and most dynamic model ever – the Wraith. In a chat with Promit Mukherjee of DNA, Torsten Muller, its chief executive officer, said the model has already generated enough eyeballs for the Indian roads with several bookings already in its kitty. Excerpts:
When will you launch the Wraith?
We plan to make the car available at the dealers by October this year and may be sell our first model by the beginning of December 2013.
How has been the response of the Indian customers to the Phantom and Ghost?
India has become a very important market for us and the response to our products has been very well. We are doing extremely well in India and it is a substantial contributor to the company’s profitability from the total Asia pie, after China.
How many Wraiths do you plan to sell in India and how many are you currently selling?
Rolls Royce is never driven by volumes, but yes profitability is what is important and we are very profitable currently, including India. Although I can’t disclose any targets for India, I am glad to say that we have already got some enquiries and bookings with down payments for Wraith from our Indian customers.
How will this new car be priced?
This will be a premium offering over Ghost and we are planning to keep it around 8% more in price than that. We have also strengthened our dealer network and hope the product will pick up just like our earlier offerings.
But will there be some specifications for the Indian customer according to the Indian market, may be to keep up in the emerging competition?
We will offer whatever the customer wants, it will be completely customised. Rolls Royce stands for being the world’s leading luxury brand and does not manufacture for mass luxury business. With Wraith, I am sure we will command the superlative and push the boundaries of boldest designs ever.
What is the Wraith all about?
This is the most dynamic and powerful Rolls Royce in its 109 years of history. It gives a power of 624 bhp engine derived from a twin-turbo; V12 engine and can go up to 0-62 miles per hour in 4.6 seconds. With an 8 speed auto transmission, it has 800 Nm of torque from 1500 rpm.
