Rolls-Royce has introduced another limited run luxury vehicle from the Wraith family – and it’s fittingly dubbed as the Wraith Kryptos Collection. But this is not your ordinary coupe from the British automaker, because unlike its previous iterations, each of the new Wraith under the Rolls-Royce’s new collection has a series of encoded messages that are hidden in plain sight.
The Goodwood-based automaker will only produce 50 units of the new Wraith, which incorporates a labyrinth of complex ciphers into its beguiling facade. The designer’s passion for cryptography led to the creation of the Wraith Kryptos, which is derived from the Ancient Greek that refers to something unseen, hidden and coded.
“As a designer, I’ve always been fascinated by the notion that you can communicate messages that are understood by only an elite few, using symbols, pictograms, and ciphers. Finding the key becomes integral to appreciating the full meaning of an item that can otherwise be viewed simply as a work of art,” Rolls-Royce Designer Katrin Lehmann said.
What makes the Wraith Kryptos more intriguing apart from the not so obvious reasons is that only two people in the entire world know how to decipher the code – the designer and the company’s chief executive. The answer to the Zodiac-esque code is safely placed inside the safe of the chief executive at the luxury vehicle maker’s home in Goodwood, West Sussex.
“The Wraith Kryptos Collection, on first glance, is a statement of dynamism. On closer examination, a series of messages are hidden behind a unique Rolls-Royce cipher. I look forward to seeing whether any of our clients will crack the code,” Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös said.
The hidden code begins on the Wraith Kryptos’s Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. The base of the enigmatic figurine which has graced the bonnet of the marque’s motor cars for over a century, has an engraving with green enamel detailing that introduces the Rolls-Royce cipher.
Underneath, recrafted bumper inserts draw the eye lower, subtly modifying both the gesture and posture of Wraith, giving this Collection an identity of its own.
Inside, stepping over the illuminated treadplates, the cipher evolves deep into the fabric of the motor car. One is immediately greeted by the accented Bespoke Kryptos Green leather hue, which has been developed to incorporate a metallic effect, set against either Selby Grey or Anthracite.
In perhaps the most apparent clue, elements of the cipher are embroidered into Wraith’s headrests, where the customary ‘double-R’ emblem can so often be found. For the driver’s enjoyment, an intriguing screen print flows across the metal fascia, spanning the width of the interior.
“The Wraith Kryptos Collection carries within it an encrypted cipher that evolves throughout the car for the clients’ pleasure and amusement, leading them on a journey of discovery and intrigue,” Rolls-Royce said in a statement.