Most powerful Rolls-Royce yet teased for Geneva debut

Rolls-Royce, a brand known for its excessively luxurious vehicles, is on the cusp of unveiling a third nameplate to its stable of of vehicles. It's called the Wraith, and according to Rolls, it will be the "most dynamic and powerful Rolls-Royce in history."

The Wraith will be the seventh model in the automaker's current lineup, if you count the drophead, coupe, and extended-wheelbase variants of the Phantom and Ghost as separate models. The newest Rolls appears to be a two-door coupe (no trademark, rear-hinged coach doors here) with a fastback-style roofline that flows from the base of the A-pillar all the way to the end of the rear decklid. Such a roofline lays the rear glass nearly parallel to the ground, so the Wraith likely features liftback access to the rear storage in a manner similar to the Audi A7.

We're not expecting too many surprises in the engine bay. Like the Ghost, the Wraith will likely end up using a modified version of the BMW 7-series platform and some version of the automaker's direct-injected 6.6-liter, twin-turbo V-12 engine. However, the Wraith will have to best the Ghost's 563 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque to earn that "most powerful Rolls-Royce" title. Just how much more powerful it will be remains a mystery. A bit of mass savings over the Ghost's 5,203 pound curb weight would also be nice, but again, we'll just have to wait and see.

The two-door design and emphasis on this being the most powerful Rolls yet seems to indicate that the automaker is looking to create a car for drivers, rather than those who would be driven. We're looking forward the the debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show on March 5.