Rolls-Royce Wraith Eagle VIII celebrates Alcock & Brown’s first Transatlantic flight

The Rolls Royce Wraith gets another special edition model with the arrival of the Wraith Eagle VIII, celebrating 100 years since the first non-stop transatlantic flight.

Car makers love a ‘Special Edition’ model as a way to get punters to part with their cash, and even the most premium of car makers – like Rolls-Royce – isn’t immune from the temptation of the ‘Special Edition’.

In fact, we do wonder if Rolls-Royce actually sells more of their special edition models than anything else, because the Wraith seems to get a new ‘Special Edition’ on a very regular basis.

In the last few years we’ve had the Rolls-Royce Wraith Luminary Collection, the Wraith British Music Legends, the Wraith Black Badge and the Wraith History of Rugby. And now we get the new Rolls-Royce Wraith Eagle VIII.

The Wraith Eagle VIII will debut at this weekend’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este at Lake Como, and celebrates 100 years since Alcock and Brown made the firts non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919, with the name coming from the twin 20.3-litre Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engines in Alcock and Brown’s modified Vickers Bomber.

The paint job for the Eagle VIII is Gunmetal and Selby Grey two-tone – with a brass feature line splitting the colours – and black grille vanes.

The seats are finished in Selby Grey and Black leather with brass accents – including on the speaker covers – and a brass plaque declaring the significance of the flight by Alcock and Brown.

There’s also smoked Eucalyptus wood, a clock that glows green at night, and a Starlight headliner with 1183 fibres showing the celestial sky when Alcock and Brown made their flight.

The Rolls-Royce Wraith Eagle VIII is a run of 50 cars.