The Rolls-Royce Wraith Kryptos is the ultimate automotive Easter egg
It may be out-of-character for Rolls-Royce, but the limited-edition Wraith Kryptos sure shows that the 114-year old brand still has a sense of humour. And, more than a faint recollection of the legend of Alan Turing, the mathematician who cracked the German's Enigma code and turned the tide of WWII for Britain, as depicted in the film, The Imitation Game.
Each of the 50 units of the Wraith Kryptos grand tourer has a hidden message designed right into them, in the form of cryptographic ciphers. The answers to which are only available to the designer of the Kryptos, Katrinn Lehmann, and the Rolls-Royce CEO, Müller-Ötvös. No one really knows what the hidden message could be, with Rolls-Royce keeping everyone in the dark, including the would-be owners of the car.
Those owners can send in their guesses via the exclusive Rolls-Royce Whisper app, with clues to what the cipher message could be incorporated into the design of the car. The very mark of the marque, the Spirit of Ecstasy, introduces the cipher, with an engraving with fine green enamel detailing within. Further, ciphers are present in the detailing of the seat headrests, with the iconic Starlight headliner making way for a stream of data illustrated in the headliner. There's plenty of other touches from the Rolls-Royce Bespoke department, with exclusive upholstery, trim and detailing. It's a theme that continues outside the Wraith as well, with the Bespoke Delphic Grey colorway showing its blue and green flakes only under direct sunlight.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, had this to say, "The brilliant and creative minds of our Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective have excelled once again, creating an extraordinarily contemporary and compelling iteration of Wraith. 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!" Well, even if they don't, they can still revel in the effortless performance of the Wraith, with its 6.6-litre V12 pushing 600PS. Either way, we do wonder what it is that the Wraith Kryptos has hidden away.
