It was only a matter of time, but Rolls-Royce has announced it will end Wraith and Dawn production. This isn’t much of a surprise. Rolls pulled the Dawn and Wraith from its US lineup in April 2021. Now, the company has confirmed with Autocar that production for both models will end in 2023, with the company having no plans to produce direct replacements.
The news came from company CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös who also told the publication that Rolls has already closed the order books for the two models. The final Wraith and Dawn will likely roll off the Rolls assembly line in early 2023, well before the all-electric Spectre arrives later that year. Müller-Ötvös also added that the Spectre would fill the Wraith’s role in Rolls’ lineup.
Gallery: 2020 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge: Feature
This is the brand’s first step toward becoming an all-electric brand which it wants to do before the end of the decade. Details about the model are still a closely guarded secret at the company, but rumors point to it sharing parts with the BMW iX M60. The all-electric crossover offers as much as 610 horsepower (449 kilowatts) and 811 pound-feet (1,100 Newton-meters) of torque in Sport mode, which would be nice to see in the Rolls.
The Rolls and Wraith left the US at the end of the 2021 model year, likely due to increasingly stringent regulations paired with the cars’ aging platform. The two share their bones with the BMW 7 Series that debuted in 2008. It was time for their retirement, but Rolls is charting a new path with electrification, and the new Spectre added to its lineup, leaving no direct replacements.
It’s unclear what the future holds for Rolls other than its plan to go all-electric by 2030. The company has a new platform, Architecture of Luxury, that underpins its latest models, including the new all-electric Spectre. The discontinuation of the Wraith and Dawn will allow Rolls the time to focus on electrifying the rest of its lineup, which should be easier now with the shared architecture underpinning its entire lineup.
Gallery: 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre teaser
