The Rolls-Royce Wraith was introduced in 1938 as the successor to the 25/30.
The Wraith was Rolls-Royce’s only new model introduced immediately before the Second World War. It retained the company’s traditional separate chassis, allowing customers to commission bodies from specialist coachbuilders. The model used a 4,257 cc six-cylinder engine, an enlarged development of the unit used in the 25/30.
Production began in 1938 and continued until 1939, when wartime conditions ended civilian car manufacture. Only chassis were supplied by Rolls-Royce; the final body designs came from independent coachbuilders. This makes the 1938 Wraith distinct from the modern BMW-era Wraith coupé, which appeared in 2013.
The name was later reused for the Silver Wraith, introduced after the war. That similarity causes a common mix-up: the pre-war Wraith and post-war Silver Wraith are separate models.