Before World War II sent the world into chaos once again, Captain George Eyston piloted the aero-shaped Thunderbolt record car to not one but two world land-speed records. His first wun on the Bonneville Salts Flats happened on November 19, 1937 where he managed to push the thunderbolt up to a record of 312 mph. Almost a year later, in late-1938, he did it again, only this time he hit 357.5 mph, and that record held through WWII as there were no other land-speed record attempts that that time. The car itself was of significant importance because it was powered by two mighty Rolls-Royce V-12 aircraft engines. Eyston never returned to attempt breaking his record after WWII ended, but Rolls-Royce has found it appropriate to remind the world of his previous records and honor him with special edition cars – one based on the Rolls-Royce Wraith and the other based on the Rolls-Royce Dawn, both in Black Badge trim.

Neither of these cars feature anything like the massive 37-liter, V-12, Rolls-Royce engines that sent Eyston beyond the 300-mph mark way back in the 1930s, but they do feature the brands tried-and-true 6.6-liter V-12. In the Wraith, that engine is good for 623 horsepower and 642 pound-feet of torque while the Dawn Black Badge is good for 593 horsepower and 620 pound-feet of torque. Oddly enough, Rolls-Royce didn’t think it was worth providing any performance upgrades for either of the special edition cars, but there are a few things of not. The interior of both cars feature a special texture that resembles the cracked ground of Bonneville. The starlight headliner in the Wraith was design to mimic the night sky over Bonneville on September 16, 1938 when Eyston made his second land-speed record. Finally, the interior is finished off with silhouettes of the Thunderbolt laser-etched on the front tunnel and the clock has been redesigned to look like the original gauges in the Thunderbolt.

The exterior of these cars are limited to a special two-tone finish, most notably the new “Bonneville Blue” hue designed specifically for these two cars. You’ll find a few bits of yellow and black, which also pay tribute to the old record-setting car. In the end, Rolls-Royce is only making 60 examples of these cars, with production of the Wraith limited to just 35 and the Dawn being even more obscure, with production capped at just 25 examples.