The new Wraith is the fastest and most powerful Rolls-Royce ever introduced.

The European automotive market may be melting down but you’d be hard-pressed to tell by the wide range of exotic sports and luxury cars that have been making their debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

Among those weighing in are Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti and in an exclusive corner of the show floor, Rolls-Royce.  After teasing its all-new entry for the better part of a month, the British maker finally offered up a first clear look at its new Wraith luxury coupe.

As one might expect, the new offering maintains the luxurious features one might expect from the marque, the high-end division of Germany’s BMW. There’s plenty of leather and wood – and some other intriguing details such as a starlight headliner and a transmission that can use satellite guidance to track your route to improve shifts.

There's all the requisite wood and leather but the Rolls Wraith also offers an optional headliner with 1,340 fiber optic "stars." Click for a closer look.

For those more familiar with the elegant excesses of the massive Rolls Phantom, Rolls has been trying to reach out to a broader range of potential buyers who want something that’s not just ostentatious for might actually be considered fun to drive.

Using words like “athletic” to describe the distinctive coupe, with its swept-back roof and unusual, forward-opening doors, CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos declared the Wraith, “The most powerful Rolls-Royce in history,” a vehicle he said, “promises the sense of adventure and speed that drove our founding forefathers.”

Based on the older Ghost sedan, the Wraith fastback, Rolls officials add, conjures up “just a hint of noir.”

The basic powertrain, a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V-12, isn’t entirely new but has been beefed up quite a bit and now makes a hefty 624 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, significant sums even for such a heavy vehicles.  That’s paired with a new 8-speed gearbox from Germany’s ZF. Together, look to see the big coupe leap from 0 to 60 in just 4.4 seconds.

While 8-speed transmissions are becoming increasingly common, Rolls has added an unusual twist. The ZF offering is “Satellite Aided.” That means it is synced with the big coupe’s navigation system and closely tracks where you’re driving to ensure you’re always in the optimum gear.

Another high-tech feature focuses on more aesthetic goals, one option allows a buyer to light up the ceiling with 1,340 fiber-optic strands connected to remote LEDs to create a twinkling night sky effect.

The name, Wraith, incidentally, traces its heritage back to one of the marque’s more legendary badges, dating back to 1938 and a production run that totaled just 492 cars – though the maker later followed with the Silver Wraith.  Clearly, Rolls has bigger aspirations this time, at least in relative terms.

Compared to some of the exclusive offerings debuting in Geneva this week, such as the $4 million Lamborghini Veneno, the new Rolls-Royce Wraith might seem almost mainstream at $318,000.

The British maker hopes the new model will have a broad appeal, targeting everyone from successful hip-hop artists to bankers. The Wraith will reach Rolls-Royce showrooms in a few months.