For the driver who wants everything
Rolls-Royce Wraith delivers the ultimate experience in automotive luxury
Offered the opportunity to drive a Rolls-Royce Wraith for the weekend, I did what every other poor working auto journalist would do. I drove the Wraith anywhere that I might lord my superiority over pretty much everyone I knew.
OK, what I really wanted was to allow all my friends the ultimate experience in automotive luxury.
However, for me, it morphed into an abject lesson in what others consider hedonistic in an automobile.
While I might marvel at RollsRoyce’s decision to add a second bulkhead to the engine compartment to minimize the noise, vibration and harshness from an engine already renowned for its smoothness (BMW’s twin-turbocharged V12), no one else said a thing about how quiet the Wraith was. Presumably, it was expected.
Nor did anyone care that the eight-speed automatic transmission is now guided by satellite navigation.
Indeed, other than a few of the most obvious luxuries — leather that induces a sudden desire for naked frottage, a ride that makes pillows seem harsh, etc. — few of the things my friends pointed out would have ranked on my Top 10 of Rolls-Royce attributes.
I found the supposed speed of the Wraith a little disappointing. After all, it does weigh almost as much as a small tank, and it’s a little slow off the line. But try telling that to Monique, a student in my Saturday morning fitness class and one of Atlas Boxing’s prime female pugilists. She was all agog every time I put my foot into it, waxing lyrical about velocity and telephone poles and marvelling at the Wraith’s “incredible” speed. That big V12 impressed her most.
I really should give the Wraith its due. Despite my ambivalence, the ability of a 2,440 kilogram behemoth to hit 100 km/h from rest in just over four seconds is pretty incredible. That big 6.6-litre V12 pumps out 624 horsepower, making it the most powerful engine ever tucked into a Rolls-Royce engine bay.
Meanwhile, Gina, owner of the boxing club, just loved the Starlight Headliner option. Essentially, Rolls-Royce takes about 1,000 pinpoint-small LEDs, caches them underneath the perforated leather roof liner, and creates a stargazing illusion inside the cabin for those who wish they had a convertible. It’s incredibly effective. At night, it’s like driving around in your own personal Hubble Observatory, only you never have to worry about clouds. Very cool.
In fact, even though Gina was especially wowed upon learning the option cost a cool $17,000.
Meanwhile, PG — a Philippine professional in the style of Manny Pacquiao — who works in a Hyundai dealership, marvelled at the leather and wood. Never mind that Hyundai has done a wonderful job creating its luxury Genesis lineup, which easily competes with the Mercedes and BMWs of the world. They still don’t have anything to compete with leather that Rolls-Royce claims comes only from bulls raised in the Bavarian mountains. Nor do other automakers hand-braze the exterior body panels and coat said steel in multiple coats of hand-sanded and polished paint.
Meanwhile, my dad was most impressed that Rolls still supplies sterling-handled umbrellas with each car. Open the door and out pokes the head of an easily removed umbrella to make sure that not one drop of rain touches your pampered head as you exit.
Theresa, my neighbour, was adamant that she needed a ride in the big Roller. But when she got in, she was to short to manually closing the door.
So, she was completely taken with the fact that Rolls-Royce has thought of everything by providing a button beside the
A-pillar that electrically closes the door for you.
Then there was Steve, whose 12-year-old Kawasaki Versys is surely a perfect representative of the opposite end of the vehicular spectrum from the Roller. He was looking for something much more pedestrian: cargo space.
Post divorce, he was looking to lug boxes of his daughters’ books, clothes and bedding to his new digs.
Yes, the Roller as a U-Haul substitute must surely rank as one of the most unusual compliments Roller engineers are likely to get.
Indeed, there’s just so much
about a Roller to marvel at. I’ve just revealed the tip of the iceberg, not yet mentioning the real aluminum switchgear, a clock that looks like it costs at least $10,000 and, well, you get the idea.
As to why I haven’t touched on typical road test qualities, like how the Wraith handles and brakes or, indeed, whether it’s even a good car — it really is — not one of my friends gave a damn. It’s probably the only attribute they share with the people who can actually afford a Rolls-Royce.