The perfect car for joyrides

I’m sure that the cost of your car or truck is probably bothering you right now, if for no other reason than you’re undoubtedly not using it much. You’re probably working from home. Most likely your spouse is as well. Your children are attending classes virtually. You’re having everything delivered, having ordered it online. This eliminates any reason for going to a store, shopping center or mall. Are restaurants open near you? If they are, capacity is limited. Ditto any or other places where you might pass the time.

There’s simply nowhere to go and nothing to do, so there’s no reason to drive your car right now — unless it’s simply to enjoy it.

Odd feeling, isn’t it? Now you know what it’s like to own an uber-luxury car like this week’s subject, the 2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge. This is a car that’s a sheer pleasure to drive, something you drive as an indulgent treat. It’s not a daily driver — owners in this class have more than one car — but I wouldn’t mind if it was.

The Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge is the latest flavor of the brand’s fullsize grand touring coupe, an extravagant statement that’s not for those who shun showiness or are part of the federal witness protection program. Stop anywhere, and you’re likely to get wide-eyed stares, usually followed by the question, “Is that YOUR car?”

Oh, if it only were.

The version Rolls-Royce lent was a 2020 model, although little changes for 2021. It came with the $50,000 Black Badge Package, which brings with it an extra 37 pound-feet of torque, a sport-tuned exhaust, 21-inch carbonally composite wheels, along with the requisite exterior black detailing, and dark chrome applied to the grill and the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. Inside, there’s carbon fiber where you’d normally see wood, a full-grain leather interior, ventilated front seats and contrast stitching.

There are other packages on the Wraith as well, and I could bore you with the details, but I won’t. A Rolls-Royce is commissioned, so the details can be personalized to reflect your taste, or lack of it.

But the Wraith is an exercise in extravagance. How else can you justify the motorized door that hides the infotainment screen? Or the power door closers, which shut the rear-hinged doors once you’ve entered the vehicle? Or the superior feel of every surface or component that you touch?

This is a very special car, one of a handful Rolls-Royce will build this year. Its special qualities maintain the reputation first established by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Products of the 19th century, their finely crafted vehicles continue to define high-end luxury cars in the 21st, with vehicles such as the 2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge.

It’s truly a work of art, albeit one you can drive.

ROLLS-ROYCE The 2021 Rolls-Royce Wraith Black Badge.