The sensory experience of driving a Rolls-Royce is unique in the automotive universe. Yes, it utilizes four wheels and an engine — but the practical similarities to the cars most of us drive end there.
Putting your foot down in the floating cloud that is any Rolls-Royce is a sensation most of the attendees of the 2013 LA Auto Show can only imagine. Fortunately, I found out first hand during a recent media event in Arizona’s Valley of the Sun as the Wraith made its on-road debut for North American media.
The 2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith aspires to be a handmade work of art on wheels. Hand built and assembled from its engine out to its pinstripe detailing, the Wraith is a haunting mix of decor and stealth force. Starting in Scottsdale and winding their way out through the nearby desert and mountains, automotive journalists had about three hours to become familiar with this car — while Rolls-Royce officials made it very clear this new model was a bit of a departure for the elite UK automaker.
Up until now, a healthy handful of adjectives (positive and negative) could be tossed toward a Rolls-Royce effectively. On the upside, you could try out any of the following: Elite, luxurious, meticulous, cultured, sophisticated, advanced, smooth, carefree and ethereal. On the down slope, toss in: Expensive, stuffy, boring, boxy, numb and disconnected.
To embrace all of the plusses while squeezing out the minuses, Rolls-Royce introduced a new concept with the Wraith. We’ll call the car more “whimsical” because no one at Rolls will even consider calling it “sporty.”
That particular S word comes into play because the Wraith arrives with a 6.6 liter, V12 engine serving up more than 600 horsepower and a 0-60 time around 4.4 seconds. Rolls-Royce refuses to wallow in the much of top speed calculations, but a little of my speculative math set the prospective top speed north of 190 mph. That’s massive, brutal muscle for any car — even one about 17 feet long. But, don’t say “sporty.”
We won’t say that word, even though Rolls-Royce went away from its tradition “three boxes” design to a fastback body look, improving aerodynamics and giving the Wraith a slicker, more aggressive look.
Those are multiple sporty features in a luxury car that rejects the entire notion of such base, carnal pursuits.
Driving the Wraith is a surreal mix of power and polish. The vehicle is undeniably heavy, yet instantly responsive — mightily powered, yet immaculately balanced. It doesn’t feel like it’s accelerating until you look down at the speedometer and realize it’s hitting 90+ in an easy cruise. The immaculately tuned suspension leaves a lot of that speed’s sensation lost in the hand-stitched leather seats.
I had to watch the Wraith’s speed tricks because word got out amongst the journalists that the rural constabulary was wise to the media drive and more than willing to relieve their bitter jealousy by writing bush league speeding tickets to passing Wraiths. That meant I was forced sadly to leash the Rolls-Royce’s speed at all times — a difficult task because the car glides north of any speed limit in third gear. Without accelerating, I had to brake to keep the machine under 60 mph. And, I received no help from the outside world as the Wraith’s intricate construction eliminates almost all ambient driving noise.
Speaking of gears, the Wraith boasts a gem of Rolls-Royce technology — a “Satellite Aided Transmission” that pre-shifts the power plant. The system uses GPS to monitor the car’s position, the current location, the road ahead and the interrelated speed to predict what gear the car will need next. The transmission then has the proper gear ready before the shift point arrives on the road — ensuring that there’s no speed lost as the engine downshifts reaching for a gear.
Another distinguishing feature of the Wraith feels out of place. The roof over the driver’s head features 1,300 fiberoptic pinpoint lights that be arranged in any pattern for a price. For example, the driver could order the Wraith with the lights set up to precisely capture the sky as it looked on the night of his or her birth.
It’s a nice gimmick. It’s a playful touch. It fits with the idea that this Wraith has more attitude than its predecessors. But, it also seems entirely mismatched to a Rolls-Royce. This is one of the world’s historic luxury cars — not a Las Vegas party limo.
If pure luxury and carefree comfort is a driver’s goal, there’s no way to go but down from the Rolls-Royce Wraith and her sisters. Bentley and Maserati try to give them some guff, but a Rolls is a Rolls by any other name, etc. Whether or not a buyer of great means chooses a Wraith depends entirely on how they envision super cars.
In the world of elite rides, there are extreme performers like Bugatti, Ferrari and McLaren. They are visceral drivers’ cars that look to recreate the race car experience on the street. They are quick, hard and violently sensual.
But, Rolls-Royce turns its back on all of that and builds something graceful, tailored and effortless. While the sports car folks want to be rattled and adrenaline charged, the Rolls-Royce driver wants to drive at freeway speeds in a car rolling so smoothly a diamond merchant could accurately cut a clean facet off a freshly mined stone.
A Rolls owner would call that feel classy and sophisticated. A Bugatti owner would call it numb and boring. Most in attendance at an event like the LA Auto Show would agree those are very First World problems.
