It should be strange to exist in a category of one; not to have contemporaries, to not have benchmarks to measure yourself against. The property owner of a Rolls-Royce must be aware of this feeling, and they must be in a position to console themselves by swaddling their bodies in quilts stuffed puffy with hundred dollar bills. You got a glimmer of driving Rolls-Royce’s latest touring coupe, nevertheless it was just a drive, when you read our February 2014 issue. The Wraith is actually a high-performance fastback packing 624 hp from the 6.6-liter, twin-turbo V12. Clearly, we needed another opportunity using the car with a test track to see what all that power can do inside a 5,328-pound cruiser.
If you’re reading the magazine in page order, you no doubt read Ian Kuah’s review of the latest Mercedes S63 Coupe. The newest in space-age German technology can be yours for the very reasonable sum right around $220,000. I say reasonable because things are all relative. The Rolls-Royce Wraith starts at $288,600, nevertheless the car we tested had a bottom line of $360,325 with options. Let that sink in. I digress, even though that’s more the than the price tag on a Boxster S in options alone.of the otherworldly experience. There aren’t many people on earth who arrive at drive a Rolls and much less still who are fortunate enough to drive them at their limits. I do this job for science.
Acceleration runs are obviously fast, yet strangely effortless. Launching the car can be difficult with 590 lb-ft of torque being delivered through just the rear tires. The engineers in Goodwood eschewed the all-wheel-drive trend and stuck with the greater traditional rear-wheel drive. Careful throttle modulation and a bit of practice provides for a -60-mph sprint in just 4.1 seconds. In comparison, a Bentley Continental GT Speed I tested did exactly the same in 3.8 seconds, but with the added benefit of powering all four corners. In the event you keep your Berluti boot planted in the Wraith’s thick woolen carpet, the quarter-mile eclipses in a mere 12.5 seconds with a trap speed of 114 mph. The ZF eight-speed automatic is smooth and efficient. It never feels as though power is oozing away like some autos, however it certainly never bangs a shift, either. From in the car, the engine noise-and external sound for that matter-doesn’t exist. From outside, the Wraith may sound like a Spitfire ripping on thewithin a relatively short 109 feet from 60 mph. That may be 2 feet shorter compared to the aforementioned Bentley, which not only enjoys a plus of wider front tires but a 150-pound advantage in mass as well. Again, no drama in the endeavor, just punt the brake pedal toward the floor and the car dives on the front axle while screeching to some halt.
Our figure-8 tests are where things normally get interesting for larger, more massive cars. This Roller is no exception. You feel every ounce of mass wanting to continue on; the major brakes scrub speed dutifully, though braking into the skipad sections is again fantastic. Turn in too quickly as well as the car returns gentle, speed scrubbing understeer. The same happens if you try to carry your braking past too far into the turn. The Wraith prefers a far more gentle, patient hand in the wheel. Fast steering inputs create a situation in which thewheels and tires, and suspension charge eagerly into the turn, as the body attempts to continue straight on. The Rolls certainly does. Your body movement could best be described as nautical. Although the Wraith is tuned to be more sporting than its chassis-mate Ghost, it really is still faraway from a sports car. The air suspension is firm but compliant in most situations but isn’t quite created forin the future almost completely off the brakes, let the car settle and regain composure, turn in deliberately but patiently, again, let the body settle its considerable mass on the outside tires, and then feed in the power. The Wraith will average .82 g around the skidpad section. A simple prod of the throttle will blast the back tires free of the constraints of friction, creating a gluttonous, smoke-pouring drift. Driving a Rolls-Royce, even one that isn’t yours, will give you a glimpse into the life of the 1%. Powering a Rolls-Royce out of a turn, swinging the back end around while feeling the tires melt beneath the mountain of torque, lets you gaze down on the 1% from the life of a fractional.
If you are more concerned with lap times as compared to smoke-filled gluttony, you can feed power in slowly, let the rear end hook up and power out onto the straight, while picking up the front end like an offshore racer. The Wraith could eventually lap our figure-8 in 26.6 seconds. The Continental GT does the identical lap .9 seconds quicker, again the all-wheel drive is a big advantage exiting turns. The Bentley won’t ever present you with the choice ofIf that makes more sense, at the end of your day, we can try to compare the Wraith with other vehicles, or collections of other vehicles. , it stands alone.Ultimately and however Hopefully I have also given some comprehension of the feeling of your Wraith, though i have laid out the performance numbers to bare. From your inch-thick carpeting, to the immense slabs of wood that make up the door panels and then drifting up to the fiber-optic-equipped starry night headliner, nothing gives you the elegant experience of this Rolls-Royce. WhileCadillac and Lexus, and the rest of the luxury pretenders throw stitching on every edge and corner of their interiors, Rolls has moved past that and it is now leaving the busy, overworked seek out simplicity and the beauty of uninterrupted shapes.
It appears to be almost counterintuitive to say with regards to a $360,000 high-tech vehicle, although the pleasure arises from the simple act of driving it. The rarity of such a nicely-engineered vehicle that achieves world-class luxury with elegant athleticism, although it isn’t simply the exclusivity endowed by the price.
For GREAT deals on a new or used Audi check out Audi of West Covina TODAY!