I Drove to a BBQ Joint…in a 2015 Rolls-Royce Wraith
I would say driving the Rolls-Royce Wraith was a dream come true, but I would be lying. It was a dream I never knew I’d had come true. I didn’t imagine I would ever get such an opportunity. Then, one day, I got an email in which Elizabeth Williams, product communications officer for the ultra-luxury brand, invited me to eat lunch with her and go for a drive in the 2015 Wraith, which she called “the ultimate gentleman’s gran turismo.”
Having been in the Lone Star State only once before, she wanted to eat some Texas barbecue at the Salt Lick in Driftwood. Delicious food and a drive through the Hill Country in a vehicle with an as-tested price of $398,350? Win. And. Win.
I originally met Williams last October when she and Gerry Spahn, the head of communications in North America for the British automaker, came to San Antonio with the Ghost Series II. That car was my first hands-on experience with the brand, but it was the Wraith that made me think, even with its similarities to its sedan counterpart, This is the most unusual car I’ve ever driven. Here’s why:
-Coach doors:
True, the Ghost has the same kind of doors, but they’re for people riding in the back. Although Rolls-Royce is a traditional brand in a lot of ways and coach doors have been around for a long time, there was something almost futuristic about opening a giant, rear-hinged door to get in the driver’s seat. It was as if I were entering a sci-fi movie car.
-A hands-off touchscreen:
I wanted to use the navigation system to figure out the quickest way from the Four Seasons – where I met up with Williams – to the Salt Lick. My first instinct was to touch the screen in the Wraith’s dash, but Williams informed me that I had to use the Spirit of Ecstacy Rotary Controller to input my request. A screen that’s not touch-sensitive? These days, it’s hard to believe such a thing used to exist – and still does. Perhaps Rolls-Royce sees leaning forward and leaving fingerprints and smudges behind as undignified.
-The power…the power:
Rolls-Royce equips the Wraith with a massive 6.6-liter, twin-turbo V12. Its 624 horsepower and 590 lb.-ft. of torque make it the most powerful car – with the biggest engine – I’ve ever driven. Hell, I think I’ve been in less powerful planes.
-Fluid motion:
Unfortunately, the traffic on my journey with Williams out to the Salt Lick didn’t give me a chance to open the Wraith up. I had to wait until after I devoured a plate full of delicious brisket, smoked sausage, coleslaw, and potato salad, and started the trip back to downtown Austin. (#firstworldproblems) After such an indulgence, I felt heavier…and so did my right foot. When I put it down on the accelerator, I discovered the Wraith is not a car to be hurried. Its colossal power is produced in the form of a wave, not an explosion. For such a large, heavy, and powerful car that can hit 60 mph in 4.4 seconds, the Wraith was surprisingly calm. Just imagine a soft-spoken 7′ man with a black belt in martial arts. He can snap your neck with his powerful hands if he wants to, but he doesn’t. He enjoys peace and quiet.
The process of braking was similar. I glided to a stop. There was no drama, no pitching forward. Going and stopping in the Wraith was similar (I can imagine) to dancing in a vat of syrup. Every move I made felt graceful and relaxed. I was calm approaching a red light as long as I had planned ahead. I likened the sensation of bringing the 5,380-pound Roller to a standstill on a flat road to that felt doing the same with a loaded pickup while going down a steep hill.
-“Sport” mode:
I’ve driven vehicles with column-mounted shifters before, but they’ve always been trucks. Not only does the Wraith have such a setup, but it has a unique version of it. I could only move the thin stalk up and down to move between reverse, neutral, and drive. If I wanted to put the Wraith in park, I had to push a button on the end of the shifter.
Given that the Wraith is the smallest Rolls and features a fastback design, I had to ask Williams if it has a sport mode. It doesn’t. In fact, by default, the car’s transmission makes it start in second gear. You have to push the LOW button on the gear selector stalk to put the gearbox in first.
-Behind the wheel:
Speaking of shifters, the Wraith didn’t have any paddles behind its hand-stitched steering wheel. That’s because its V12 is connected to an eight-speed satellite-aided transmission which reads the road in front of the car to determine how best to schedule its shifts. Williams mentioned that a driver deciding when to swap cogs could go against the transmission’s guidance. The absence of paddle shifters eliminates the potential for human error.
Eventually, Williams and I said our goodbyes and I headed away from the Four Seasons in my daily driver. The dream I never knew I’d had was over. It was a very engaging dream, though. It was one in which I drove the 2015 Rolls-Royce Wraith and learned how different it was from all of the cars I’d driven before it in terms of price, design, features, and power.
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