The Best Of The Best

James Deakin took the Rolls Royce Wraith for a spin and understood the true meaning of luxury

Sir Henry Royce once said, “Take the best that exists and make it better; when it does not exist, design it.” But what happens when the best that exists is something you have already designed and created? Well, just chuck in more power; then chop off a couple of doors; and give it a tag line like “The most powerful Rolls Royce ever built.”

Based on the Ghost platform, with an almost vulgar 632 horsepower and 800nm of torque, the Rolls Royce Wraith can crack a ton on the speedo in just 4.6 seconds and climb to almost 300 km/h before running out of breath. Not impressed? Then think about this: imagine 5,200 pounds of leather, steel, and wood being propelled from a standstill to one hundred kilometres an hour in one, two, three, four, point, six, seconds and going on to cruise to around half the speed of an Airbus 320. On public roads.

The whole concept makes you wonder just how much quicker does man really need to get from A to B. Does the air taste any different if you get there one second ahead of the next super car? If so, why not just leave the house a little earlier? And kissing an ungoverned top speed of 300km/h in something weighing as much as an inner-city apartment? Seriously? Unless it comes with a boarding pass, is there any logical reason to have a speedometer that reads past 120?

Of course not. There is no sensible reason for any luxury car to try and achieve this. Period.

Thankfully, luxury doesn’t need to make sense. In fact, it is usually found in the absence of it. And a Rolls Royce is not just a luxury car. It is a statement. So, let’s get started.