If you've ever stood next to a Rolls Royce Phantom you understand what I mean when I say this is a BIG car. But that's just it, isn't it. A Rolls Royce is a big car. However this one's sheer volume is quite deceptive. A bit over nineteen feet long and standing taller than five feet, this thing is as light as a feather. Weighing in at a scant 5622 pounds (unladen weight) and employing the muscle of a 6.7 liter 48 valve V-12 (producing 453 brake horsepower) along with a seamless 6 speed automatic transmission, this contemporary masterpiece reminds me of the ultimate sleeper. All muscle underneath a sheep's exterior (granted, the best looking sheep in the herd), and fully capable of blowing your mind. What image you may have had of Rolls Royce in the past will be all but erased after you dig into this one.
Let's talk stats for a moment. 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds. A governed top speed of 150 mph. A drag coefficient of 0.37 assisting it to get a highway average of 25 miles per gallon of fuel consumed. 531 lb/ft of torque at 3500 rpm! And to top off what's under the skin, all of the amenities that you would expect of a Rolls Royce are present in the uber-luxurious cabin. It takes ELEVEN cow hides to make enough flawless leather to cover the required surfaces such as seats, armrests, door panels, etc.. This leather is so flawless, in fact, that Rolls Royce touts that it won't even squeak when you sit on it! HA! The veneer inside the cabin is all from a single tree. And unconfirmed reports say that this car will even julienne carrots without breaking stride.
I picked this black beauty up from a friend of mine one afternoon because I just had to take it home to show my wife. I had done a photo shoot with it a couple of weeks earlier and I couldn't stop talking about it. I simply had to bring it home.
When I got behind the wheel of this land yacht the first thing I noticed was just how enormous the steering wheel was. How appropriate for a car as large as this. As my "seat" settled into its seat I couldn't help but feel as if I had just nestled into the most expensive easy chair on four wheels. This thing was comfortable! Just then, the most odd sensation came over me that I might be a bit underdressed...
A push of a button and the engine came to life... or did it. The only way to tell was the reading on the "power reserve meter". Instead of a tachometer, this car has a gauge telling you what's waiting in the stockpile of horsepower for you to unleash. Try as I might though, I could not hear it! It might as well have been running on batteries, it was so quiet. I shifted into drive through the use of the funkiest gear mechanism in automobile history and I was off.
All of a sudden this imperial sized car felt agile, controlled even. Not what I had expected. Earlier in conversation with its owner the discussion had been the price tag. "Now remember," he had said, "this is a four hundred thousand dollar car. The insurance deduction alone, if you decide to bump into something, is thirty-five thousand. Just be careful." Oh thanks, as if I wasn't nervous enough. I would spend the rest of eternity paying that off. But as I ran the car through the gear box, my anxiety began to wane.
On the surface streets it felt smooth and precise. The eery thing about it was how it accelerated. It was as if some unseen, unheard force was willing it forward. The engine was so nearly inaudible that I found myself aiming an ear toward the dashboard to see if I could pick up something, anything of an engine noise.
The freeway onramp afforded the first opportunity to detect engine growl. And I was not disappointed. I floored the pedal and was thrust gently into my pillow topped seat as the engine gave off a deep throated umph.
Merging with traffic was somewhat of a spectacle. Not because of the car's size, but its looks. It's not everyday that one sees a blacked-out Rolls Royce Phantom on I-15 in Salt Lake county. My fellow freeway drivers seemed somewhat startled as they whipped out small cameras and cell phones to snap a picture of this unidentified-driving-object. My wannabe celebrity ego began to swell. Wait a minute though. Wouldn't the celebrity be in the back seat and not driving? In due course I found my way home, soaking in this sublime creation and my new found status the whole way.
As I reached the exit ramp leading into my neighborhood I called my wife and told her to be ready to go for a ride. She was perplexed as I hadn't eluded in any way that I would be bringing anything home that day, but she would be ready nonetheless.
I pulled silently into the driveway and parked. Exiting the car, I let the electronically controlled latch do the work of closing the door for me. I retrieved my wife and oldest son from the house and introduced them to the visitor in the drive.
My wife was floored to say the least. My son thought it was pretty cool too. I invited them into the back seat by way of the rear suicide door. I loaded into the driver seat again and started the engine.
We rolled out of the driveway and down our street. I looked in the rearview mirror to see my wife, still slack-jawed, absorbing the interior details. As she examined the upholstery, the art deco mirrors on the rear "A" frame caught her attention which made her laugh a little.
I turned my attention to my son. "What do you think, bud?" "This is cool dad... LOOK!! A GT FORD MUSTANG!!" He was five at the time and thought the Mustang GT was THE coolest car on the road. There we were rolling in the most luxurious, expensive car on the road and he was on the look-out for Mustangs. Oh well.
We took our time tooling around the neighborhood, taking in our experience in this capsule of extravagance. It was most likely that we would never bring home a Rolls Royce Phantom again. We had to enjoy it right now.
Soon enough I had dropped my family off at home and returned the car to my friend. Even now I can smell the leather and not hear the engine in that amazing motorcar. To this day I have never met its opulent equal.
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