REVIEW: A once-in-a-lifetime Rolls Royce experience

WHAT’S the difference between dying and going to heaven and driving a Rolls Royce motor car?

Not a lot really, except the Rolls Royce gig is marginally more pleasurable, I venture to suggest.

Those were my sentiments after I spent a couple of hours test driving these magnificent vehicles at the invitation of the Sytner Group Rolls Royce dealership in Knutsford on the doorstep Manchester where Charles Stewart Rolls and Sir Frederick Henry Royce first met, famously at the Midland Hotel, on May 4 1904.

The experience of driving these cars is almost indescribable, but I’ll give it a shot as that’s what I’m paid for.

Firstly, it’s probably the easiest drive I’ve ever had, and its famed silent engine lives up to its billing.

My first outing was in the Rolls Royce Wraith which retails at a cool £255,740 on the road.

Its top speed is electronically governed at 155mp and it gets from 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds and 0-100 in 4.6secs.

But despite the incredible effortless power generated by the V12 48 valve 624bhp direct injection engine, I’ve never had so much pleasure gliding along at 50mph. It was like floating on air.

The eight speed automatic transmission is operated by a something akin to an indicator stalk, and as you drive along the speed limit of the road you’re on and your speed magically appear at the base of the windscreen.

As you may expect, the quality of the finish inside these hand-built vehicles is spectacular to say the least and includes the largest surface area of genuine veneer of any luxury vehicle on the market today.

There are too many high-tech gadgets and driver aids to list, needless say anyone test driving these cars would not be disappointed.

In a touch typical of a company so closely associated with British manufacturing excellence there are even umbrella’s strategically positions as you open the door.

Rolls Royce says it is increasingly appealing to young people who have made their wealth early in life and women, and crucially people who like to drive themselves in an age when hiring a chauffeur is a thing of the past.

Proof of this is high its most up-to-date offering, the convertible Dawn, which has more sassy look than it’s elegant stable-mates.

The Dawn is available on the road at a mere £266,100 and its performance and engine spec is very similar to the Wraith. Similarly the Ghost Series II comes in at £268,140.

Rolls Royce sells 4,000 of its cars a year, 90% of which are sold abroad, which means 400 stay in the UK. But, as the company’s European public relations manager James Warren points out, Rolls Royce is happy with that.

Nevertheless, despite the company’s iconic image – inextricably linked to the Great Britain plc image – Rolls Royce is keen to make its cars accessible to the public, even if those people who can never own one.

“The North West is an absolute hotbed for successful entrepreneurs and for wealth creators – people who have taken risks and come with very clever ideas, creating jobs,” said Warren.

“One of the things people like that like to do is reward themselves with beautiful bespoke luxury objects and on many occasions these are Rolls Royces.”

Warren said the promotion at Sytner Group  was about promoting the brand in its spiritual home of the North West.

“It does feel like coming home for Rolls Royce,” he said. “This was Sir Henry Royce’s stomping ground when he was coming up as an engineer and where he took his apprenticeship. He also lived in Knutsford for quite some time.

“We couldn’t think of anywhere more fitting to be selling Rolls Royces.

“Interest in the brand transcends the very small number of people who buy our cars every year. It has enormous emotional resonance in Great Britain.”

It takes 60 pairs of hands between 400 and 500 hours to hand craft each Rolls Royce, longer if there are bespoke requirements.

Normal car buying and selling protocol does not apply for Rolls Royce. Dealerships are called “embassies” and vehicles are not bought but “commissioned”.

Prospective buyers are invited to the Rolls Royce headquarters at Goodwood and are shown how their cars are built and can sit with the design team for unlimited time to sketch bespoke ideas. Deliver can take between six and 12 months depending on the level of specification.
 
It’s an avenue I won’t being down unless I miraculously come into a fortune, but it was a privilege to dream for a day in a car I would happily drive round the world.

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