Coastal Traveler - Summer 2008 - (Page 13)

coastal driver Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé $400,000 Performance 453 hp @ 5350 rpm 531 lb-foot of torque 0-60 mph: 5.7 seconds mileage: 11-18 mpg www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com Rolls-Royce is best known for plutocratic cars with macabre names like Silver Wraith , Phantom and Silver Ghost; names that scare away the plebeians goaded by its ostentation. For Rolls-Royce, the motorcar business was always a sideline to its defense contracting. The P-51 Mustang was powered by a Rolls-Royce engine, and only General Electric sells more aircraft engines. When Rolls-Royce’s fortunes waned in the 1970s, the motorcar division was sold to Vickars, a poor steward, which invested little, content with GM three-speed transmissions and wobbly suspensions. The cars were like gold-digging wives, expensive to buy, with crippling upkeep and massive depreciation. Rolls-Royce has always been a declarative car. They trumpet success. This fit in well during the Thurston Howell, Grey Poupon 80s. But the grungy 90’s were unkind to Rolls-Royce and Vickars offered the company for sale. Volkswagen outbid BMW at $780,000,000. So BMW went to Rolls-Royce’s parent company, and licensed the name for only $65,000,000. Volkswagen got the outdated facilities and Bentley, but BMW got the name. BMW spent a billion dollars developing the new Phantom. When it was first released the general manager of Rolls-Royce USA chauffeured me while I took notes from the back seat. The doors opened from the front easing entry and providing a sense of ceremony, like opening the door of a Gullwing or Countach. Every instrument within the Rolls was designed to remind the operator of its specialness. In that way, the buttery leather and gliding chrome prodded appreciation, and made me feel present to the physical world in a way that utilitarian objects cannot; giving meaning to the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot. This meditative quality is enhanced by BMW’s primary engineering objective, a characteristic that Rolls-Royce refers to as “waftability.” It is not the floatiness of an old Cadillac. It is an Etonian sense of effortless domination. I took the wheel and flexed a toe. The BMW V-12 engine pressed against inertia like a Titan. We approached an on-ramp and the executive said, “Nail it!” I turned onto a sweeping right-hander and the left suspension compressed progressively and then held. Four hundred and fifty-three horses galloped and the theme song to Chariots of Fire swelled. And everyone saw. summer coastaltraveler 13 http://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Coastal Traveler - Summer 2008

Coastal Traveler - Summer 2008 Contents Coastal Connoisseur Coastal Picks Coastal Art Coastal Flyer Coastal Sex Coastal Eco Coastal Surfer Coastal Adventurer Coastal Snaps San Diego La Jolla Laguna Beach Malibu Santa Barbara San Luis Obispo Big Sur Carmel Monterey Santa Cruz San Francisco Sausalito Mill Valley Stinson Beach Bolinas Olema Point Reyes Station Fairfax Inverness Marshall, Tomales Sebastopol Petaluma Sonoma Coast Redwood Coast

Coastal Traveler - Summer 2008

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