I’m not a big fan of Rolls-Royces, and have never been. They’re far too stodgy and stuffy for my tastes, their baroque design language hasn’t changed in decades, and most tend to look like a brick on wheels. If there is one Rolls that I can at least begin to warm up to, it is the “small” Rolls, the Ghost, and now its Wraith coupe and Dawn convertible offshoots. With a bit more fluidity in their sheetmetal and a tiny bit more athleticism in their proportions, I guess I wouldn’t mind spending a little time in one of these as the driver, and not merely a chauffeured passenger.
Now I know this is a new car (either a 2016 or 2017, I went with 2017 to emphasize the newness), but Rolls-Royces, particularly convertibles, ahem “dropheads”, are extremely low-production vehicles, making them almost instant classics from the moment they leave the factory. I was prompted to share this picture, as everything, from the elegant backdrop of the Victorian-styled Grand Floridian hotel, to the glistening water droplets on the hood from recent showers, to the lighting, angle, and colors just seemed so perfect. Add a filter in and it could almost be a promotional shot in a brochure (although maybe more “Cadillac Style” than Rolls-Royce). This will be a collector’s car in the future if it isn’t already one now.
Photographed: Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Lake Buena Vista, FL – January 2017
Elvis, sir, your car is ready!
More like “Liberace, sir, your car is ready!”
The perfect car to carry the message, “I’m in the 1% and f**k you. You don’t matter.”
“Greed is good”
– Gordon Gecko, 1987
Attracts gold diggers like fly paper.
I often thought if I had “hit it big” I’d get a “civilian” Checker Marathon LWB sedan/limo (when they were available). That message would be: ” I’ve got enough dough that don’t care what the public thinks of my car, But still a limo! ” ??
There are some Rolls-Royces I like and then then there are Rolls-Royces I can’t stand.
Here’s my favorite Rose Royce.
Oh, you said Rolls?
rlplaut
Ha Ha, I loved this 70’s group. Especially the songs “Car Wash”, and “Wishing on a Star”. Great catch on to this story.
Great summertime song from 1977.
I’d loaded up my ’67 Sport Fury Fast Top and relocated from my parents’ home in Vermont to northern Westchester, NY…talk about a culture clash!
My job often took me and the Fury into midtown Manhattan that summer, windows down and that song on WABC.
chas108
Nice, sounds like this group brought back memories for you..
Love this group too, and remember this song from the summer of ’77 when I was 13.
I think the interesting thing about RR is that they’ve managed to update their designs and keep current while still maintaining iconic design elements like their famous grill, so you can tell at a glance what brand this car is. Contrast that with Lincoln who seem to have lost their way, even the new Conti doesn’t convey the prestige image of a Lincoln really all that well IMO.
I beg to differ on the Continental, and had I the means to chose between the two, I’d take the Conti any day. It would not look contrived and out of place here in Austria, whereas the RR only looks natural in places like Jedda, Saudi Arabia or Dubai.
Smoother, cooler, and classier than the car.
I have a problem with modern Rolls Royces too. Vitruvius’ famous quote about good design requiring ‘firmness, commodity, and delight’ may apply here. I see definite firmness and lots of ‘commodity’ (maybe not the way he meant it), but not much delight.
That said…I’d love to drive one, just once 🙂
The mirrors are cartoonish and I’ve never warmed up to that blocky nose, though this is the best iteration of it.
I have respect for the enthusiast keeping an old Rolls on the road, but I have no time for people who actually buy or lease a new one. Too gauche, too ostentatious and too crass. It’s a display of conspicuous consumption in place of a rational automotive choice. Most uber-wealthy around here buy something a bit lower profile (if Bentleys and Maseratis can be described as such). The only people I see in one are truly ancient rich men, or dealers trying to sell them off-lease from said ancient men.
So true. Here in sunny retirement Mecca SW Florida, there are several running about, and all have been spotted being piloted by overly tanned, ancient old guys who inherited from their robber baron grandpa, or their trophy wife (blonde, huge storeboughts, and Gucci sunglasses), or some facsimile thereof. In SE Florida (Ft. Lauderdale and Miami), more of the same, with drug dealers and pro athletes added into the mix. The cars may be prestigious, but that is one club to which I am gladly not a member. To me, it is just an overworked BMW 7 series with english trim.
OntarioMike
I actually marvel at how people can dish out between $400-$500K for a brand New Rolls Royce Coupe / Sedan / Extended Wheelbase model. With most if not all destined to become instant classics. Rolls-Royce never has to advertise it’s products (ever), the name sells itself. In fact they do not advertise because they cannot honor every order. I read the waiting list to get a new Rolls is insane. They only produce like 1,200 or so annually for the entire world (depending on the model).
Rolls-Royce does come with an instant celebrity status image it gives to the owner. Sure it says a ton about the owners of these cars (usually pretty vain, materialistic, ego driven etc)-perception wise. However, I’m sure many folks buy them because they are a exclusive rolling piece of art. Created in very very small limited production numbers.
Such a unique beautiful stunning mobile vessel.
Here in Austria similar rules apply – this would be the car for some celebrity type or another or (perhaps) a very wealthy restaurant owner and, later in life, a pimp. Old money drives A6 Audis or V90 Volvos here – fully loaded of course but do attract any unwanted attention.
_do not_
I just have to tell you all to go watch the National Geographic special on the creation of a Rolls Royce on YouTube etc.
Where Nat Geo is allowed to go into a Rolls-Royce factory in England to see the amazing, unbelievable craftsmanship, wood work, leather, and the general assembly of how to create a Rolls-Royce. It takes between 6 months to a year to obtain delivery on a brand new Rolls straight from the factory. The car can have up to like 10 coats of paint, or until it gets the ultimate shine. The mechanics are incredible, the attention to detail is un real. You can get the car in any color, any wood trim, and specialty fabric you want. Customization is unlimited, as long as you’re financial portfolio is fat.
A loft prestigious car, that is the best in it’s class, second to none!
You raise the point about the car being “bespoke” and totally personalized, but that goes back to the early days of Rolls Royce. The car from the Teens and Twenties was designed to the owner’s taste, much like a house, and was considered to be something that, bought once, would last for the life of the owner. If you are buying something that will go to the grave with you, then a bespoke car makes perfect sense. However, in the real world, where a car is replaced on a regular basis, this bespoke beauty now has to find a second owner with the exact same tastes, or the ability to enjoy the car as presented. That makes original owners choose very conservative “customizations” that basically mimic the option packages offered by lesser marques. At that point, it is simply an exercise in conspicuous consumption by the buyer of the RR, and is about as pointless as the old thing of lighting one’s cigar with a burning $100 bill. Yeah, it shows you are rich, but it also shows you are an ass….
JFrank
You make a great and excellent point sir!
It will be interesting to see how the two-nation building process (bodies in Germany, finished assembly in the UK) is affected by Brexit.
The late L.J.K Setright, a respected British motoring journalist, said it best with an unforgettable phrase that he, and later Mel Nichols and Steve Cropley would repeat as editors of the motoring journal “CAR”, initially applied to 1970’s and 1980’s Cadillacs, and then applied to the newer garish RR’s: “Has all of the FLASH of a RAT with a GOLD FRONT TOOTH”. Setright said it all so succinctly!
In the post WW2 era, the RR had the aura of a car purchased by “new money”, often performers announcing their “arrival”. Bentley and Daimler were the car marques of “old, established money”. Setright’s comment reflected those perceptions, some of which persist to this day.
Call me a fan (though more so for the Ghost and Phantom). Yes, it’s over the top; yes, you can do fine with a car that costs a tenth of the price. But no other had the quality of craftsmanship.
I work on Michigan Avenue less than a block away from the Bentley/RR/Lamborghini dealer. In Chicago, these things are not rare. I’ve gotten so accustomed to seeing them, I hardly notice them anymore. Odd saying that, really, but it’s true. The only one I’ve yet to see in the wild is a Bentayga; plenty posted around the dealer, and they actually look good in the flesh, unlike the photos.
I used to work right over there as well a few years ago. Best thing I ever saw was someone pulling out of the dealer in a new Lambo… right into the corner of an old Camry.
Ugh. I wouldn’t want to be seen in this. To me it makes a ’58 Lincoln Premiere look tasteful.
I don’t really get the hate for this car. They’re definitely ostentatious, and I would feel extremely self conscious driving one, but there really is nothing comparable in terms of build quality. An S-Class Mercedes doesn’t even come close. The craftsmanship is amazing, and makes for a really impressive interior. I’m glad they exist. I can stereotype or generalize about their owners, and I suspect a lot of our preconceived notions are probably accurate, but truthfully I have no idea what I’d do with my money if I could easily afford a Rolls. Maybe I would own one, among other vehicles.
I would also argue that the design language has changed quite a bit, or at least followed a predictable evolution. These don’t look a whole lot like the old English Rolls.
It reminds me of Jason Shafer’s Dec. 2 article on pragmatism and family dynamics.
“Why get the fancy one? The cheap one does the job plenty fine.”
Thank you.
As for this Rolls…I don’t care what a person buys. If someone has enough money to burn a wet elephant, and wants themselves a shiny new Roller, let them get it. It’s their money and their decision.
So my upbringing really paid off, didn’t it?
That said, I’d never buy one. For less money, I could get myself a shiny new F-150 for a daily driver, a nice ’78 Lincoln Mark V for date night, and a ’63 Galaxie convertible for sunny days. All needs would be satisfied and I’d have money left over.
So maybe my upbringing did pay off.
I can respect that.
Jason: indeed. There comes a point after which I don’t care what features the car has, what you pay for is no more no less than exclusivity. I live in Austria and if I wanted something like this (fat cat cabrio) I would go to Audi and order a fully loaded S5 (which dynamically is most likely a better car). Or, to follow your logic, a VW Amarok Aventure double cab and a Studebaker Daytona drop top for dating/summer nights (it is Europe after all, our roads are narrower).
I’m afraid I would make a very poor 1%er. If I had that much money lying around I’d pay for 5 people to get a college education, then I’d buy myself an actual nice car.
Something like a 1939 Dodge Luxury Liner. Can you imagine me showing up in this? I’m sure the other 1%ers would be impressed. “Look, it’s LUXURY!”
I’d much rather have the 1939 Dodge!
Same here.
Rolls lost the plot after the Silver Shadow, aesthetically-speaking. The Spirit/Spur looked like a Ford Granada on steroids and the Seraph like a bloated Spirit/Spur.
Then the lights went square and the car went huge, and these days they just look awful. Bentleys are far better-looking IMHO.
“Look, it’s LUXURY!”
Even says so on the back bumper.
So they do. I want one even more now…
If Chrysler came out with a 300 convertible, it would look like this.
Of course from the profile that this photo was taken, it looks like a 2008 Sebring convertible
“If I had that much money lying around I’d pay for 5 people to get a college education, then I’d buy myself an actual nice car.”
Well said, DougD, and my sentiments exactly.
If I were to have a large sum of money dumped in my lap, I would buy myself a Rolls Royce. But this? No. I just don’t care for it. The Ghost Platform doesn’t look all that great as a two door, the design seems off, almost like its been shrunken.
Also, is the one in the picture sporting a soft convertible top? If so, that’s severely cheap. For a car that costs as much as it does, there’s no excuse for it to not come with a folding metal roof as standard.
The soft top is more romantic. As for 2-door Ghosts, the Wraith looks good.
My wife and I shop at Sam’s Club periodically, and there used to be a raggedy old Porsche 928 on the lot, parked way out there. I assume it was driven by an employee. The most recent time we went there, the Porsche was gone, replaced by a big, boxy, black Bentley sedan, perhaps 80s-era. This poor, forlorn-looking beast is missing 3 centercaps on the alloy wheels, the tail is sitting too low, and it just generally looks neglected.
If a new Rolls or Bentley is tacky, a tired, nasty 20+ year old one is even worse. I know plenty of people with plenty of money who wouldn’t dream of driving anything flashy like this…they seem to gravitate toward Suburbans(Escalades are too showy) or big, generic sedans.
I knew a man who outright owned 42 buildings (aparttment and commercial). His rides were a Buick Park Avenue and a GMC Yukon. He easily could have “done” Bentley or Rolls. But he was a conservative business man. Rock Star showiness wasn’t his thing.
Instant collectibility is only as good as the reputation, I can find 20-30 years Rollers all day long for the price of a base model Ford Focus, or less. I don’t think any special exceptions will be made about this in the same time. Quite frankly, if I wanted a beautiful hand built car for a half a million dollars I’d buy myself a frame off restored rare muscle car from a good shop, which are more hand built than these things by a long shot during that process.
Having said that, I’m glad these exist simply because they’ve been doing what they’ve been doing forever essentially, no expanding the brand and chasing meaningless statistics to prove their worth as most automakers do, and have managed to stay relevant doing so. Demographically they’re popular from pompous old money snobs with their permanent scowl holding their monocle in place, to basketball trophy wives who need a car that matches their shoes, purse and tiny dog. Few other luxury automakers can claim that kind of diversity for more than a few years.
I yearn for the days when Rolls-Royces were pretty, something they haven’t been for nearly all of my adult life. The “normal” one of my youth was the postwar Silver Dawn, especially the first series that shared its manufactured pressed-steel body (the first for the marque) with the Mark VI Bentley. That was a car of very pleasing proportions, lithe and graceful, in sad contrast to the Milliner and Hooper-built bodies also available (and mandatory on the larger Wraith). In that it echoed the typical lines of the prewar “baby” Rollers, the 20/25 and 25/30, the latter of which shared specs with the 4 1/4 Liter Bentley. There was a fellow in Redwood City back around 1967 who had one of the latter, a Sports Coupé, as his daily driver, with whom I could sometimes chat when we were in the BAP store looking for parts (I for an Austin Mini); more recently we met a man in Ventura who uses his lovely Mark VI the same way. And if my brother-in-law ever manages to get his late dad’s ’49 running (and turning, and stopping) it will probably get some much-needed exercise at last too.
But this whole post-Millennial tribe I’ve got no use for. I did climb into the back seat of one at the LA Auto Show a couple of years ago, and was not surprised that it reeked of cigar …
Is that 70s era Rolls still parked at the St. Vinnies used car lot in Eugene?
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/new-and-used-car-dealers/ccs-for-sale-st-vinnies-goes-upscale/
Rolls-Royce really needs to seek out a designer with John Blatchley’s esthetic sense and classic architectural skill to do their new designs, perhaps even revisit some his work for modern re-interpretation..
It takes a certain type of ego and outlook to transport oneself in such a costly conveyance, a personal attitude foreign to most of us. Suppose its purchase provides employment for many skilled craftsmen which might be considered a positive.
For the cost of this, personally I’d rather have a modest, anonymous sedan for a daily driver and a Packard Twelve convertible for special occasions……
The Packard Twelve would impress me more than any modern Rolls. In thinking of an upright formal sedan with some pizzazz, if I had the dough, I’d build a 1941 Cadillac Series 60 Special with “modern” mechanicals (472cid & THM 400) and modern equipment inside, but all bone stock looking outside and all in a deep dark blue!
I believe the question was, will it be – or is it already – a classic.
Yes…and no.
Mechanically and electronically it is mostly BMW 7 series – no bad thing of itself. Body and interior is all hand made luxury of the highest order.
Depreciation wise these things drop faster than an anvil with downward rocket thrust. Of course electronics will prove troublesome in the long run. Indeed the specialist mechanic who services my small collection of Mercedes (3…hopefully 4 soon) reckons anything after 1981 can never really be a classic nor will it be possible to keep them running in the long term as electronic components cease being available.
Luxury cars just don’t have as long a First owner service life these days either – every year more toys and electronics are factored in and things that were on last years Rolls are on next years Corolla! New buyers want the latest, so these things get turned over much faster than Rolls of yore. I suspect gone are the days when the Duke and Duchess bought a Rolls and kept it for 50 years, as was frequently the case in the past. Anyway, it’s not Dukes who buy these things anymore – these days it’s usually lottery winners, Sheiks and Chinese or Russian billionaires with political connections (until they fall foul end end up in a Gulag). Changes to music distribution means that even rock stars don’t often splash like this on a set of wheels.
Ssoooo in about 7 years the value will be low enough (by comparison) to acquire a good one at a very reasonable cost. Preserve it and in 20 more years you will have a classic for sure.
Your comment about rock stars reminded me of John Lennon’s RR. A Google Photo search also found George Harrison’s Mini.
And Janis Joplin’s Porche
Speaking of pragmatism – does anyone else see a few Chrysler 300 styling cues in the Rolls? They look like distant cousins from across the pond.
Even if I could afford one, my Catholic guilt would prevent me from buying a Rolls-Royce. Besides, Bentleys are far, far more elegantly styled.
I dont see too many of these later RRs and consider that a good thing, theres one cruising around locally that is just hideous, its bigger than that one but shares the same design language.
I find this a very stylish car. Nice curves at the front. I wouldn’t want to drive this car, but be chauffeured in it. I don’t have much of a fantasy to drive something like this if its anything like its older brothers and sisters in the interior department; cars having heavy looking dashboards and uninspiring steering wheels, kind of like what you’d see in a truck or other business transportation environment. So the chauffeur can take the pilot’s seat while I bathe in sumptuous leather and cushy thick carpeting in bare feet and shorts while binge watching Netflix in the back in climate controlled and tinted window comfort while awaiting arrival at my weekly distant mountain spa retreat. Oh ya, pillared 4 door hardtop and bulletproof everything to insulate me from this mean ol’ world. But keep this car’s front end, I find it more appealing than the other RRs.
A car built by a company that, perhaps more so than any other, builds to its own standards and to the narrow market of those who can actually afford one. I’ll give it tremendous respect for the quality of craftsmanship and exclusivity. As to my opinion–my lifetime earnings won’t even come close to being enough to qualify to have an opinion on something like this.
I will humbly venture the question as to whether the Ghost/Wraith/Dawn should exist at all. Even though we’re still talking about cars with a $200K+ price tag, is the dimunition of RR’s prestige worth the extra sales? If they wanted to make a smaller car than the truly enormous Phantom, that’s fine, but making a less expensive version? Doesn’t seem in the spirit to me.
Some guy parks his 2016 Wraith in the parking lot of our $700K townhome complex in SoCal. I always wonder what he could possibly have in his garage to warrant parking that thing outside in the elements. My guess is he’s a RR salesman and that’s his dealer ride, so he doesn’t really care about it.
Prestige and showmanship do not come cheap, then you lose your $hirt just a few years down the road trading or selling one of these hand crafted cars.