One of the great motoring experiences is that moment all four wheels momentarily leave the road surface. The sense of euphoria for that fleeting millisecond or two is something to savour. And then, as quickly as it happens, the feeling sours and the sickening freefall takes over. This needs to land. Amplifying the horror is that this is happening in a £250,000
Rolls-Royce
coupe and we're still climbing. My stomach drops like a stone. I prepare myself for what's coming next. The end of my career.
Some joke about Scottish pandas
Reliability is an overrated word nowadays. Of course it used to mean how well - or not - a car resisted breaking down but today a mere intermittent flicker of an ABS warning light and you find yourself screaming blue bloody murder.
Back in early 1900s 'reliability' was far more serious. It was a case of make or break for the motor car. Joe Public viewed the horseless carriage with fierce suspicion, preferring to place their trust in the steam locomotive or nag and cart. Automobiles? They were fragile playthings for the idle rich, something that would never take off.
For manufacturers to prove they had a future, they needed to show that cars were not only reliable but also unbeatable, go anywhere transport. The year was 1907, the car the 40-50hp - the precursor to the legendarily tough Silver Ghost. The challenge? Rack up 5,000 miles in less than a month under the supervision of the RAC to make sure no funny business occurred.
What was that about feeling large?
If that wasn't bad enough, to make it a proper challenge their drive would include the already infamous 2,400-mile Scottish Reliability Trial that had started in 1901 and was famed for using Britain's worst roads in the toughest conditions, with steep engine-killing climbs and brake-cooking descents.
Fast forward from one publicity stunt to another and Rolls-Royce has invited us to retrace part of the epic drive 108 years later in a modern car. Would sir prefer a Wraith or Phantom?
Wraith
The route begins at Andy Murray's Cromlix House Hotel in Dunblane and immediately the Wraith makes you feel at home, its Ghost origins plain to see. No bad thing, of course, especially given how dynamically sorted the saloon felt. But immediately a couple of details are concerning. First is the sheer size of the Wraith. Not the length, but its width; along the narrow roads that lead south-west to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park it feels enormous. Next is how very different the Wraith feels to the Ghost. Instead of feeling sporting, the Wraith feels a little dynamically out of its depth along the slow, tight road that traces the outline of a sparkling blue Loch Lomond.
Pace incredible; dynamics not quite there
There are certainly no complaints over the mighty pace proffered by the 6.6-litre V12 twin-turbo. After all this car can sprint to 62mph in just 4.6 seconds despite weighing twice as much as a Toyota GT86.
No - the problem is body control, or rather lack of it. The last Ghost we drove had the optional £8,000 Dynamic Driving Pack that introduced different dampers, a new steering rack and redesigned struts to the saloon. It's an option not available on the coupe but desperately feels like it should be.
Dialling back the pace a little to help manage the mass and there's evidently phenomenal grip from the 21-inch 255/40 tyres. Moments later we're in a rhythm and things become more enjoyable, if slightly curtailed by brakes that feel strained at times. The steering is lovely though, light and precise with a lovely thin-rimmed wheel. Feel is absent, but for such a big car its accuracy is an astonishing achievement.
Continuing to skirt the Loch as light streams through the firs the roads become even narrower. The stone wall embankments seemingly reach out with loose rocks hoping to stroke and carve their mark on the lustrous paint finish. This requires huge concentration, with blind corners, charging Sprinter delivery vans and crawling coach parties crammed with tourists.
Still fabulous, but the Ghost is better
The roads begin to open up on the Trossachs, the pace naturally follows and it's on this stretch of that looks more like a giant piece of corrugated roof the Wraith attempts to join other Rolls-powered vehicles cruising at 30,000 feet.
As we fly gracefully through the air there's time to wonder what calculations the load distributing pneumatic suspension is making with all four wheels hanging mid-air. Normally it re-calculates once every 25 milliseconds, even lowering or raising its suspension by 25mm when it sees fit. Right now I'm hoping it's doing the latter, quickly. Bracing for the spine-crushing, tyre-bursting, air suspension-popping, call-to-the PR impact, we land as softly as bouncy castle and don't even hit the bump-stops. Phew.
Picking up the A85 and the Wraith makes brisk, smooth progress and I arrive at my overnight hotel after just three hours and 121 miles on the road, still fresh and only a little stressed from close shaves around the Loch. Back in 1907 the reliability trials covered 200 miles over 24 hours on roads little more than mud and rock tracks.
Loch about the only thing bigger than Phantom
The next day, despite our bonding experience the Wraith I swap for a
Phantom
Coupe. In all honesty I'm expecting another comfort-biased waft into the Highlands, deep into the Cairngorms National Park up into the mountains to the ski resort.
Climbing up into the Phantom's cabin is almost a feat in itself. Perched high you're not much lower than in a Range Rover. This gives the commanding view needed to pilot a 5,612mm-long coupe (only 255mm shorter than the saloon) but at 1,987mm wide, once again there's serious risk of a five-figure brush with the scenery.
Despite the fact the smaller coupe is 70kg heavier and slower than the Phantom saloon, I would happily accept all of that for the way the coupe drives. It is an astonishing experience.
Far more rewarding here than you may expect
Forget the fact it's slower and 0-62mph takes 5.8 seconds; the actual acceleration provided by the 460hp 6.75-litre V12 is something you never quite acclimatise to and the way the 2.7-tonne coupe goes down a road is heroic.
As the road twists and climbs the Coupe keeps its head. Body control is better than the lighter Wraith, the brakes stronger. If anything the steering is even more impressive while the eight-speed auto is perfect at keeping that big engine on the boil. It's also fast and involving, a cosseting but life-affirming experience. I'd love to say climbing to the top of the mountain range was a challenge but it wasn't. On the breathtakingly beautiful, craggy Highland roads the Phantom breezed along at an almighty pace.
Still pretty splendid, unsurprisingly
Back in 1907, no doubt the Rolls-Royce team must have had the occasional brush with danger on their arduous drive. But of course they won. Just one fault over the Scottish leg occurred when a passenger accidentally kicked the fuel line cut-off to the engine temporarily halting progress. Soon after Rolls-Royce modestly declared it produced the "best car in the world".
Standing in the shadow of the towering achievement that is the Phantom Coupe it's almost tempting to say the same today, but it wouldn't be true. It is undoubtedly a phenomenal feat making such a huge luxury car this involving and fun to drive, but at £375,000 you really would expect superlative performance. No, Rolls-Royce's greatest success was to convince the world to take a leap of faith and put its trust in the car.
ROLLS-ROYCE WRAITH
Engine: 6,592cc V12, twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 632hp@5,600rpm
Torque (lb ft): 590lb ft@1,500rpm
0-62mph: 4.6sec
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 2,360kg (DIN, unladen)
MPG: 20.2mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 327g/km
Price: £190,904 (£269,235 as tested, including Drivers Assistance Package 3, High Beam Assistant, Lane Departure Warning, Head-Up Display, Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go, Night Vision, Camera System - Rear, Side & Top View, RR Monogram to all Head Rests - Black, Front Massage Seats & Front Ventilated Seats, Comfort Entry System, Adaptive Headlights, Rear Privacy Glass, Lambswool footmats, Body Coloured Wheel Centres, 21" Five Spoke Alloy Wheels, Rolls-Royce Bespoke Audio, Starlight Headliner, Bespoke Seat Piping - Black, Bespoke Feature Line - Two Tone, Bespoke Illuminated Spirit of Ecstasy, Bespoke Treadplates - Wraith, Bespoke Leather Boot Floor, Bespoke Door Onlay Flight "WRAITH")
ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM COUPE
Engine: 6,592cc V12, twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 460hp@5,350rpm
Torque (lb ft): 531lb ft@2,500rpm
0-62mph: 5.6 sec
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 2,580kg (DIN, unladen)
MPG: 19.1mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 347g/km
Price: £282,180 (Price as tested £312,760, including Veneered Steering Wheel Spokes, 21'' Fully Polished Star Alloy Wheels, Bespoke Seat Piping - Navy Blue, Bespoke RR all headrests - Navy Blue, Bespoke Starlight in alternate colours - Navy Blue)
