Driving an ultra-luxury car through the swarming, anarchic, potholed streets of Midtown Manhattan during rush hour can feel more than a bit harrowing. A seemingly infinite number of potential obstacles wait, unbidden, to unleash their kinetic energy upon you, including pedestrians, bicyclists, strollers, tourists, taxis, vendors, and even horses and carriages. That is, unless the vehicle you’re driving happens to be the all-new, $628,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended Wheelbase (EWB) sedan.
In the Rolls, you don't just have the advantage of imposing physical presence—the car weighs three tons, rides on gigantic 22-inch wheels, and is just shy of 20 feet long, more than a foot longer than a hulking Chevrolet Suburban SUV. You also benefit from the imperious effect of the brand’s signature design cues: the upright chrome “Parthenon” grille bearing down like the security gate on a dystopian doomsday shelter; the argent “Spirit of Ecstasy” hood ornament, angelic wings swept back like the fletched vanes on an assassin’s arrow; giant gleaming center wheel caps weighted so their iconic Double-R insignias are always properly upright. From the moment you begin gliding through the Avenues and cross streets, or a swanning traversal of Central Park, everyone and everything on the street, whether inspired by fear, fury, or sheer awe, provides an estimably broad berth, frozen in place, mouths agape, cellphone cameras held aloft as you approach and pass.
You can almost hear the shutters click, as the omnipotent, twin-turbocharged V-12 engine is nearly inaudible. This cosseting is furthered by the car’s layers of sound-deadening insulation—even the tires have foam inside to reduce road noise—as well as a camera-controlled, self-leveling air suspension that responds in advance to upcoming road imperfections, adapting to absorb them. You slice through the urban morass on a whisper-rush of almighty pull, as if you’re pinioned to the rebound yank of Zeus’s yo-yo.
But the real catbird seat in the Phantom EWB is not behind the wheel. It’s in the back. Here, an extra nine inches of length provide an amount of legroom that is unprecedented in a modern vehicle. So much so that not only can a rear right passenger not feel imposed upon if you move the right front seat all the way back, they can barely even hear you.
Of course, it’s not just the quantity of space; it’s the quality. Impeccable leathers, woods, wools, cashmeres, silks, and metals abound. There is a power-adjustable mini ottoman for your feet, a power-opening and -closing tray table for your laptop or luncheon, a power-closing feature for the giant back door, and a power-opening cool box between the seats to chill your champagne (or Soylent, or whatever). There is even a constellation-like array of tiny LEDs impregnated in the ceiling. Just in case the owner, or occupant, needs to wish upon a star for anything Rolls hasn’t already included.
