Test Drive - Rolls-Royce Phantom / J-Craft Torpedo

I N M OTI O N

PhaNTOM SEriES ii:

The Riviera Spirit

The Phantom Series II Long Wheel Base..

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. sur la terre . in motion .

While experiencing the lifestyle of a Rolls-Royce owner on the Côte d’Azur, James McCarthy discovers that, with the Phantom Series II, sometimes sequels can be better than the original.

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he GCC can, on occasion, be a car-lover’s paradise. Ferraris, Lamborghinis and the occasional Bugatti are regular sights on the highways of our fair region. As Newton once theorised, however, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” As such, for every adrenalin-inducing set of wheels we see, there are plenty of gaudy, pimped-out, four-wheeled monstrosities crowding the roads to balance out the beauty.

Seriously, who paints an Aston Martin purple? It only serves to reinforce the age-old platitude that money can’t buy class.

Fortunately, there is always one serene example of automotive sophistication which, when it glides by, no matter what colour or shape the handcrafted bespoke fixtures and fitments take, will always put its driver a cut above the rest. It is quite literally the Rolls-Royce of cars. I am, of course, talking about The Phantom.

The current model has been wafting past the world’s forelock-tugging masses for quite some time now, nearly a decade in fact, and while it remains in every way as impressively engineered and imposing in stature as it did at its launch in 2003, some of the on-board technology (and a few of the cosmetics) are starting to get a little long in the tooth.

That is why I find myself lounging languidly in the early summer sunshine at the super discrete Cap Estel, a hotel usually intended for only the incredibly rich and very famous, while the Mediterranean laps gently against the shingle-covered shores of the Côte d’Azur.

The Goodwood-based marque has gathered the cream of the world’s motoring and lifestyle press to the French Riviera, not only to give a few humble hacks the opportunity to experience the effortless luxury of your run-of-the-mill Phantom owner’s lifestyle, but to introduce us to the line up of the new Rolls-Royce Phantom Series II, and where better to show off its latest luxo-barge than in the product’s native environment: the playground of the rich and famous?

If an opportunity to drive (and be driven in) the full line-up of the new Phantom models on some of the vertiginous roads and stages of the old Monte Carlo Rally wasn’t enough of a draw for the aforementioned scribes, then the locale certainly was.

. sur la terre . in motion .

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IF EVER THERE WAS A CAR THAT LOOKED MORE AT HOME IN THE COURTYARD OF A SPRAWLING EARLY 20TH CENTURY MEDITERRANEAN VILLA, THEN I CAN’T THINK OF IT.

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As a fitting precursor to the following day’s endeavours, and to add some gravitas and context to proceedings, each and every one of the invited journalists was greeted at the entrance of the magnificent Cap Estel by the majestic sight of a perfectly preserved 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II. If ever there was a car that looked more at home in the courtyard of a sprawling early 20th century Mediterranean villa, then I can’t think of it.

Never far away from this empirical vehicle was its driver and restorer, Georgina Wood of official Rolls-Royce heritage dealer, P & A Wood, who was like a proud mother doting over her well-turned-out progeny at his graduation. With the enthusiasm of kid at Christmas, she invited me to climb aboard for a quick spin along the road to Monaco.

Despite her petite frame, Georgina was clearly made of stern stuff as she negotiated not only the tight turns of the hotel’s steep, snaking driveway in the three-tonne behemoth, but a veritable cornucopia of polished brass levers and a steering wheel the size of a dustbin lid as well. While the ascent was far from effortless, at least for Georgina, it was on the main road that the vintage limousine came into its own. With barely a murmur from the Spitfire-esque V12 masterpiece under the bonnet, it was as if the car was moving on rails.

It was easy to fool myself that I was a member of the bourgeois elite, swanning into town to pick up a few Harry Winston necklaces and maybe a Rolex or two. Perhaps the most telling of all the admiring looks that were directed our way was the nod of acknowledgment from the rear passenger of a white, chauffeur-driven 1980 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit that passed us on our return to Le Cap Estel. As we purred through the huge gates of the hotel, I was now fully prepared for my sojourn into the southern French countryside in the 1933’s great grandson and his siblings the following day.

As we emerged, bleary-eyed, from an evening of fine food and even finer wine, the courtyard was alive with activity as the Rolls-Royce team scurried around like ants, fussing over a fleet of land yachts that would have made Lord Nelson jealous. There was the standard (if there is such a Rolls) Phantom Saloon, the Coupé, the colossal Extended Wheel Base (EWB) and the stylish Drophead Coupé, all glinting in the early morning sunshine and ready to take to the roads.

The Phantom Series II Drophead Coupé and the 1933 Phantom II at Le Cap Estel..

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. sur la terre . in motion .

The 1933 Phantom II on the road between Le Cap Estel and Monaco..

To make wholesale changes to such a modern automotive icon would be akin to giving Mona Lisa a funky new hairdo. Many companies have gone down that road and ended up transforming their masterpiece from “contemplative beauty” into something resembling the bald, rabid umbrella-wielding insanity of Britney Spears. Equally, like Britney, it has taken years for these misguided marques to try and claw back any credibility. In some cases, again drawing eerie parallels with the troubled songstress, failing to do so at all.

Therefore, externally at least, the changes to the Phantom have been kept to a subtle minimum. Like an artfully administered Botox injection, the designers have delivered a more elegant adaptive LED headlamp design which, coupled with a new front bumper arrangement, gives the front of the car a more aloof visage. There has been a similar nip and tuck procedure at the rear, again with a new tail light configuration. The Coupé and the Drophead both wear a single-piece grille surround, and the entire range benefits from three new 21-inch wheel options.

Beauty, however, is not just skin deep and perhaps the most significant changes are to the myriad technology and driver aids inside the cabin. The Series II offers a larger

centre display screen with simpler and more intuitive “infotainment” controls, an updated 3D satnav, a full-featured parking assist and reverse camera system as well as the latest technological wizardry to enable both current and future generations of smartphones to assimilate with the car. There is even a special App for connecting an iPhone’s music library to the car’s sound system; a tour de force of such Aural perfection that even the Sirens of ancient Greek mythology would blush with inadequacy in its presence.

Even further under the skin of the Series II, there is a newly designed, smoother eight-speed automatic gearbox that makes the ride even more effortless and a reinforced aluminium space-frame, which has been toughened up to allow for an optional “dynamic” driving package, something which doesn’t immediately spring to mind as being an essential addition when buying a Rolls-Royce. However, it will cater more for lucrative markets, such as the Middle East and China, where the preference is to drive the car, rather than be driven.

And so, under the power of possibly one of the most beautifully engineered, naturally aspirated, 6.75-litre V12 engines of the modern motoring age and, fittingly, with the first melodic notes of The Beatles’ Here Comes The Sun blasting out of the concert hall Harmon LOGIC7 speaker system, we hit the road under an azure blue sky.

As a passenger, the cabin of the Rolls-Royce Phantom is such a wonderfully cosseted place to be. Reclining in the comfort of a seat that would put an Emirates A380 First Class cabin to shame, the heady aroma of fine leather and wood fills the air. As the gargantuan 21-inch wheels eat up the miles with such consumate ease, they do so in perfect silence and with a grace that belies the car’s epic size and weight. It barely feels like the car is moving at all.

. sur la terre . in motion .

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The Phantom Series II Coupé..

Equally, sitting behind the wheel, there is no drama or fuss; it is incredibly effortless to drive, which in its own way can be a hinderance rather than a help. Any of the Rolls-Royce Phantoms are big, even the “sportier” Coupé, so gauging the mammoth proportions of each takes a little while, and even longer in the EWB. Either way, with most cars, the driver is inundated with a constant stream of feedback from the road, whether it is due to the weight of the car, through the sensitivity of the suspension, via the tyres or even through the play of the steering wheel. With the Phantom, you get none of this. I felt oddly detached because, to ensure the luxuriant comfort for which the marque has become famous, the technology that cushions the passenger from the outside world results in little or no physical indications from the road.

Taking some of the tight corners on the wonderful roads of Provence, the Phantom performed its manoeuvre with otherworldly adroitness, but I was always unsure of where I was placing the front wheels

The Phantom Series II saloon..

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. sur la terre . in motion .

The incredibly plush interior of the Phantom Series II Long Wheel Base..

because the only way to measure my approach was to just follow the line of the sweeping bonnet (which seems to go on forever) to the Spirit of Ecstasy standing at its zenith and just hope she didn’t kiss an oncoming motorist.

With the “dynamic” package installed, many of these detachment issues are probably addressed, making the driving experience a slightly more visceral and tactile one. However, caught up in the magnificent vistas of our route, along with the joy of just being in the world’s most luxurious car with Johan Sebastian Bach’s Cello Concerto in G minor providing the perfect soundtrack, my driving partner and I completely neglected to try it.

After an hour or so of driving, it became much easier to judge the clinically obese proportions of each model, transforming the drive into a zen-like pleasure. While the V12 under the hood doesn’t punch out the same sort of horsepower as those found in its less sedate two-seater equivalents from Maranello, Santa A’gata Bolognese or Warwickshire, it is just as capable of harassing the speed limit, but with much less fuss and far more dignity. The Phantom’s steady power output has the feel of an orchestra reaching the crescendo of a symphony, deftly moving up the gears and, with them, the km/h, in a completely unperturbed manner. There is absolutely no indication that the car is a salad-dodging 2.5 tonnes, as it climbs up the speedo to its 240km/h top speed and, with a grace akin to Lionel Messi pirouetting past a flailing goalkeeper, it just ghosts around corners with the smoothness of a mag-lev monorail.

There is little doubt that Rolls-Royce has become a synonym for perfection and luxury, and the full line-up of the new cars that carry the Phantom Series II moniker have each met the exacting standards set out by founder Sir Henry Royce in the maxim to “strive for perfection in everything you do.” Those at the helm of the company today can honestly say that they have, once again, lived up to that noble sentiment, improving on what was already the perfect luxury automobile and somehow making it a little better.

For me though, the Phantom will always be a car in which one is chauffeured; it is the car’s entire raison d’être: to travel effortlessly

(there is that word again) from one place to another at the acme of comfort, class and style. Those that buy the car so they may drive it themselves, however, will be well aware of the undemanding nature of the car’s handling and performance, but that is exactly why they want one in the first place, as well as the fact that it is a symbol of status and epitomises a level of luxury that is only possible to obtain if you have a significantly weighty wallet.

Which takes me, rather neatly, back to a point I raised way back at the start of this rambling article. Purchasing a Phantom Series II will not only give its buyer the satisfaction of owning a perfectly engineered and, if it’s their wont, flashy set of wheels, but also the knowledge that - contrary to popular belief and espousing a commonly quoth platitude - it is indeed possible to buy quite a sizeable amount of class. Two-andhalf tonnes of it, to be exact.

. sur la terre . in motion .

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OUT OF THE BOX

J-CraFT TOrPEDO: A Modern Classic James McCarthy invokes 1960s Riviera cool as he takes to the waves in the J-Craft Torpedo.

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. sur la terre . out of the box .

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here is one thing common to all of the world’s playgrounds of the rich and famous.

From Monaco and Cannes on the Côte d’Azur, to Italy’s Lake Como. From Miami to Dubai, one thing is certain; where the super wealthy play, you will find clear, blue water.

While many will opt for the bling-bling mega yachts we see mooring up at the Pearl Qatar or Monaco Harbour, the truly rakish amongst the sea-faring elite will have a stylish little runabout; you know, just for those afternoon jaunts to some secluded cove; or better still, dinner at the latest Thomas Starke restaurant.

Let’s be honest, what smacks of international playboy more than rocking up to the jetty of a Monaco Michelinstarred eatery behind the wheel a $1.2 million J-Craft Torpedo? Let me tell you from recent experience, nothing, that’s what. I was lucky enough to discover this on Sur la Terre’s recent sojourn to the Côte d’Azur with Rolls-Royce (see page 98), where the great British marque arranged for a flotilla of three, 42-foot J Craft Torpedo boats to spirit the assembled journos to dinner.

It was not your average taxi ride, especially if you were on the same craft as the effervescent Richard Carter, Director of Global Communications for Rolls-Royce. The gregarious Cape Town man was all too keen to put these marvellous boats through their paces and if that meant handing them over to a bunch of land-lubber lifestyle scribes to demonstrate just how easy and fun they are to operate, then he was more than happy to do so.

After a day of sedately driving around in the most cosseted of luxury cars, taking the wheel of a powerful speedboat and racing at 40 knots from Nice to Monaco was an adrenaline rush of epic proportions. Careering the boat into a 320-degree turn so that it was nearly vertical to the water before giving the loud lever a good shove and accelerating like a scalded cat had me whooping like 10-year-old on a Disneyland rollercoaster.

Despite scudding over the surface at some speed, and quite often putting a significant amount of air between the boat and the water, the cleverly designed hull meant that not a single briny drop of the Mediterranean touched any of the six passengers aboard, even during the g-forceinducing aquabatics being performed when the guys from J-Craft were at the helm.

Despite all of the pulse-raising power and limber manouverability of the Torpedo, that is not the real appeal, though. It is far more (excuse the pun) shallow than that. It just looks cool. And, by cool, I mean RatPack or Brigitte Bardot in her 1960s Riviera heyday cool.

The mere look of the J-Craft Torpedo invokes all the hedonism of the post-war jet-set. Think Mad Men on water, such is the wonderful retro feel to these sublimely engineered and technologically advanced boats.

J-Craft is a Swedish company dedicated to delivering boats that are packed to the poop deck with state of the art technology, but which do not compromise on their singular style and preserve a proud Swedish boat-building heritage.

. sur la terre . out of the box .

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THE MERE LOOK OF THE J-CRAFT TORPEDO INVOKES ALL THE HEDONISM OF THE POST-WAR JET-SET. THINK MAD MEN ON WATER.

The result is a visually stunning craft that can perform perfectly as a chase boat, a tender or a well-appointed day cruiser, and does so with a style and elegance befitting the VIP demographic of its likely owner.

Entirely hand-built with more than 4,000 man-hours going into each one, much like our hosts for the trip, Rolls-Royce, for J-Craft, the devil is very much in the details. A lot of work goes into the touch of the leather, the weight of a switch or the action of a hinge, things that for the most part, are imperceptible, but subliminally set the J-Craft apart.

Again drawing parallels between J-Craft and Rolls-Royce is the beautiful wooden decking. Resembling the teak woodwork found on the Phantom Drophead Coupe, J-craft opt for eco-friendly mahogany, which is lacquered and varnished eighteen times for not only a peerless finish but to increase its strength and to add durability.

However, it is not the shared philosophy of perfection, nor the craftsmanship or production skill - even the eye-watering price tag of the products themselves - that bring Rolls-Royce and J-Craft into the same sphere of the global elite. Their greatest similarity, in my opinion, at least, is that when you can afford to arrive at a top Monaco restaurant aboard either, you know you have finally made it.

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. sur la terre . out of the box .