2017 Rolls Royce Wraith- BLACK BADGE A Doubleclutch.ca Review
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00:00Every once in a while, you get to drive a car that's worth putting on a suit for.
00:07So that's exactly what the editor-in-chief of Double Clutch Magazine and I did.
00:11What is this?
00:12This is a 2017 Rolls-Royce Wraith black badge.
00:21What's the black badge mean?
00:23It's blacked out.
00:24Well, it's blacked out.
00:25It's blacked out from the factory.
00:26From the factory.
00:27It is Rolls-Royce.
00:28It's made in Goodwood, obviously.
00:30And it's their answer to what the younger generation, our generation, is doing with
00:34these cars, blacking them out.
00:36Our generation, as if you say it like I can afford it.
00:39No, I mean, it's the general age.
00:41Because how much does this car cost?
00:43Over $500,000.
00:44Over $500,000 for this car.
00:45And how much is the black badge addition?
00:48An extra $100,000.
00:49An extra $100,000, okay.
00:51So they did this because they didn't like the fact that people were just taking a Rolls
00:56and blacking it out.
00:57So they're like, why don't we do it from the factory?
00:59So they would see Wraiths come to the Oscars and all these other events.
01:03And these cars would have black chrome wraps or ostentatious wheels on them.
01:08And the guys at Goodwood said, we'll just make our own.
01:11Why not?
01:12And they did.
01:13And this is it.
01:14How do I close the door?
01:17Because it's really, really far away right now.
01:18You push the button.
01:19What button?
01:20Oh.
01:21Oh, it says...
01:22It closes automatically.
01:24There you go.
01:25Oh, that's cool.
01:27Oh my, the steering is light.
01:29But like not light in a bad way.
01:31Do you know what I mean?
01:32Like it's like...
01:33Yeah, no, it's a perfect amount of light.
01:34Well, they're like, we did the lightness intentionally.
01:37Other manufacturers do light because they used an electric steering rack and didn't
01:41know how to make it feel good.
01:43This is obviously an electric rack.
01:45Yes, but it just feels intentional.
01:47Yes, it does.
01:48Yeah.
01:49Pulling up right now to a highway with cars going by.
01:52And I'll be genuine with you.
01:54I cannot hear them going.
01:55Can you hear this?
01:56I can't hear nothing.
01:57It's great.
01:58That is...
01:59I've been driving this car all week and the most surprising thing has to be how quiet
02:03it is.
02:04It's insane.
02:05It is literally like genuinely amazing.
02:06Yeah.
02:07Like there's cars going by right now and it feels like it's a video with the mute button
02:11pushed.
02:12Yeah.
02:13Tell me something about the engine before I...
02:14It is a 6.6 liter V12 BMW motor.
02:19BMW motor.
02:21It is 623 horsepower and 642 pound feet of torque, which on the black badge is a 52 pound
02:30foot bump from the regular Wraith.
02:32Oh, okay.
02:33So in the black badge, they give it a little bit more oomph because it's the sporty version.
02:37Yes.
02:38Horsepower is the exact same.
02:39Torque is a little bit.
02:40A little bit more.
02:41Sorry, a little more torque.
02:42Okay.
02:43Because it's the sporty version.
02:44It is.
02:45Although, is the car sporty?
02:46No, not at all.
02:47Right.
02:48Okay.
02:49So we're about to find out.
02:50It does have a little bit of a personality of its own when compared to the regular Wraith.
02:55And oh, it just...
02:56There we go.
02:57Yep.
02:58Oh, lovely.
02:59Oh, my.
03:00Yeah.
03:01It just moves you to speed.
03:02It just goes.
03:03Very quickly.
03:04Yeah.
03:05Oh, that's just wonderful.
03:06And then you're sitting on the... and you know, it uses tons of technologies to predict
03:14any imperfections in the road and make sure nothing gets communicated back to you because
03:19when you're wealthy enough to afford a half a million dollar car, you shouldn't be...
03:23You shouldn't have to feel the road.
03:24Exactly.
03:25Why would you want to feel the road?
03:26Your day shouldn't be disrupted by road imperfections.
03:30Keep in mind, this thing is on 21 inch wheels on low profile tires.
03:33And it is an incredibly amazing ride for that type of wheel.
03:38Like we're going down a back road right now for those of you that are watching and the
03:41road is going like this and up and down, there's little potholes and stuff.
03:44But other than the occasional side to side body motion, I feel nothing.
03:50Like literally nothing.
03:51Yeah.
03:52The body control is amazing.
03:53It's genuinely way beyond anything I have ever driven.
03:58The black badge is intended to lower the overall, the average age of the Rolls Royce buyers.
04:06Because, you know, people who are our age and our late twenties can afford Rolls Royce
04:09products.
04:10Of course.
04:11No, we really can't.
04:12No, we can't.
04:13Not even close.
04:14Absolutely not.
04:15Not even ever.
04:16No.
04:17Never in a million years.
04:18Holy.
04:19Okay.
04:20So I didn't actually put my foot down before.
04:22It's genuinely fast.
04:24Like for how big of a vehicle this is.
04:30It's nice.
04:31It's so quiet in here.
04:33Yeah.
04:34Dual pane glass.
04:35Yes.
04:36So much noise cancellation.
04:37The acoustics are perfect.
04:39And the Rolls Royce bespoke audio sounds amazing.
04:44Everything in here is just so well crafted.
04:48Well, there, I can't find any plastics.
04:49I was looking around a few minutes ago, like, well, I actually, I found plastic.
04:53The small buttons, Rolls, come on, but the infotainment is straight out of BMW, right?
05:02It's iDrive, which is great because Rolls Royce electronics, we don't know how they
05:05historically, historically, they're not always the best.
05:09Yeah.
05:10Yeah.
05:11So we've got some German electronics in here to make sure things work.
05:14Yeah.
05:15Yeah.
05:16No, this is just, it doesn't inspire sporty driving at all.
05:19But it doesn't, but it doesn't feel old man, like an S-Class would.
05:23No, I agree.
05:24Or a 7 Series or anything, but while I like those cars, they're, they do give off a little
05:29bit of, I feel like I'm too young to be driving them.
05:32Yeah.
05:33This though, I feel like with us two dudes in suits at our age, as ridiculous as I feel
05:38on a half a million dollar car, this, it kind of suits us.
05:42Pun intended.
05:44The interior of this car, for those of you who have never sat in a Rolls Royce before,
05:48it's kind of just at a level that you're not really ready for until you actually get into
05:52it.
05:53I cannot find anything in here that I would say that's a cheap material, all the way down
05:59to the seat rails, which are chrome plated.
06:01Starlight headliner.
06:02Starlight headliner.
06:03From what I've heard from Rolls Royce Bespoke, they can, it costs just under 20 grand for
06:08this option.
06:0920 grand.
06:1020 grand.
06:1120 grand.
06:13I don't know if you can see the badge in the ceiling, but, but you can get them to, um,
06:17whatever your favorite constellation is, or if you have one that's special to you, they
06:21can customize that.
06:23So one of the, one of the best parts, you could, you could, wow.
06:27And um, one of the best part of, of a Rolls Royce, parts of a Rolls Royce is the amount
06:31of Bespoke customizations that you can do.
06:34Well, that was the original idea with them, right?
06:35It's crazy.
06:36And they're still doing that.
06:37They say no two are the same.
06:38And I, and I respect that.
06:40And that is what you're getting for when you pay that much money.
06:42You're getting a Rolls Royce that is a little bit unlike any other Rolls Royce.
06:46It's yours.
06:47It's special.
06:48Pure exclusivity.
06:49Exclusivity.
06:50A hundred percent.
06:51That's what you're getting.
06:52Um, as for actually driving the car.
06:53Hold on.
06:54Don't forget about the fan speeds.
06:55What about the fan speeds?
06:56Off, soft, medium, high.
06:59Off, soft, medium, and high.
07:03And then there's max.
07:04There's max.
07:05Could you, why would you ever need max?
07:06Why would you ever need max?
07:07No.
07:08There's a soft fan setting.
07:09Yep.
07:10What other kind of ridiculous features do we have in here that are cool?
07:12We have ventilated seats.
07:13Cool seats.
07:14We have active seat massaging, seat massaging seats.
07:15Oh, we do?
07:16Where are they?
07:17On your panel over here.
07:18Oh, over here.
07:19Oh, I see.
07:20There you go.
07:21No, no.
07:22The further one.
07:23Oh, that one.
07:24There you go.
07:25Oh, I just turn my heated seats on, I think.
07:26I'm going to turn that off.
07:27No, you push the button.
07:28That'll actually allow you to control my seat.
07:29Oh, there it goes.
07:30Oh, I can control your seat.
07:31I can move you forward and aft.
07:32Yeah.
07:33I say aft because that feels more appropriate of a word for.
07:35Fore and aft.
07:36Fore and aft.
07:37There you go.
07:38Up my left butt cheek.
07:40Yeah.
07:41But it's doing so gracefully.
07:44It is doing it very gracefully.
07:46It doesn't kind of like punch you in the lumbar like some seat massagers do.
07:49Yeah, there's something about the way that All Rolls goes down the road that's just a
07:55little different.
07:56Majestic.
07:57Majestic is a really good word.
07:58And it's so different from what I'm used to driving.
08:02Yes, this is technically just a BMW 7 Series underneath, right?
08:05Is this the chassis of the 7 Series?
08:08The chassis from the old 7 Series.
08:10The old 7 Series, okay.
08:11But there's more to it than that.
08:13There's way more to it.
08:14There's just so much more to it than that.
08:15It doesn't feel like a 7 at all.
08:17Right.
08:18Because there will be people who will say, oh, it's a fancy 7.
08:20But it's not.
08:21It's not.
08:22It genuinely isn't.
08:23And anyone who says that, I guarantee has never driven a Rolls.
08:25They've never driven a Rolls, yeah.
08:27You know what I want to do right now?
08:28I want to get in the back seat.
08:29Can I do that?
08:30Yeah.
08:31You're going to drive.
08:32We're going to get out.
08:33Why would you want to be in the back seat of a coupe?
08:35A coupe.
08:36But it's a Rolls.
08:37You can't experience the back seat.
08:38This isn't one for that.
08:39It isn't?
08:40No, it's absolutely not.
08:41Okay.
08:42But you can.
08:43But can I try it?
08:44You can.
08:45And then I'll get in the front seat.
08:46Absolutely.
08:47I would like to tell you viewers what it's like to sit in the back seat of a Rolls, for
08:48consumer advice, in case you have a family and you want to drive them around.
08:51Ah, it's zigging at me.
08:53That's the BMW.
08:54Oh, actually, I'll have to close this door.
08:55No, no, I can do it from the driver's seat.
08:56You can do it from over there.
08:57You can do it from over there.
08:58There we go.
08:59Ha ha.
09:00Okay, so it's not unbelievably easy to get in, but as far as coupes go, it's not hard
09:06to get into the back of this car.
09:07I put my aunt in there last night.
09:08She wasn't all that pleased.
09:09I am genuinely comfortable back here.
09:11You're like, no, it's not meant to be.
09:13You're not meant to sit back here.
09:15This is not a car to be driven in.
09:16This is the Rolls Royce that you want to drive yourself.
09:18You want to drive yourself.
09:20Which is why I'm enjoying myself far more than I would be in the back, as you are.
09:24Although I am very, very comfortable back here.
09:28I've got a Starry Night in front of me.
09:30I have a man driving me around, and I'm being moved forward in sumptuous comfort.
09:35Look at this.
09:36There's a little mini mirror back here.
09:37I'm not sure what that's for.
09:38It's like a vanity mirror that I can't use.
09:40Why can't you use it?
09:41Because it's encanted at a bizarre angle.
09:43It's a mirror.
09:44It's really cute, though.
09:46Huh.
09:47Yeah.
09:48Yeah, so what do I have back here at my disposal for...
09:51I have a drinks holder with two different sizes.
09:53I have what appears to be a cigarette lighter, and you must smoke your cigars in the back
09:59of your Rolls, apparently.
10:02I don't think I would.
10:03I don't think I would.
10:04No, you would never...
10:05I mean, I don't smoke, period.
10:07But even if I did, I don't think I would ever smoke in a car, because then that smell, you
10:11can never get it out.
10:12You never get it out.
10:13And it's the non-classy thing to do.
10:14And it smells lovely in here.
10:16It does.
10:17It does.
10:18It just smells like an incredibly expensive car.
10:21Actually speaking of the hides, I'm looking at them right now, and I've heard...
10:23We've all heard the stories about where they get their hides so that there's no scar marks
10:27or dimples of any kind, and you look at the back of the seat here, and I'm like, oh, that's
10:32not leather.
10:33Oh, no, it is.
10:34It's just incredibly smooth leather.
10:37It's just unbelievable.
10:38Well, the floor mats in this car are leather.
10:41The floor mats are leather.
10:42Is there another option?
10:43Yes.
10:44What is it?
10:45Lamb's wool.
10:46Lamb's wool floor mats.
10:47The pile is about this thick.
10:48So you can take your shoes off and tamp your feet down into the lamb's wool?
10:53Yeah.
10:54The Wraith that we had in the garage last year in the dawn, it's nuts.
10:58You don't want to put your shoes on them.
11:00Yeah.
11:01I don't think I would.
11:02That would be...
11:03I mean, you have to.
11:04I guess, because you're getting into a car.
11:05Where are you going to put your shoes?
11:06On the seat?
11:07I suppose.
11:08Well, you might have a man that follows you around to take your shoes for you as you step
11:10into your Rolls.
11:11Good point.
11:12Yep.
11:13The Wraith drives rather unlike anything I've ever experienced.
11:19It quietly eats up the miles, and even though the interior is more comfortable than any
11:23car, or really anywhere that I've ever been, it really is meant to be enjoyed from the
11:28helm, not the backseat.
11:30The Black Badge Edition seems to welcome someone my age, and even though it still comes with
11:34an umbrella in the door, it's happy to whisk you away to the next event.
11:39Or it's simply happy to accompany you on any journey with its baritone V12 and a sense
11:44of style and sophistication known only to Rolls Royce.