Rolls-Royce Wraith aims for silk-and-steel perfection

2015 Rolls-Royce Wraith

Type of vehicle: Four-passenger, rear-wheel-drive luxury coupe

Price as tested: $397,215

Fuel economy: 13 miles per gallon town, 21 highway

Weight: About 5,500 pounds

Engine: Twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter V-12 with 624 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Performance: 0 to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds

Sources: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Car and Driver

Stars slide through the heavens in tandem with the earth-mashing Rolls-Royce Wraith, bathing its fortunate passengers in silver dust.

Life always sparkles in these polished Democrat-tweaking coupes that are larger than most pickups and fitted with real planks of tudor oak inside.

Actually, the “stars” above glow from 1,340 holes punched in the Wraith’s black headliner, each fitted with tiny LED lights — a $5,900 option.

If I ever grow up, I want to be rich.

The “R-R” emblems in the center of the Wraith’s shiny 21-inch wheels, for example, were always perfectly aligned. That’s because the Rolls arrived with self-righting wheel centers — and maybe an app buried in its electronics for fluffing your hair.

The 2015 model Wraith I had recently glowed with super-sized distinction.

Its huge “suicide” doors swung open dramatically from the front, announcing your arrival in an oddball 1930s style.

Its strange, swoopy fastback roof seemed downright jarring at first.

Elegant brick

Moreover, mine arrived slathered in two-tone paint — a silver body topped by a hood and fastback in dark-gray “graphite.”

It looked like a puffed-up New York investment banker in a pinstripe coat and $500 jeans — an edgy mix of traditional and hip.

As you might expect in a Rolls-Royce, the Wraith wore a properly formal rectangular grille flanked by unusual squinty-looking horizontal headlamps.

Its long, flat hood — slightly smaller than the average balcony in Manhattan — proudly wore a chromed “Spirit of Ecstasy” emblem up front.

The coupe’s big, imposing body was all long doors and fenders and looked like a huge elegant brick wearing an oversized top from some ‘70s Italian sports coupe.

I kind of liked it.

Weighing in at a staggering 5,500 pounds, the Wraith rolls prominently on glistening five-spoke 21-inch wheels wrapped with appropriately large 285/45 tires.

A fast garage

BMW owns Rolls-Royce, which means the Wraith gets blessed with a twin-turbocharged 6.6-liter BMW V-12 twisting out a massive 624 horsepower.

It’s a bit like driving the world’s fastest garage, though more agile and supple than you would expect.

With a steering wheel the size of a trash can lid and a hood that stretches out like the runway at a small county airport, the Wraith just seems too big to boogie.

In addition, the silky, utterly silent V-12 initially promises just strong, gentle shoves.

But its power builds quickly and the shoves grow rapidly to Pacific waves of serious, steady power. Stay on the accelerator hard, and the big Roller will sprint to 60 in an astounding 4.3 seconds, according to Car and Driver — quick enough to embarrass many muscle cars.

It will also endear you to Exxon, scratching out a meager 13 miles per gallon in town and 21 on the highway.

In addition, the Wraith’s magical engine is tied to an eight-speed automatic that uses its navigation-satellite system to somehow anticipate the roads, curves and ramps ahead and pre-select the proper gear.

I have no idea whether this system works. Shifts were so imperceptible that the Wraith sometimes felt electric-powered.

Once you get accustomed to the big black steering wheel, you get surprise No. 2.

Thanks to air-bag springs and electronically controlled dampers, the Wraith swallows most surfaces like a well-mixed martini. It neither floats nor bounds. It flows.

But the computer-controlled system adjusts quickly to curves, keeping the big coupe’s body under firm control and allowing it to push through corners with fairly amazing grace.

Even better, that giant wheel delivers steering that is quick, well-tuned and alive.

The stunning cranberry-colored interior had a large, flat dashboard wrapped in smooth leather and curving gently over a black instrument panel.

A gorgeous slab of polished metal provided trim for the dash, while slabs of black tudor oak — a $9,975 option — added heft to the door panels.

Four sensuous leather seats were bisected by a long cranberry-colored console, while plush black carpet mats that were way thicker than my wallet cushioned my decades-old Justin boots.

If you feel a need for Jimmy Reed, the Wraith has a 600-watt audio system with 16 speakers.