Rolls-Royce: The rich keep rolling

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This just in: The economy is lousy. So, you might wonder: How are companies like Rolls-Royce doing?
Just fine, thanks. In February, the company sold 36 cars in the United States. In February 2008, it sold 37. That’s the sort of downturn a lot of luxury car companies could live with. Bentley sales, for example, dropped from 231 cars in February 2008 to 69 last month. Lamborghini sales dropped from 84 to 70, and Ferrari sales dropped from 135 to 90. With 30 dealers in America, Rolls-Royce has averaged 2.4 sales per dealer the first two months of the year.

That said, it is never easy to sell a car that starts at $380,000. To help, Rolls is dispatching product specialist Brian Clark, seen here, to multiple markets to host special test drives of the company’s models for current and prospective customers of the dealership.

Despite being neither a current nor prospective customer, I was invited too.

The top-of-the-line model is the Phantom Extended Wheel Base model, (or EWB, if you want to sound like you know your Rolls models) stretched to give the rear-seat passengers — two, or in a pinch, three, should you be carpooling — extra feet of room.

‘This is our flagship,’ Clark said, speaking from the driver’s seat as I lounged in the rear, trying to decide whether to close the motorized side curtains. I already had made one mistake: As I reached to shut the door, Clark said, ‘No! Just press the button!’ There is a button that, when held down, closes the door for you, a feature sadly not found anywhere on my 6-year-old Ford pickup.

Clark pointed out the three types of leather used inside the car; explained how the wood trim consists of 29 layers; turned on the optional ‘starlight’ headliner, which has dozens of tiny fiber-optic lights peeking though the perforated leather. It does indeed look like a starlit sky.

It was hard to decide whether to look at that, the lamb’s wool carpet on the floor, or just out the window, wishing we would somehow pass the White Station High School Class of 1971 reunion.

This car starts at $450,000, Clark said, ‘but this one has a few options,’ including that lighted headliner. Total price: $540,000.

Rolls, as you likely know, is owned by BMW, and the four models — all part of the Phantom family, differing in the number of doors and overall size — are powered by the same 6.7-liter BMW-built V-12 engine, with a six-speed automatic transmission. Fuel mileage? Really, are you serious? OK, it’s an EPA-rated 11 mpg city, 18 mpg highway. There’s a new ‘baby’ Rolls coming for 2010 that should appeal to lower-end high rollers, thus doubling sales.

Clark and I change places, and behind the wheel of the Phantom EWB, your first thought is: This thing is huge, with an overall length of nearly 240 inches. Weight: Nearly 3 tons.

Still, acceleration is brisk, and handling — thanks to an air-controlled suspension — is better than you’d think, and the ride is, of course, sort of like your living room sofa, if that sofa had 453 horsepower.

So who buys these cars?

‘People who want, and can afford, the finest car in the world,’ said Monte Patterson, who sells the Rolls at an Orlando, Fla., dealership called Ultimate Motor Cars. ‘People tell me when they buy a Rolls-Royce, their lives change forever.’

—Steven C. Smith