Hammering a Rolls-Royce Ghost down the drag strip: Motoramic TV

Per the expectations of traditional Rolls customers, the Rolls-Royce Ghost Extended Wheelbase includes umbrellas hidden in the doors, self-righting wheel center caps and a Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament crowning a grille that’s just slightly smaller than the cow-catcher on the Santa Fe 3751 steam locomotive. But since the Ghost is the sportier of the two Rolls sedans, the one that they expect might actually find its owner at the helm, its 6.6-liter V-12 is fitted with twin turbochargers. Boost ramps up by 1,500 rpm, at which point the V-12 is cranking out 575 lb-ft of torque and you’re ready to boogie.

When rapper French Montana says, “I’m in that white Ghost, chasin’ Pac-Man,” he must be talking about an advanced level of the game where the ghosts are really fast. Rolls quotes a quarter-mile time of 13.3 seconds, but I say it’s a little bit quicker than that. I base this assertion on the Rolls-Royce Ghost Extended Wheelbase’s performance at the drag strip, where I took it to clock some times and also repeatedly explain why I had a $356,000 car at a drag strip.

I can’t say if this was a particularly quick example of a Ghost, since there were no other Rolls-Royces at the track that day. I can say that if you’re being chased by bad guys in a V-8-powered Chevy S10, you might well outrun them. While I never did break into the 12’s, the big Rolls knocked out 13.0-second runs at 110 mph all day long. That’s pretty serious haste, by any standard.

I assumed that with its road-crushing weight, soft suspension and a wheelbase akin to that of a full-size SUV, launching the Ghost would be an idiot-proof affair. But with the traction control deactivated, a sudden stab of the throttle would initiate riotous wheelspin. And once those 285/40/20’s break their grip on the pavement, there’s not much you can do to reign them in. With two turbos, 12 cylinders and a driveshaft the length of the Alaskan Pipeline, there’s a lot of rotational inertia that wants to keep things spinning. John Force couldn’t pedal this thing once it breaks loose.

The secret of Rolls drag racing, then, is to get the rear tires hooked up with at least one rotation before you pour on the coals. Stab the gas from a cold start and you’re going to smoke the tires like the fine Cuban cigars that you keep in the humidor on your G6.

Although the Ghost is ostensibly the Bentley competitor of the Rolls lineup, the driver’s car, the Extended Wheelbase model is 6.7 inches longer than a standard Ghost. Thus, when you tire of the drudgery of the wheel, you can retire to the rear suite and let one of your minions finish the trip. It seems the best of both worlds — there aren’t many cars in which you can run a 13-second quarter-mile and then climb in back, recline your seat and take a nap. Home, Jeeves.