Once upon a time, rock ’n’ roll was an underdog’s game. From postwar black pioneers like Chuck Berry and Little Richard, on to a poor white kid from Tupelo, Mississippi, to some working class lads from Liverpool, it stood as a thumb in the eye of the establishment; it was a soundtrack to disquiet the milquetoast mores mid-century America, then as a sonic analogue to the unrest of the 1960s. And there’s nothing like tweaking the toffs by purchasing one of their most conspicuous totems. Like, for example, a Rolls-Royce. But what does it mean when Rolls repays the compliment?
-Unlike Ferrari, who found themselves 37 distinct hues of bent over dance-music huckster Deadmau5’s NyanCat-themed 458, Rolls-Royce is the sort of concern that’ll gladly and pleasantly accommodate anybody with a half-mil (give or take) to blow on an automobile. And they’ll even happily make note of garishly customized automobiles formerly owned by their customers. Because there’s no better way to quell rebellion than simply subsuming it, repackaging it, and selling it back.
-Welcome, then, to the Rolls-Royce Wraith Inspired by Music. And no, when Rolls says “music,” they’re not talking Stravinsky, Brahms, or even that wildman Bartok. In the press release, Goodwood specifically name-checks Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and Keith Moon, citing Elvis’ Phantom V (purchased in 1961), Lennon’s 1965 Phantom 5, which he’d done up in a paint job that would look right at home on a Philippine Jeepney, and Keith Moon’s swimming-pool Roller. Which the company would have you know was not driven into a full swimming pool, but was accidentally rolled into an under-construction pool after somebody forgot to set the handbrake.
-Was that Moon himself? The Who’s drummer, after all, famously didn’t drive. In 1970, during an attempt to escape a band of unhappy skinheads, Moon took the wheel of his Bentley accidentally and ran over his driver, Neil Boland. But that’s Volkswagen’s PR problem now.
-BMW-owned Rolls-Royce would rather celebrate what’s ultimately harmless mischief and a bit of excess. As such, they’re offering up this Wraith, swathed in Lyrical Copper paint over a black interior with copper accents. A 1300-watt sound system suitable for blaring “Live at Leeds” features headliner-mounted exciters among its 18 speakers. Rolls claims it took two years to put the audio suite together, placing the sound engineers at the forefront of the project. In the case of this particular Wraith, the interior designers had to consult with the audio propellerheads before making any aesthetic changes, lest they mar the pristine quality of the listening experience.
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It’s a far cry from a half-functional Peavey PA in some kid’s Minot, North Dakota basement. It’s quite a distance from the Cavern Club in Hamburg. And it’s a long, long way from Berkley’s 924 Gilman Street. It seems all that’s left is to simply await the inevitable Emirati announcement of the Burjer than Khalifa Inspired by Grand Funk Railroad.
-from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1IoVu43
via Agya
