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responding in kind. Looking straight
ahead, I can almost feel the force of the
woman with the dog trying to figure out
how I amassed enough of a fortune to buy
a $300,000 car. I wonder how long it will
take her to decide that I am a Hilton.
Nosing back onto
the freeway, I punch
the gas. Though the
Ghost’s many ame-
nities give it a weight
of nearly 3 tons, the
engineprovidesmore
horsepower than a
Ferrari California,
whichmakes it capa-
ble of speeds of up to
155 mph (unsurpris-
ingly, the Rolls-Royce
company sidelines in
jet engines). And like
a royal who learned
to walk with a book
on her head, the Ghost carves the precipi-
tous hairpin turns of the SanMarcos Pass
as gracefully as a much smaller vehicle,
2012 ROLLS-ROYCE GHOST
EXTENDEDWHEELBASE
The bells and whistles
with nary a cashmere headliner thread
out of place.
I shoot out of the mountains and
through Santa Barbara, a ritzy Spanish-
inflected beach townwhere scalloped clay
roofs throwshadows over stone sidewalks,
on my way to the Pacific Coast Highway.
Here, the car draws fewer stares, at least
until I pull into the drive-thru at In-N-
Out for a burger to calm my nerves. As
I approach the payment window, three
employees crowd into the li le glass box
to gawk, and finally one speaks.
“Will yoube eating this ...
in
the car?” she
asks with a horrified look.
Yes, but, worried myself about making
a poor impression on the Ghost, I open
the sunroof to expunge the smell of
“animal-style” fries (cheese, fried onions,
Thousand Island dressing and so forth)
on my way down U.S. 1 through Malibu,
with the gli ering Pacific like a sheet of
blue satin on my right.
In West Hollywood, I cruise up La
Cienega to the Bazaar by José Andrés
at the SLS Hotel—a postmodern tapas
restaurant of critical note, even in a town
saturated with the same. The red stairs to
the entrancearedo edwithmovieproduc-
ers and starlets and the sundry rich. And
yet, when I pull up, the entire coteriepauses
to stare at the Rolls. Four valets run to the
car. “Maywe,” “May I,” theysay, trippingover
oneanother toopendoorsandoffer elbows.
A er the hubbub of dinner—tiny mor-
sels of foie gras wrapped in co on candy
and served on sticks, Philly cheesesteak
zeppelins filled with Kobe beef—I board
the Ghost for one last trip, this time to
someplace a little quieter: Terranea, a
private estate–style hotel on the ocean.
When I arrive, I can see through the lobby
doors exactly the outdoor fireplace I’d like
to sit in front of with a glass of syrah. But
first, I must contend with the valet, who
is already standing restive by the driver’s-
side door. “Good evening, miss. Shall I just
keep this out frontwhere everyone can see
it?” he asks.
“I think that’s for the best.”
To get this kind of respect in New York City,
senior editor
JACQUELINE DETWILER
might
actually have to buy a diadem.
SPIRITED AWAY
The winding roads carved through the vineyards outside Santa Barbara are no
match for the Ghost, which, though huge and heavy, is as sure-footed as a sports car
Starting Price:
$290,000
Engine:
A
6.6-liter V-12
provides 563 hp
and 575 lb-ft of
torque to propel
the enormous
Ghost with ease.
Performance:
The combination
of big car and big acceleration
(zero to 62 in 5.1 seconds)
yields gas-guzzler fuel economy
—13 mpg in the city, 20 on the
highway—but you didn’t expect
this kind of luxury to come cheap,
did you?
Perks:
A 16-speaker sound
system, umbrellas in the doors
and an extended wheelbase that
delivers an extra 6.7 inches of
legroom. Plus, the voice-activated
Bluetooth-compatible computer
also provides infrared night vision,
helpful in avoiding animals.
BOARDING PASS
You can easily launch
a Southern California
getaway from one
of United’s 62 cities
served by LAX in
Los Angeles. Get to
LAX from all seven
of United’s other U.S.
hubs; there’s also daily
service from Tokyo
and service from five
Hawaiian airports.
Go to united.com to
see flight schedules
and book your trip.
32
MAY 2012
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Road Trip