“See you in a couple of hours”, Aida said, as the O’Gara Coach Bentley specialist graciously ran me through the controls of my test drive.

With all of the drama involved with driving these days, the Rolls Royce Wraith not only calms the seas, but parts them as well.

Want respect from other motorists? Drive a police car… or a Wraith. Even here in jaded L.A. where you are what you drive, folks gave my Salamanca Blue ride lots of deference.

Handsome, stylish, the swooping coupe comes off as masculine, muscular, a gentleman’s grand tourer. No longer understated, the Wraith is edgier and shorter, being purchased by a much younger crowd (and in some cases, kids not even old enough to drink), anxious for the cache and the “be seen” presence of this car.

While other automobiles are designed to engage all your senses, the Wraith is designed to reduce the outside world to someone else’s problem and quietly gliding along buys you the one thing lacking today…time alone…moments to relax and disconnect. Screw traffic…

Open the suicide (ahem…Rolls calls them coach doors…) and Canalela wood meets pebbled leather reeking with the smell of heritage…the interior feels like every private jet I’ve ever climbed into…but unfortunately never got a chance to take off in.

Not built to autocross, the steering is light, though a touch over-assisted, and a fast sweeper onto the expressway is fairly flat with little body roll due to a shortened wheelbase, but get on the gas and nearly 625 British horses made me laugh out loud because NO Rolls Royce should be this fast.

So why do people buy a Wraith? Ego, of course, but quality and exclusivity also play large parts, and the prestige of owning the coolest thing that Rolls builds announces I’M SUCCESSFUL to both you and others.

Assuming you have $360,000, or so, to spend on what I’m told amounts to a second or third car for the typical buyer, the Wraith is going to make you feel special every time your in it.