Seven Days of Dream Car Garages: Day Six by Craig Cole

2012 Rolls-Royce Phantom (with chauffeur)

If the M3 is all about funneling driving pleasure to the left-front chair then my next pick is dedicated smothering rear-seat passengers in obscene luxury. As land barges go, the Rolls-Royce Phantom is as lavish as they come.

Why a Roller? Well, sometimes you just don’t feel like driving. On those rare occasions the ghostly Phantom is perfect for the job.

Its interior is swathed in hectares of supple animal hides, knee-deep carpeting and enough wood trim to make it feel as though you’re sitting inside a tree. The floor mats are so plush asphyxiation from wool inhalation is a serious threat.

The car is also loaded with all kinds of gadgets and clever touches, from power-closing suicide doors to artfully concealed umbrellas. Overall the vehicle oozes class(warfare) and refinement.

For my personal chauffeur (we’ll call her “Alexandra”), a 6.7-liter V12 waits under the Phantom’s aircraft carrier-sized hood. Brandishing direct fuel injection and as many other technologies as money can buy, it delivers a stout 453 brake horsepower, likely more than the Space Shuttle.

In a lot of ways the Phantom is a car from a different era. It’s huge, it’s opulent and it’s highly desirable. Like American sedans of decades past this Rolls-Royce is an ocean liner for the highway.