Waftability

Waftability /wof-tuh-bil-i-tee/ noun (uncountable)

Waftability is a piece of automotive jargon used to describe the serene, effortless, and exceptionally smooth manner in which a luxury car, most notably a Rolls-Royce or Bentley, travels along the road. It is the automotive equivalent of riding on a magic carpet, a state of almost total isolation from the vulgarities of the outside world where bumps are smoothed into oblivion and the engine is a distant whisper. To achieve waftability is to make progress without any apparent effort, a sensation so detached from the act of driving that it becomes something else entirely: simply arriving.

The Full Story of Waftability

The pursuit of waftability is a deliberate engineering philosophy, a conscious decision to prioritise serenity above all other automotive virtues. Creating this sensation requires a carefully orchestrated recipe of mechanical refinement, where every component works in harmony to erase the outside world.

The first ingredient is a large, unstressed engine. Historically, this meant a big, lazy straight-six or, even better, a V8 or V12. The engine must produce huge amounts of torque at very low revolutions, allowing the car to surge forward with just a gentle squeeze of the throttle. There is no need for noisy, high-revving histrionics. This is what Rolls-Royce famously meant when they described their engine's power as "adequate"; it was so effortlessly delivered that to boast about numbers would be unseemly. This silent, muscular presence is paired with an automatic gearbox whose changes are utterly imperceptible to the occupants.

The second, and most crucial, ingredient is the suspension. The starting point is a compliant, long-travel setup, expertly damped to prevent the car from descending into a nauseating, boat-like wallow. For decades, Rolls-Royce perfected this, eventually licensing Citroën's clever hydropneumatic self-levelling technology to ensure their cars maintained a perfectly level ride, regardless of the load or road surface. The suspension dismisses potholes as minor irritations with a faint, distant thud.

The final element is mass and quietness. A true luxury car is heavy, and this sheer physical bulk helps it to smother road imperfections. This is combined with hundreds of kilograms of sound-deadening material in the floor, bulkheads, and doors. Thick Wilton carpets, heavy underfelt, and even double-glazed windows all conspire to create a cabin with the tomb-like hush of a gentleman's club library.

This British ideal of waftability stood in contrast to other nations' take on luxury. The great German saloons from Mercedes-Benz were always a little firmer, sacrificing the final degree of pillowy comfort for better high-speed control. American luxury cars from Cadillac often took the comfort too far, resulting in an uncontrolled, floaty ride that lacked the disciplined grace of a Bentley. Today, the modern obsession with huge wheels and thin tyres is the sworn enemy of waftability, as the tyre's cushioning sidewall has been all but eliminated. The pure, detached glide of a classic Rolls-Royce is a sensation being slowly lost to time.

For The Record

Who invented the term "waftability"?

It is a piece of journalistic jargon, not a manufacturer's term. It is believed to have been popularised by the British motoring press, particularly magazines like Autocar and Motor, in the mid-20th century to describe the unique driving sensation of a Rolls-Royce or Bentley.

Is a "waftable" car good to drive?

That depends entirely on your definition of "good." If you want a relaxing, comfortable, and serene experience, it is the best. If you want a car that feels agile, sporty, and communicates the road surface to the driver, then it is one of the worst. It is deliberately uninvolving.

What is "adequate" horsepower?

This was Rolls-Royce's traditional, and famously coy, answer when asked about their engine's power output. It was a piece of marketing genius that implied the power was so immense and effortlessly delivered that to measure it in vulgar numbers would be ungentlemanly.

How did Citroën's suspension relate to this?

Rolls-Royce, from the 1965 Silver Shadow onwards, licensed the patents for Citroën's high-pressure hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension system for their rear axle. While the overall feel was tuned differently for a more traditional British ride, the French technology was key to achieving that perfectly level, magic carpet sensation.

Why don't modern luxury cars waft in the same way?

Fashion demands enormous alloy wheels with very thin tyres. These have stiff sidewalls that transmit road imperfections directly into the suspension. A classic Rolls-Royce used smaller wheels with taller tyres whose deep, flexible sidewalls acted as a crucial primary element of the suspension system.