Rolls Royce Ghost

The Rolls-Royce Ghost is a luxury saloon from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. The "Ghost" nameplate, named in honour of the Silver Ghost, a car first produced in 1906, was announced in April 2009 at the Auto Shanghai show. During development, the Ghost was known as the "RR04." Designed as a smaller, "more measured, more realistic car" than the Rolls Royce Phantom, aiming for a lower price category for Rolls-Royce models, the retail price is around £170,000 (US$255,000). The production model was officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. The 17 cm longer option Ghost Extended Wheelbase was introduced 2011. Parked next to a Rolls Royce Phantom, even if the latter steals most of the spotlight, it still commands a respect and attention of its own.

It belongs to the elite segment of ultra-posh cars with extravagant prices for the decades of heritage and dollops of luxury that they offer. The Ghost's main competition, according to Rolls Royce, is supposed to be the Bentley Continental Flying Spur, even though it costs as much as the larger Bentley Mulsanne. 

200EX concept

Rolls-Royce 200EX.

Rear with the door open.

The original concept car, named the 200EX, was officially unveiled at the March 2009 Geneva Motor Show, indicating the styling direction of the production model Ghost.

Unlike the aluminum-bodied Phantom, the 200EX was made from steel, which has a higher tensile strength and can therefore be made thinner. The chassis used an intelligent four corner air suspension system and multi-link aluminium front and rear axles. Systems such as Active Roll Stabilisation, four corner air springs and Variable Damping Control operate as one, imperceptibly, to provide the best possible comfort for occupants. Connected to the main computer, the suspension is able to detect the movement of a single rear passenger from one side of the seat to the other, and compensates accordingly.

Design

The Ghost was designed by Andreas Thurner and engineered by Helmut Riedl, who led the development of the larger Rolls-Royce Phantom. The Ghost, codenamed RR04 during its design phase, was developed to compete with vehicles significantly less expensive than the Phantom, such as the Bentley Continental Flying Spur.

The car is based on a heavily modified platform shared with BMW’s latest 7-Series, called the F01 platform. The company concedes that 20% of parts are common to both cars. The Ghost has a 129.7 inches (3,290 mm) wheelbase, roof height, bonnet height and track widths all of its own, and the Ghost uses Phantom-style air springs. The car also shares the FlexRay electronic system with its larger stablemate. The car weighs 5,445 pounds (2,470 kg) at the curbside.

Like other current Rolls-Royce models, the Ghost uses parent company BMW's iDrive user interface; unlike the Phantom series, the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament along with more functions, are controlled using the system.

Engine

A rear "coach door" on a 2011 Rolls-Royce Ghost.

The engine is a bored and stroked version of BMW's N74 6.0L twin-turbocharged (twin-scroll) V12, now displacing 6.6 litres, featuring BMW's VANOS variable valve timing, high-precision direct fuel injection, and valvetronic; and generates 563 bhp (420 kW) producing 780 newton metres (580 lbf·ft) torque, with ZF 8-speed automatic transmission. The engine allows the Ghost to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.7 seconds, which is bloody fast, especially considering that a full-on super car like an Aston Martin Vantage takes just a tenth of a second less to get there.  It has an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph (250 km/h).

Manufacturing

The Rolls-Royce Ghost is built on its own dedicated production line at the Goodwood plant, sharing paint, wood and leather workshops with the Phantom series.

Mansory version

In mid-2010 Mansory introduced its own tuning version, named White Ghost Limited. Apart from exterior changes, its engine has 630 bhp (470 kW), resulting acceleration from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.5 seconds with top speed of 290 kilometres per hour (180 mph).