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At the Paris Auto Show in the fall of 2006, Rolls-Royce announced it had begun work on a new model series, one smaller and ostensibly more affordable than the flagship Phantom. Little else was confirmed other than a promise that the car would be in full production and on sale by the turn of the decade.



A little over three months ago, in the fall of 2009, the "entry level" Rolls-Royce Ghost was confirmed as a reality. It is a smaller, less expensive sibling to the Phantom, although in both cases those descriptions are relative.



The Ghost, based on the latest BMW 7 Series platform, is still a big car, even if it is a foot and a half shorter and about 6 inches narrower than the Phantom. Its initial price point registers just shy of a quarter-million dollars ($245,000).



Crucially, however, Rolls-Royce corporate bills the Ghost as more of an engaging driver's car, contrasted with the Phantom, which most people regard as a car to be driven in (rather than one you drive yourself).

To illustrate the point, Rolls-Royce factory drivers were on hand at launch to demonstrate the Ghost's inherent stability systems, including Dynamic Stability Control and Anti-Roll Stabilization. Unlike stability management in a true sport sedan, which is designed to mitigate the driver's inherent skills (or lack thereof) to maximize performance, the Ghost's chassis management is more tuned to reconcile the car's dynamic capabilities with maintaining passenger comfort. Simply put, while dynamically more capable than previous Rolls-Royce models, the Ghost still has a measurable amount of cushion built into its air-cushioned suspension. In spite of its enhanced driving capabilities, the "prerequisite levels of comfort" are still the main selling point.



The Ghost is the most powerful Rolls-Royce to date courtesy of a revised version of the twin-turbo BMW V12 introduced late last year in the BMW 760Li. In this guise it produces 560 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque, the latter available at just 1500 rpm. Power is transferred to the ground via a smooth, seamless eight-speed automatic transmission. Power delivery may be described in the traditional way — adequate. And its deployment is absolutely drama-free at any speed thanks to the octet of forward gears.



Ergonomics and presentation within the cockpit are suitably elegant, though reminiscent of the 7 Series (for good reason). The seating position is more elevated, however, and makes visibility from the driver's seat superb—a boon when maneuvering a car this size at any speed.



The multimedia interface is a derivation of BMW's iDrive and offers virtual control over just about every driving subsystem and creature comfort present inside the vehicle. The system and its myriad menus and sub-menus may be a bit daunting at first, but learning to navigate them just takes a little practice.

Standard creature comforts abound, beginning with the doors, which include integrated Teflon-coated umbrellas in the fronts and traditional coach-style (or "suicide") rears that open outward up to 83 degrees for uninhibited entry and exit. Four-zone climate control is standard, with individual controls easily accessible by back-seat passengers.

Two seating configurations are available for said back seat: standard lounge seating, and individual lounge seating (optional), which adds massage and ventilation functions to individual bucket seats. Either configuration is available with Theatre Configuration, allowing all functions not directly assigned to the driver to be controlled from the rear. Functions are displayed on 9.2-inch LCDs embedded in the front seat backs and controlled by a central armrest-mounted rotary controller.

The 600-watt audio system comprises a 10-channel amplifier and 16 individual speakers, including two floor-mounted subwoofers. USB and auxiliary inputs allow integration of external audio devices, and a built-in 12.5-gb hard drive enables storage of audio files.



Digital "eyes" mounted in various places about the car's exterior help monitor your immediate environment and help simplify moving this large, quarter-million-dollar piece of machinery through an obstacle-filled environment. Its rear, front-side and top-mounted cameras can combine their respective playback to provide a virtual bird's-eye view of the vehicle itself and immediate surroundings, as well as offering an unobstructed rearward view and fish-eye views of the environment to either side, useful, for example, at blind intersections.



Even with its hefty base price, the Rolls-Royce Ghost is available with a range of optional equipment, including: Comfort Entry, which allows keyless ingress, egress, and igition, as well as voice activation for the various systems menus in the central multimedia (iDrive) interface; wood veneer "picnic tables" that fold down from the front seat backs; Head-Up Display to project information like vehicle speed and textual navigation instructions (when the system is activated) onto the driver-side windscreen; infrared Night Vision playback through the 10.2-inch LCD display in the center dash; a Lane Departure Warning system that monitors road markings and alerts the driver through vibrations in the steering wheel if the vehicle wanders to close to the lane boundaries; High Beam Assistance, which automatically monitors light from any source at the vehicle's front and dips or raises the headlight beams accordingly; Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go, which monitors vehicles directly in front of the Ghost via radar and actively speeds or slows the car to maintain a predetermined following distance; and Active Brake Intervention, which allows steep hill descents at a constant speed or reduced speed in corners if the car's DSC functions determine safety — and notably, comfort — may be compromised.



Of course, with a car of this caliber, the sky is virtually the limit when speaking of bespoke equipment or accoutrements. Twelve exterior colors, eight colors of leather, and five wood veneers are available, but nearly any hue or combination of them are available if a customer is willing to pay. There are even stories of Rolls customers shipping their own exotic woods to the Goodwood factory to have their own custom veneers made.

The Rolls-Royce Ghost may seem a departure somewhat from the company's set trajectory, meant as it is to be a more accessible, more approachable offering. In this it succeeds—although, again, words like "accessible" or "approachable" when speaking of a car of this ilk are — like the words "smaller" and "less expensive" — quite relative.

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