List Auto: Rolls Royce

Rolls Royce has dropped the 'Full Monty' on its all-new Ghost, a smaller, more affordable and dare we say, more driver-orientated limo than the flagship Phantom. First announced at the 2006 Paris Motor Show, the Ghost was previewed at this year's Geneva Show in the form of the 200EX concept. As you can see in the photo album after the jump, the production model, which will compete head on with Bentley's Continental Flying Spur, is virtually unchanged from the concept.

The Ghost's exterior styling is clearly influenced by the Phantom featuring similar details such as the front-end design and the rear-hinged coach doors that open to a generous 83 degrees, with the overall look being slightly softer and more rounded than that of the larger Rolls.

Buyers will be able to opt for a contrasting Silver Satin finish for the bonnet, grille and windscreen surround, as seen on the 200EX concept.

Not surprisingly, the Phantom also inspired the Ghost's interior styling that features a similar dashboard layout and all the "usual" luxury amenities and high quality materials expected from a car with a six-figure price tag. Individual lounge seating is offered as an alternative to the standard lounge configuration, which allows the addition of a massage function and also perforated leather for a cooling stream of air from the seat surface -sic...

Rolls Royce says that while Ghost is over 400mm (16-in.) shorter overall than the Phantom saloon its interior space is comparable.

Underneath the sheetmetal, the Ghost's underpinnings borrow heavily from the long-wheelbase BMW 7-Series, meaning that the baby Rolls ditches the Phantom's aluminum spaceframe construction for a steel monocoque body.

The Ghost rides on a double-wishbone front suspension and multi-link rear suspension that work in conjunction with a high-tech, four-cornered air-suspension system and electronic variable damping. The company claims that the new air suspension system is so sensitive that it can detect even the movement of a single rear passenger from one side of the seat to the other and compensate accordingly. The system also incorporates a lift and kneel function, raising or lowering Ghost by 25mm.

"Our challenge," says Engineering Director Helmut Riedl, "has been to preserve the prerequisite levels of comfort while delivering the most modern, dynamically interesting drive ever in a Rolls-Royce."

As expected, the Ghost also gets all sorts of electronic aids that include Anti-Roll Stabilization, Dynamic Brake Control and Dynamic Stability Control, including Dynamic Traction Control and Cornering Brake Control.

Motivating the 5,399mm / 212.2-in. long and 2,435kg / 5.368 behemoth is a brand-new 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine with direct injection that makes 570 horsepower at 5,250 rpm and a maximum torque of 780Nm or 575 lb-ft at just 1,500 rpm. Power is transmitted to the rear-wheels through an eight-speed, shift-by-wire, automatic ZF gearbox.

The limo is said to accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 4.9 sec (0-60mph: 4.7 sec) and go on to an electronically governed top speed of 250km/h or 155mph while returning an average fuel consumption of 13.6 lt /100 km (17.3 mpg US or 20.8 mpg UK) and emitting 317g/km of CO2.

The Ghost will make its world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany later this month and go on sale in Europe towards the end of the year with prices in the UK starting from £165,000 ($272,000 US or €191,000) excluding taxes and delivery charges. In other markets including the USA and Asia Pacific region, the Ghost will begin to arrive at showrooms from the second quarter of 2010.