In fact, the company says "complex, busy stitchwork has been eschewed," which goes back to that whole minimalist approach to the new Ghost. All the leather is stitched together by hand with "incredibly long and perfectly straight lines," according to Rolls-Royce.
#Rolls royce ghost driver
That serenity is something that should be enjoyed by driver and passengers alike, thanks to a cabin that's as stunning as you'd expect from a car with a Spirit of Ecstasy on the hood. The end result is comfort above all - a ride quality that's nothing short of serene. Even the eight-speed automatic transmission has a GPS link so it can seamlessly upshift or downshift in advance of an approaching hill or turn. Plus, the Ghost has a stereo camera in the windshield that can scan the road ahead and alter the dampers for upcoming road-surface changes. In simple terms, the dampers have dampers, which should make the ride buttery smooth. The Ghost has what's called an upper-wishbone damper unit above the front suspension assembly. And to that end, Rolls-Royce created something it calls the Planar Suspension System, which the company grandly says will "create a sense of flight on land never before achieved by a motor car." Arguably far more important than its cornering capabilities and 0-to-60 time is how smoothly the Ghost can waft down the road, delivering Rolls' signature "magic carpet ride" effect.
Of course, on-road performance is relative when it comes to a Rolls-Royce. The larger headlights flank an illuminated grille. Additionally, the Ghost's chassis incorporates rear-axle steering, which will not only make it slightly more agile while cornering, it'll make the big sedan far more manageable at slow speeds in parking lots, valet lines, private jet hangars and so on. This should make the Ghost more appealing to folks who live in colder climates - go on, park one at your grand lodge in Aspen - and provide some small handling benefits, as well.
The shared Cullinan architecture means the Ghost now has all-wheel drive, whereas its predecessor relied on rear-wheel drive only. (Fun fact: This is the only engine for which we allow two decimal places.) Here, the big V12 produces 563 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque, which is enough shove to get this 5,628-pound sedan to 60 mph in a scant 4.6 seconds. That's for the standard-wheelbase Ghost, by the way an Extended version will launch later this year.Ĭonsidering the familiar underpinnings, it won't surprise you that the Ghost uses a familiar engine: Rolls-Royce's well-known 6.75-liter, twin-turbocharged V12. Its 129.7-inch wheelbase matches that of the Cullinan but the Ghost's body is 8 inches longer overall - 219 inches, stem to stern. The new Ghost rides on Rolls-Royce's proprietary and modular Architecture of Luxury platform, the same one that underpins the Cullinan and Phantom. But since Rolls-Royce didn't want the lit-up fascia to come off as too ostentatious, the backs of the metal bars are covered in a matte finish, so they aren't quite so illuminated. Rolls-Royce put 20 LED lights under the top of the grille that shine down on the brushed metal spokes. The headlights and taillights are both larger and more stylized than before and there's an added bit of brightwork in the grille. But look more closely and you'll notice some incredible attention to detail. Taken as a whole, the Ghost has a minimalist appearance. It's all very clean and incredibly handsome.
Also, for the first time on any Rolls-Royce, the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament sits within its own "lake of bonnet," as the automaker says, rather than being housed on a separate panel. The clean lines and smooth creases let you focus on the details, and the hand-welded aluminum body panels are huge, allowing for as few cut lines as possible. The Ghost's exterior design is intentionally quite simple.