Ghost Sighting: Rolls-Royce's 'Entry-level' Sedan Is All-new

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Scratch that. It’s not an all-new car. You see, the second-generation Rolls-Royce Ghost carries over the original model’s Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament and rear-seat umbrellas.

The non-umbrella hardware is changed, however, and likely that’s more of interest to those of you reading. You Rolls-loving TTAC readers, you.

What’s new with the brand’s most affordable model? Read on.

First off, even entry-level Rolls buyers are not ordinary people, and the automaker makes this clear in its rundown of the new model. A decade’s worth of feedback went into the development of this minimalist rolling status symbol. Replacing the initial sedan that arrived back in 2009, the second-gen Ghost borrows the modular aluminum spaceframe found beneath the Phantom and Cullinan. It’s a lighter, stiffer platform, which should assert itself well when owners toss the thing about with reckless abandon.

While wheelbase remains the same, the sedan now stretches 3.5 inches longer, stem to stern, and grows 1.2 inches in width. Another place where size remains the same is beneath the hood, where you’ll find a twin-turbo 6.75-liter V12 engine making 563 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque, mated to an eight-speed automatic.

The world’s going green, but the Ghost isn’t about to shake off the big-displacement luxury of years past. Rolls-Royce says the placement of the engine affords the vehicle a perfect 50:50 weight distribution.

But modernity isn’t absent from the new Ghost. All-wheel drive and four-wheel steering arrives to enliven the driving experience and instill the model with an all-weather capability it previously lacked.

Electricity also plays a larger role here, but not in terms of propulsion. Occupants will now be able to open and close the Ghost’s suicide coach doors without exerting themselves. Once closed, those doors will help cocoon occupants in a vault of silence, aided by 220 pounds of sound-deadening insulation and double-glazed windows all around.

A somewhat hazy planar suspension system works with pneumatic dampers at all four corners to remove as much vibration from the motoring experience as possible.

As for appearance, there’ll be no hesitation among passers-by as to what brand this car belongs to. Despite Rolls’ emphasis on creating a “post-opulence” car, one dedicated to purity and quiet refinement, the vehicle’s presence cannot be denied. The grille is flush and the lower air opening somewhat aggressive, but a conservative touch can clearly be seen. Inside, you’ll find careful attention paid to leather and wood, without the blatant tech-heavy ostentatiousness seen in high-end German sedans. There’ll be no accessing a sub-menu in the touchscreen interface to, say, adjust the flow of air spilling from the vents.

Backseat passengers will, however, be able to access plenty of screen time. Perhaps they can watch Howards End.

Price? That’s TBD, though the entry sticker shouldn’t be too far removed from the $314,400 base price of today’s Ghost.

[Images: Rolls-Royce]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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