Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has shown the brand new Ghost for the first time. Sales begin by this Christmas. The Ghost falls below the big Phantom and although it’s 40cm shorter than big brother, it offers similar kinds of interior space. It measures 5.4m long, 1.9m wide, 1.6m high and has a wheelbase of 3.3m. Announced at the 2006 Paris Motor Show the Ghost has so far been referred to by its codename RR4 or by its concept name 200EX.
“Ghost is one of the most revered names in automotive industry,” said Rolls-Royce Motor Cars CEO Tom Purves. “It evokes images of adventure and technical innovation. The first cars to bear the Ghost name were known not only for impressive dependability and refinement but also great flair and style.”
Under the long bonnet roars a uniquely-Ghost 6.6-litre 48-valve twin turbo V12. It produces some 420kW at 5250rpm and peak torque of 780Nm from 1500rpm. Acceleration is said to come in 4.9 seconds from 0 – 100km/h. While these numbers are clearly quite impressive for any car, let alone one that weighs almost 2.5 tonnes, executives are keen to stress that one does not wind down a Rolls-Royce to mere figures.
“A Rolls-Royce should be graceful in every way: the way it handles, feels and brakes.”
says Helmut Riedl, Engineering Director.
Ensuring this in part is an automatic air suspension system that is so sensitive that when a rear passenger moves from one end to the other it “feels” it and adjusts itself accordingly. Other technical highlights include Lane Departure Warning, Head-Up display and Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go.
Luxury is Rolls’ middle name and as such lots of items that signify this are fitted. These include elegant, frosted lamps and chrome door handles, traditional violin key switches and eyeball air vents, frosted white dials and refined instrumentation. The interior leather is sourced from a special herd of bulls to ensure flawlessness (cow leather tends to stretch and get damaged due to calf-bearing).
Also on the list are a massage function and also perforated leather for a cooling stream of air from the seat surface, Four-zone automatic air conditioning, a panoramic sunroof, a 600 Watt 10-channel amplifier with 16 speakers, a 12.5 GB hard drive for music storage and two 23cm LCD screens at the back.
A total of 12 exterior colours will be available to choose from and can be combined with the Satin Silver bonnet.
Prices at launch
UK £165 000 (R2.1 million)
Europe €213 000 (R2.36 million)
North America US$245 000 (R1.91 million)
Rest of the World US$250 000 (R1.95 million)
South African prices will most certainly be higher than this due to import dues and other charges.
