Rolls-Royce Ghost review
Rolls-Royce Ghost 6.6 V12 Road Test
Test date 01 July 2010
Price as tested £200,500
For Looks, build quality, performance, refinement, interior space
Against Too much visible BMW content, low-speed ride, steering wheel
The introduction of a more affordable Rolls-Royce is nothing new. Indeed, it has been going on almost since the birth of the company 107 years ago. But while the Ghost clearly makes sense on the balance sheets of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and its BMW parent, a careful balancing act has been required to make it both authentic and profitable.
See the Rolls-Royce Ghost 90-second video review
Unlike its Phantom big sister, which employs a unique aluminium spaceframe, the Ghost’s steel monocoque is related to that of the BMW 7-series. In itself, this need be no deal-breaker, and much comfort will have been derived from seeing the success of the VW Phaeton-based Bentley Continental series, but Rolls still has to tread carefully: many of its customers will also own big BMWs (a problem Bentley will not have faced with the Phaeton) and the challenge has been to engineer the Ghost to at least appear a bespoke product, one for which it can charge close to double what BMW asks for a flagship 7-series also powered by a twin-turbo V12.
We happen to think it looks every inch a gorgeous, forward-thinking Rolls. But can it be as good as it looks?
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