With the Ghost, Rolls-Royce has followed Bentley’s lead and not been shy about making its ‘entry-level’ car substantially more powerful and therefore quicker than the flagship model above it.
To this end, it has fitted a vast twin-turbo, direct-injection V12 engine that is directly related to the 5972cc unit used by BMW in the 760Li but expanded to displace 6592cc courtesy of a lengthened stroke. It looks imposing under the bonnet with its Rolls-Royce cam covers, but if you lift off the cheap plastic cover with its pretend inlet tracts, BMW signs are not hard to find.
The famous Spirit of Ecstasy mascot sits proudly on the bonnet of the Rolls-Royce Ghost, disappearing into the radiator when the car is locked. It can be operated manually or automatically. Unlike in the Phantom, which has a dedicated button in the glovebox, the control for the Ghost’s mascot is hidden within iDrive.
The unique floating wheel centres always stay vertical and are carried over from the Phantom range. Rear-hinged back doors are another welcome design touch carried over from the Phantom. They work beautifully, both practically and aesthetically.
Huge, square door mirrors give an excellent view behind but seriously block peripheral forward visibility. The small rear windscreen is perfectly proportioned for the car’s styling but it means that rearward visibility is not as good as it should be.
A huge sunroof provides light to the front and rear cabins, opens halfway and comes with a hard cover. As it should for something that costs so much as an option. Similarly, you can get lovely oblong, chrome exhausts, but they’re also an option and quite an expensive one, too.
