The price of progress
were carried over from the old Ghost,’ said the man from Rolls-Royce at the launch of the 2021 model. ‘One of them is the Spirit of Ecstasy – and the other two are the umbrellas in the doors.’
A clever conceit, and one that undermines how new the New Ghost actually is. Presumably he was referring to the body and trim, since the engine is the familiar twin-turbo 6.75-litre V12, delivering an ‘adequate’ 563bhp and 627lb ft of torque. But the rest of the car is very different indeed.
For a start, there’s all-wheel drive and all-wheel steer. The latter helps tighten this 5.55mlong car’s turning circle, and increases its agility at speed. The suspension is also new and features a unique upper-wishbone damper system to further smooth out the ride on challenging surfaces. Ghost ride quality has always been good and the new car’s is first-rate, even on the standard-fit 21in wheels that are an aesthetic necessity in this market – according to head of exterior design, Felix Kilbertus. We’ll cut Felix some slack because he owns a 1978 Alfa Spider, and is therefore clearly a good bloke.
Perhaps inevitably, the Ghost is longer (by 89mm) and wider (30mm) than of old. More conventionally styled, too. While unmistakably a Rolls-Royce, it foregoes the slab-sided hauteur of the 2009 original in favour of ‘waft lines’ that make it look sleeker. Combined with a wider grille (now subtly backlit for added drama), the effect is more modern but perhaps a tad less distinctive.
Rolls-Royce deserves credit for realising that touchscreens are the devil’s work, however, and it’s committed to maintaining traditional switches and buttons rather than menu options.
According to the spokesman, the watchword now is ‘post opulence’, a rejection of bling among the super-rich. Anticipating raised eyebrows, the RR chap went on to explain how a Rolls-Royce should be ‘a detoxifying environment for the owner’. That translates to a pared-back interior, with an absence of unnecessary detail.
The Ghost’s cabin is certainly a sublime place in which to travel. RR’s engineers have gone to incredible lengths to reduce interior noise (absolute silence would be uncomfortable, apparently; what you want is ultra-careful acoustic harmonisation), which also allows you fully to appreciate the V12’s pleasant snarl under acceleration; it’s more pronounced than in a Cullinan and underlines the Ghost’s position as the driver’s car of the range. The old Ghost was always fun to pilot, and the new one betters it.
Can you fault it? Hardly. The sat-nav graphics look a bit clunky, and RR engineers will surely rejoice when they’re finally able to ditch the drag- and noiseinducing elephant-ear door mirrors that current legislation dictates. And let’s hope we’ll see a return to ‘proper’ instrument dials with real needles; these fake digital ones are starting to look a little passé now. But, at an asking price of around £250,000, the new Ghost is still one of the Best Cars in the World.