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Moses Akaigwe
About five years ago, Rolls-Royce had an open conversation with a layer of their clients that desired “something even more refined, even less ostentatious, a car with minimal design, simple and distilled, but still, in every respect, a Rolls-Royce.”
And, in deference to their desire, the British premium luxury car maker produced the new Ghost: A truly full-sized limousine that “whispers,” and is “eerily quiet.” It was an achievement recorded about 11 years after the first generation of Ghost was born in 2009.
This was confirmed during the virtual world premiere of the new Rolls-Royce Ghost, on September 1, by the Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, who affirmed that with the car, “We set new standards in customer-centricity.”
Müller-Ötvös further remarked, “The first Goodwood Ghost was a response to a whole new generation of clients, both in age and attitude. These men and women asked us for a slightly smaller, less ostentatious means to own a Rolls-Royce.
“The success of the product we created for them fulfilled our most ambitious expectations. Over its 10-year lifespan, which began in 2009, Ghost has become the most successful model in the marque’s 116-year history.
“The only components that we carried over from the first Goodwood Ghost were the Spirit of Ecstasy and umbrellas. Everything else was designed, crafted and engineered from the ground up. The result is the most technologically advanced Rolls-Royce yet. It distils the pillars of our brand into a beautiful, minimalist, yet highly complex product that is perfectly in harmony with our Ghost clients’ needs and perfectly in tune with the times.”
The unveiling which was witnessed by a virtual global ‘audience’, including friends and clients of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Lagos, a member of the Coscharis Group and exclusive representative of the iconic luxury brand, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, in Nigeria. Here are some vital characteristics of the new Ghost:
The 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12: Client feedback asking for near-instant torque and near-silent running led the marque to further develop the Rolls-Royce 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine. A bespoke Ghost engine map was created to ensure ample performance for this dynamic motor car, delivering 563bhp/420kW and 850Nm/627lb ft of torque to the all-wheel steer, all-wheel drive-train.
Planar suspension system: The marque’s hallmark Magic Carpet Ride has evolved. For new Ghost, engineering specialists redesigned the motor car’s suspension completely to deliver what is called the Planar Suspension System. Named after a geometric plane, which is completely flat and level, the system is the result of ten collective years of testing and development to create a sense of flight on land never before achieved by a motor car.
The Upper Wishbone Damper alone was the result of five collective years of road and bench testing. Reserved exclusively for Rolls-Royce, this technology further evolves the marque’s double-wishbone Magic Carpet Ride suspension system.
The ethos of the marque’s founder, Sir Henry Royce, was “Take the best that exists and make it better,” and in this spirit chassis specialists developed the Upper Wishbone Damper to further improve the continuously variable, electronically controlled shock absorbers and the self-levelling high-volume air strut assembles. It has never before been applied to a production motor car.
Effortless doors: Rolls-Royce clients have enjoyed self-closing doors since the first Goodwood Phantom. Operated by a button on the dashboard and on the C-pillar for motor cars with rear doors, this innovation has been celebrated among customers. For new Ghost, the marque’s engineers elected to further develop this hallmark technology and, for the first time, clients can now also open the doors with power assistance.
Once the client has alighted, they are able to close the door completely automatically at the push of a button on the exterior door handle. If they prefer to close the door manually, the operation is power assisted.
Micro-environment purification system: New Ghost benefits from a new Micro-Environment Purification System (MEPS). Existing air filtration technology was further developed to incorporate a full suite of hardware and software improvements. Highly sensitive Impurity Detection Sensors were introduced to detect ambient air quality, automatically switching fresh air intakes to Recirculation Mode if unacceptable levels of airborne contaminants are present.
This channels all cabin air through a nanofleece filter, which is capable of removing nearly all ultra-fine particles from the Rolls-Royce’s micro- environment in less than two minute.
Most technologically advanced Rolls-Royce yet: The new Ghost was introduced as being perfect in its simplicity. But, creating this pure and detoxifying environment was one of the greatest challenges in the marque’s history.
Further equipment includes: LED and laser headlights with more than 600m of illuminated range, vision assist, including day- and night-time wildlife and pedestrian warning; alertness assistant; and a four-camera system with panoramic view.
The list also has all-round visibility and helicopter view; active cruise control; collision warning; cross-traffic warning; lane departure and lane change warning; an industry-leading 7×3 high- resolution head-up display; Wi-Fi hotspot; self-park; and the very latest navigation and entertainment systems.
