First tease of new Rolls-Royce Ghost released

The all-new Rolls-Royce Ghost limousine will be revealed later this year and, to prove it, the luxury British car-maker has released the first teasing sketch of the Bentley Flying Spur rival.

Set to be launched on an unknown date later this year, the second-generation Ghost has been described by Rolls-Royce's boss Torsten Muller-Otvos as the "purest expression of Rolls-Royce yet" with a design that's claimed to reflect a new trend of 'Post Opulence'.

There's no official explanation of what all that means, but it's thought that for the next instalment of the Ghost there will be more elegance and less bling.

In a letter to the media, Muller-Otvos revealed that the replacement for the best-selling Rolls of all time took five years to develop and sits on the car-maker's latest all-aluminium platform that already underpins the Phantom and Cullinan.

The only components carried over from the current car is the Spirit of Ecstasy figurehead and the hidden in-door umbrellas.

A common theme with both the current and all-new Ghost is  that the new limo will remain a car that owners will enjoy driving or being driven in, said the Rolls-Royce boss.

The switch to the new post-bling styling is claimed to have been prompted by owners, said Muller-Otvos, who added that customers desired more "minimalism in design".

No more details have been released, but it's thought the new Ghost will come powered by the same 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 as the Cullinan, combined with all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Power should peak at around 450kW while torque should match the same 900Nm offered by the big SUV.

In the build-up to the Ghost's online launch later this year, Rolls-Royce says it will release four animations that will preview what Muller-Otvos insists will be the "most sublime expression of Rolls-Royce yet".