Five things we love about the new Rolls-Royce Ghost

The 2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost is billed as the most advanced car the hallowed British manufacturer has ever built, riding on a lightweight aluminium chassis and equipped with high-level autonomous driving tech, all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering and plenty more.

We’ve already seen it in the metal, but recently we were treated to a first look at the Ghost Extended in Australia – with a lengthened wheelbase and more room to stretch your legs inside one of the most opulent cabins you’re ever likely to encounter.

The second-generation Ghost is brand-new from the ground up.

In fact, there are only two components Rolls says the upcoming limo shares with the first-generation Ghost: the Spirit of Ecstasy ornament on the bonnet, and the umbrellas stashed away within the doors.

Here are five things we love about the British limo.

When customer deliveries begin in the first quarter of 2021, the all-new Ghost will arrive as the most affordable Rolls-Royce model that (lots of) money can buy.

Pricing starts from $628,000 plus on-road costs for the standard wheelbase, while the longer-wheelbase Ghost Extended has an asking price of $740,000 plus ORCs.

This is well up from the previous Ghost, which when we tested it in 2016 had a list price of $595,000 plus ORCs, but still stands as something of a bargain considering the Rolls-Royce Phantom  is priced upwards of $900K…

It took Rolls-Royce more than two years and 10,000 collective hours to perfect, but, when it arrives, the Ghost will be the first model to debut the brand’s new star-lit dash.

Positioned on the front dash fascia ahead of the passenger seat are more than 850 twinkling LED lights that have been laser-etched into a surface that, when the car is switched off, appears to be a regular piece of piano-black trim.

The word ‘GHOST’ appears among the stars, however Rolls-Royce says the wording can be customised to the owner’s desire.

Rolls says the software behind its new ‘Planar’ suspension system allows the Ghost to proactively adapt to intrusions in the road surface that lie ahead of the vehicle.

The system is apparently the result of 10 collective years of testing and development to “create a sense of flight on land never before achieved by a motor car”.

In other words, cameras and sensors up front continuously monitor the road ahead, setting the self-levelling air suspension up in advance to tackle bumps and potholes as smoothly as possible.

During the development phase, Rolls-Royce engineers at its Goodwood factory packed more than 100kg of acoustic sound dampening into the new Ghost’s body, but they soon came to realise this probably wasn’t the best idea.

In testing, passengers were becoming sick and disorientated due to the extraordinary quietness of the cabin. Ahhhh, what a problem to have.

To cure it, Rolls-Royce made some changes to the seat brackets and boot area, allowing tiny amounts of road noise in to make the Ghost feel a little less ethereal and more like a real car.

Meanwhile, the team created a soft “whisper” undertone that comes through the cabin as a “single, subtle note”.

The Ghost will come standard with Level 2 autonomous driving functionality, with the ability to upgrade to Level 3 where permitted in the years ahead.

That means highway driving – depending on where you are in the world – can be hands-free.

Wait… does that mean you should be paying Jeeves less to drop you at the ball?