Rolls-Royce showcases its second-generation Ghost saloon

Eleven years is a long wait. But Rolls-Royce cannot be rushed. Although it took over a decade for the second generation of the Ghost to make its debut last week, the time seems well spent as the Goodwood marque spent it completely overhauling the first-generation model.

“The only components that we carried over from the first Goodwood Ghost were the Spirit of Ecstasy and umbrellas,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars at the time of its launch. And he may not necessarily be indulging in unhinged hyperbole.

The new Ghost which is now 89mm longer and 30mm wider than the previous model is built on an aluminum platform – a similar one used in the Cullinan and Phantom. Laser-welded aluminum has reportedly been used to make the doors too. Using aluminum in the doors reduces the amount of ambient sound allowed to feed through from outside into the cabin – that there are over 100kgs of sound-deadening material added to the car including in its wheels, doors and roof makes the interior incredibly sound-proof. A 1,300Watt Bespoke Audio System meanwhile will offer all the sound you require inside.

Under that imposing hood of this all-wheel drive, you’ll find a 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12 engine which too is shared with the Cullinan.

That engine produces 571PS of power and 850Nm of torque. The combination results in a claimed 0-100kph time of 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 250kph.

A camera-system scans the road ahead and automatically adjusts the suspension, while a satellite aided transmission system provides a plush ride quality.

While you’d be right to point out top speeds and torque aren’t primary selling points for Rolls-Royce that prides itself on craftsmanship, luxury and its ability to bespoke a car to match a client’s vivid imagination, Rolls-Royce has evolved over the last decade.

It says that the average age of its customer has now dropped to 43 – meaning that not only are they likely to be within the driver’s seat actively engaging the eight-speed automatic transmission, rather than in the well-appointed rear seat, it also implies that performance is a major talking point.

It’s not to say that the interiors aren’t as well curated as a designer apartment. Wood, leather, and metals are all of the highest quality – as you’d expect from Rolls-Royce – but a special shout out (or a gentle whisper, for this is a Rolls-Royce after all) must be reserved for the Illuminated Fascia. Developed over two years with over 10,000 man-hours spent on that detail found in the passenger side of the car on the dashboard, consists of 152 tiny LEDs mounted on the fascia, each of which has a colour to match the instrument dial lighting and clock.

Inside, a new Micro Environment Purification System which channels all air entering the cabin through a nanofleece filter that can remove “all ultra-fine particles” from the cabin in under two minutes. It’s primed for the conditions we find ourselves in 2020, in more ways than one.