What is it?
This is a new way into Rolls-Royce ownership that is cheaper, but not what you could call affordable, with a price tag set to come in just a shade under £200,000. However, you get a twin-turbo 6.6-litre V12 engine, which out-guns the Phantom's V12 motor for power, and 0-60mph in just 4.7 seconds. Impressive stuff from the 'compact' Rolls, helped by a new eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Why's it here?
Rolls-Royce's supreme overlords at BMW obviously wanted to show off the family silver on home turf, so here we have the new Rolls Ghost at Frankfurt. And why not? This is the first all-new, non-Phantom based Royce since the launch of that model in 2003. It also shows Rolls-Royce is moving with the times - albeit in its own rarefied atmosphere - by introducing a smaller machine.
Show stopper or floor filler?
When the day comes that a new Rolls-Royce isn't a show stopper, that's the day we'll be hanging up the keyboard for good. Okay, so the Ghost uses a much modified version of the latest BMW 7 Series's frame and it costs the thick end of two hundred large, but it's still a star of the show. It's also the car that will double Rolls-Royce sales now that the order books are open.
Alisdair Suttie - 17 Sep 2009