Rolls-Royce has revealed that its upcoming Ghost will use an all-new active suspension technology capable of significantly improving ride and road handing. The bespoke aluminium platform Ghost will receive all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering, too, but the maker said its next-gen Magic Carpet Ride has taken three years to develop on its own. That’s using the outgoing, cloud-like Ghost’s ride as a starting point for development.
Thanks to Rolls’ proprietary spaceframe architecture – or Architecture of Luxury as it prefers – the Ghost’s structure and layout can be bespoke. Engineers have cherry picked from Rolls’ wider parts bin, including all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering, and added a bespoke wheelbase and all-new chassis hardware. Included is an upper wishbone damper unit, which comes as part of a new Planar system that also features a suite of cameras – named Flagbearer – and a GPS connection that enables the car to prepare for road surfaces ahead.
While satellite-informed suspension is nothing new, the combined trio of elements is said to create a world-first suspension system, one actively capable enough to “anticipate and react to even the most demanding road surface”, according to Rolls. In the video below, an illustration of the Ghost’s final setup suggests the ride will keep the body flat even over large bumps and humps, but Rolls also suggests that the Ghost will be more enjoyable to steer quickly. So expect floaty vertical pliancy coupled to surprisingly diligent lateral control.
The engineering team has apparently worked to ensure that these performance parameters apply in all conditions, hence the use of all-wheel drive for the car’s anticipated updated 6.6-litre V12. The twin-turbo motor has some technical similarities to the BMW M760Li xDrive's, where it has 610hp dispatched to all four wheels, but expect the team to make significant alterations for its use in the Ghost, as per Rolls tradition. The new model will cost over £100k more than the Beemer, and the expectations of its customers are vastly different to those of the Bavarian machine.
Indeed, Rolls says its new Ghost has been developed with the feedback of existing Ghost customers at the forefront of engineers’ and designers’ minds. It’s why the incoming model is set to retain a fairly discreet design. Rolls CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös said in a letter last month – in the story below this – that the car would represent a new era of “Post Opulence” for the firm. Spotted development cars have been heavily camouflaged, but from what we can see, they do look to have only gently evolved from the previous model.
No doubt Rolls will be hoping that the Ghost’s 2020 arrival will act as an additional catalyst for sales, following the successful launch of the Cullinan. The SUV was largely responsible for the boost to 5,152 deliveries in 2019, an increase of 25 per cent on 2018 and the best-yet performance in the company’s history. The Ghost’s input into that total has been shrinking since 2018 – it peaked on launch in 2010 with 354 cars built for Europe alone – suggesting the new arrival will provide Rolls’ with a spike in demand for 2021. Perfect timing, then.
Previous story: 07.07.2020
Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös has confirmed that the Ghost III will be launched later this year and marks the culmination of half a decade’s development work. Exactly how the ‘purest expression of Rolls-Royce’ will translate in metal and leather remains to be seen, but earlier spy pictures suggest the look is an evolution of its predecessor’s profile, based on Rolls’ aluminium spaceframe base – an in-house-developed platform we know to be highly effective inthe Phantom VIII and Cullinan.
In an open letter published today, Müller-Ötvös assures us that the Ghost’s development has not been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, despite Rolls being one of many British luxury firms to lean on the Bank of England’s emergency coronavirus funding. The CEO said Rolls has “carefully and responsibly continued work on finalising this remarkable motor car”, with the first stages of its staggered launch to begin in “the coming weeks”, maintaining the second-gen car’s ranking as “a slightly smaller, less ostentatious means to own a Rolls-Royce” versus the Phantom.
The new car is set to take the calibre of its luxury and performance far beyond that of the outgoing model, as illustrated by the benchmark vehicles used in the third-gen car’s testing. Recent spy pics have shown Rolls using a Bentley Flying Spur and even BMW M5 for different parameters, with the latter’s turn of pace – not to mention Rolls’ growing attendance at the Nurburgring – hints for a substantial boost in handling ability. The old Ghost was unashamedly focussed on comfort; going quickly around corners were never part of its forte, but Roll’s aluminium base should improve things over the Ghost II’s steel architecture.
Still, at the centre of it all will be Rolls’ 6.6-litre V12, a motor we already know is capable of running in near silence while dispatching enormous performance. Essentially a redeveloped version of the 610hp twin-turbo engine that powers the BMW M760Li xDrive, we’re expecting even greater effortless and fewer decibels under normal running. Müller-Ötvös says the 2020 car heralds from a new era of “Post Opulence” - whatever that means.
Thanks to camouflaged cars spotted throughout 2020 we know the grille and headlight designs, as well as the general shape, are all unmistakably Rolls. Its maker, though, is striving to “celebrate reduction and restraint” so expect the new Ghost to embrace clean lines and work as a salve to anything SUV-shaped. Rolls would never say it directly, but the implication is an old money offering in a new money world, which is just fine by us – and no doubt the preference of Rolls’ growing customer base, which expanded by 25 per cent to 5,152 sales in 2019 thanks in no small part to the Cullinan.
The importance of the Ghost III in a return to this form needs no explanation, nor does the significance of Müller-Ötvös’ claims that this incoming model will have “tremendous technical substance underpinning what we believe is the most sublime expression of Rolls-Royce yet”. Bold. But hopefully worth the wait, too.
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