In 2009, Rolls-Royce announced a new addition to its portfolio that offered something entirely different to its flagship Phantom, the first Goodwood Ghost. Laser focused on meeting the demands of its clients, Ghost was an unmitigated success, and throughout its ten-year lifecycle, became the most successful product in the company’s 116-year history.
To create a new product that would continue resonating with Ghost clients, the marque set new standards in customer centricity, bringing to life the purest expression of Rolls-Royce, new Ghost. Precisely tailored to its clients, new Ghost distills the marque’s pillars into a minimalist, yet highly complex product, underpinned by remarkable substance, that is less but better.
ACOUSTICS
The Formula for Serenity
The formula to serenity begins with the new Ghost’s aluminium construction as the marque’s spaceframe architecture offers a higher acoustic impedance compared to steel. Following this, ‘hidden inputs’, components that generate almost imperceptible sound waves are tracked and modified. Finally, the car is harmonised. The marque’s acoustic specialists experimented with a completely silent interior suite but found the experience to be disorientating. To overcome this, they elected to create a ‘whisper’, a soft undertone that is experienced as a single, subtle note.
Bespoke Audio
Audio quality is engineered into the very fabric of the new Ghost. Providing an exceptional listening experience, the following have been incorporated: a resonance chamber into the body of New Ghost’s sill section, a powerful amplifier controlling 18 channels (one for each speaker), exciter speakers alongside more conventional cone-type speakers and two active microphones in the cabin detecting the absence of overemphasis of frequencies.
DESIGN
Exterior
Pursuing this minimalist aesthetic for new Ghost was the design team’s absolute objective throughout, and this begins with the car’s first impression. Subtly communicating presence, the car’s width was increased by 30mm and is framed by sharp bow lines that intersect with an angular light signature, creating an assertive yet beautiful front end.
An ethereal front-end character was achieved not by way of overt design, but with 20 LEDS underneath the top of the radiator grille that subtly illuminate the veins. Thanks to the hand-welded aluminium body structures, the main structure of the car appears as one fluid canvas, uninterrupted by shut lines, and for the first time, the Spirit of Ecstasy is not surrounded by panel lines but rather stands sits within her own ‘lake’ of the bonnet. Turning to the flanks, a single straight stroke is used to emphasise the motor car’s length. The lower ‘waft line’ borrows from boat design and uses reflection to lighten the surfacing and create a pure, uncomplicated sense of motion. Additionally, a subtly arched roof line gently proclaims its dynamic intent whilst the rear end follows this sense of movement and resolves in a taper.
Interior
Ghost’s interior aesthetic pursues the same minimalist principles as the exterior. An environment defined by simplicity and elegance, the interior suite is made up of the very finest leathers, woods and metals.
BESPOKE
Illuminated Fascia
For new Ghost, the marque’s Bespoke Collective of designers, engineers and craftspeople created Illuminated Fascia: a world-first innovation that subtly echoes the Starlight Headliner.
Developed over two years, this remarkable piece brings an ethereal glowing Ghost nameplate, surrounded by more than 850 stars, into the interior suite of the motor car. Located on the passenger side of the dashboard, the constellation and wordmark are completely invisible when the interior lights are not in operation. The illumination itself comes from 152 LEDs mounted above and beneath the fascia, each meticulously colour-matched to the cabin’s clock and instrument dial lighting.
ENGINEERING
Proprietary Aluminium Spaceframe Architecture
Reserved exclusively for Rolls-Royce, the proprietary aluminium spaceframe architecture created an acoustically superior, highly rigid and dynamic proposition, ensuring new Ghost meets client expectations as a motor car that is equally enjoyable to drive as it is to be driven in.
Planar Suspension System
The marque’s hallmark Magic Carpet Ride has evolved thanks to the Planar Suspension System. Created through physical engineering developments as well as sophisticated scanning and software technology, it incorporates a world-first Upper Wishbone Damper unit above the front suspension assembly, creating an even more stable and effortless ride
Effortless Doors
Operated by a button on the dashboard and on the C-pillar for motor cars with rear doors, for new Ghost, and for the first time, clients can now also open the doors with power assistance.
Micro Environment Purification System
Highly sensitive Impurity Detection Sensors were introduced in the new Ghost to detect ambient air quality. If unacceptable levels of airborne contaminants are present, all cabin air is channelled through a nano fleece filter, which is capable of removing nearly all ultra-fine particles from Rolls-Royce’s microenvironment in less than two minutes.
6.75-Litre Twin-Turbocharged V12
Client feedback asking for near-instant torque and near-silent running led the marque to further develop the Rolls-Royce 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine. As such, a bespoke Ghost engine map was created to ensure ample performance for this dynamic motor car, delivering 563bhp/420kW and 850Nm/627 lb-ft of torque to the all-wheel steering, all-wheel drivetrain
