Rolls-Royce debuts Ghost Series II at Geneva motor show

The Rolls-Royce Ghost has been with us for five years, and for 2015 the company has treated the sedan to a number of design tweaks inside and out, and has brought the refreshed Series II Ghost to the Geneva Motor Show this week. The changes to the outside are hard to spot at first, and Rolls-Royce readily admits that the revisions that have been made to the exterior are rather subtle.

By far the most obvious visual difference, one that will help identify this as a Series II sedan, are the headlights which have been treated to a redesign, and are no longer perfectly rectangular. The design of the hood has also been slightly tweaked, and now features a "wake channel" right behind the Spirit of Ecstasy leading to the windshield in the same manner as a contrails of a (private) jet. The bumpers have also been slightly revised, and are meat to accentuate the car's width and height.

"As a design statement, Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II continues to transcend time," said Giles Taylor, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Director of Design. "This is ensured by the deft treatment of features such as the new headlights, the new wake channel on the bonnet and surfacing that lend the car a more dynamic, purposeful stance and hint at the cutting edge technology inside. I am very pleased with the overall sense of design harmony."

The presence of technology on the inside is a slightly bigger priority than it was when the Ghost first debuted, and the Series II sedan, which will once again be available in short and long-wheelbase form, will offer on-board Wi-Fi along with Satellite Aided Transmission (SAT). A carryover from the Wraith and other models in the lineup. SAT uses GPS data to pre-select the correct gear for the terrain ahead, which will probably be more appreciated by the chauffeur than the rear seat passengers. The seats have also been redesigned, and now feature electronically adjustable thigh supports, and in "Lounge Configuration" the rear seats are slightly angled towards each other. The Ghost also features voice-activated navigation, telephone, and multimedia. Changes to the interior are rounded out by slight revisions to the trim on the dash, the inclusion of new types of wood veneers (Paldao and Walnut Burr Crossband), and the option of extending the leather surfaces to the A and C pillars.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
The design of the dash has received only minute revisions.

A new 10.25-inch screen debuts in the Series II car, though that's perhaps something which will be more appreciated by those sitting up front than in the back. The Ghost Series II sedan will also feature a new Spirit of Ecstasy Rotary Controller which incorporates a touch pad, which can be used to write characters by finger. The system recognizes English, Latin, Arabic, and Mandarin Chinese characters, and also incorporates "pull and pinch" functionality of smartphone screens.

The powerplant remains the same, and that means a 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged V12 with undisclosed power statistics -- "adequate" as Rolls-Royce always used to say. As the Ghost Series II debuts, it's not power but interior room that Rolls-Royce will have to worry about, as Mercedes-Benz is set to debut its extra-long-wheelbase S600 Maybach, squarely in the price range of the Ghost.

By Jay Ramey