Rolls-Royce Ghost

Rolls-Royce Ghost Overview

We in the car-reviewing industry are no strangers to a bit of marketing fluff. Our eyes are now desensitised to it, trained to gloss over the flowery writing in every press release, honing in instead on the facts and figures. But there’s something about the way Rolls-Royce does it that’s so enchanting; you want to savour it instead, like letting a sip of wine swirl around your tongue before drinking it. The vocabulary is sophisticated but not overpowering, inviting rather than technical, drawing you discreetly into a life of luxury with every advancing word. I don’t know the exact cubic capacity of the engine, but for a change, I don’t care. Owners are ‘clients’, the best-seller is the ‘most-requested model’, an SUV is a ‘high-sided vehicle’, and acceleration is ‘progress’. Their used-car business is called ‘Provenance’ – it’s just incredible!

The reason I bring up Rolls’ bewitching turn of phrase is because it reinforces the fact that it won’t let its standard drop, it won’t make a compromise, and it certainly won’t do entry-level. And as the veil comes off the Series II (Rolls speak for facelift) Ghost, the brand’s ‘more approachable’ saloon, it’s clear they haven’t done any of that.

2025 Rolls Royce Ghost design

Did you know the core tenet of Rolls-Royce’s design philosophy is to begin with square, upright, straight lines at the front, and finish with smooth curves at the tail? I didn’t, but now I can’t look at any model from the marque’s 120-year history and not see it. In the Ghost, that begins with the unmistakable Pantheon grille up front, the Spirit of Ecstasy tipped forward proudly atop it. Sharp lines frame the rectangular headlamps and a bonnet that is purposefully long, falling vertically down the sides in flanks that enhance its 2.1-metre width and monolithic form. But then, as the window line approaches, the lines soften and dip, flowing into an almost triangular D-pillar and elegant tail.

Unlike most facelifts that add styling elements, the Series II Ghost subtracts and simplifies. The front is a lot cleaner now, with slimmer, softer-edged headlamps and a single line of LED light signature. The complex, almost sporty air dam in the front bumper has been supplanted by a slim, single piece low down, though it must be said the Black Badge version you see here does have some passive aggression – beg your pardon, ‘assertion’ – in its air intakes. There are striking new 22-inch wheel designs across the range; a separate selection for the Black Badge that are more ‘open’ to better view the brake calipers. And at the rear, the LED tail-lamps feature the distinctive vertical strakes first introduced in the Spectre EV.

Black Badge wheels designed to show off brakes.
 

2025 Rolls Royce Ghost interior, features

The bigger news if you’re an actual Ghost client (See? It’s working) is that the customisation catalogue, called Bespoke, has expanded considerably to include options introduced in the Phantom Series II, Cullinan Series II and Spectre. These range from the subtle to the ostentatious to the downright bizarre. “We don’t like saying no,” explains Phil Fabre de la Grange, head of the Bespoke division, and he’s right. Why shouldn’t a Ghost client have access to the full catalogue? And this only furthers the idea that there’s no such thing as entry-level with Rolls-Royce.

Unlike the parent company BMW, Rolls-Royce’s steering rims are as thin as possible.

A big new addition is ‘Duality Twill’ – a complex and colourful stitching pattern meant to intertwine the R-R letters with nautical rope knots, which pairs nicely with the new sustainable bamboo-based rayon upholstery. It uses 11 miles of thread and takes 20 hours to create. There’s a new backlit Spirit of Ecstasy timepiece in the dashboard, and if you look closely at the famous ‘starlight headliner’, a shooting star will streak across at random every now and then. Sunroofs are so gauche. Another detail I love is the move from chrome-ringed fixed digital dials to a modern-looking full-digital instrument screen, which is customisable – once when you order the car. It’s crisp, clean and colour-coded to the interior or exterior of your car, and you can’t change it on the fly.

Speaking of the interior, as with every Rolls, it doesn’t shout about its tech in the same way, say, a Maybach does. Buried deep under thick layers of hide, veneer, chrome and shagpile is the best the BMW Group has to offer; in fact, better, as it’s not as complicated as BMW’s i-Drive. Press a chrome button and a wooden table folds out of the front seatbacks, revealing a touchscreen that was until now hidden behind it. Each of the four doors is servo-assisted, and the motors shut softly at the push of a button. Even the beautifully analogue metal organ-stop toggles are connected to a fully digital auto climate control system inside the dash.

Even SWB models have huge space and recline more than what’s pictured. No sun blinds, though.

I could write a page about the Bespoke audio system alone, with its 18 speakers, 1,400 watts and zero branding. Its clarity and depth coming through those exquisite metal grilles knock the socks off any other high-end car audio you’ve heard, and again, it’s thanks to hidden solutions. It uses cavities in the car’s chassis as resonance chambers, incorporates exciters into the roof liner for greater sound depth, and has microphones that constantly read ambient noise and adjust the amplifier to suit.

As for the throne itself, as the coach door swings open to reveal it, it doesn’t look like much at first. It’s fairly upright and doesn’t appear to have the typical luxury-car puffy bolstering or quilting. Slip inside, though – actually not so easy to do thanks to the rear-hinged door – and you’re immediately lulled half to sleep. They’re the type of cushions you just sink into and extend over to the sides, with an added pillow on the headrest. The seatback recline, at first, seems minimal, but that’s until you realise you have to push the seat base forward to unlock the full angle. As you do this, your head descends behind the C pillar, giving you the sort of privacy reserved for royalty.

Unbranded ‘bespoke’ audio sounds incredible.

Legroom? Even with the standard 3,295mm wheelbase, it’s immense, but there’s also an Extended version with a 3,465mm wheelbase. Seat heating, cooling and massage are options, but interestingly, rear window blinds aren’t. Rolls says most clients are content with tinted rear windows, but of course, these are illegal in India. However, in the spirit of never saying no, they’re working on it.

2025 Rolls Royce Ghost performance, engine

Alarmingly, to these ears at least, Rolls says that since the Cullinan SUV came along in 2018, the number of chauffeur-driven clients across the model range has dropped from a staggering 70 percent to just 11 percent. Should you, then, as a Ghost owner, want to commandeer your own motorcar, might I recommend the Black Badge, as it introduces a hint of spice to the experience, with no compromise whatsoever to comfort.

Power from the six-and-three-quarter-litre twin-turbo V12 gets a bump from 571 to 600hp and torque from 850 to 900Nm, but Rolls is quick to point out that this isn’t some sort of Ghost RS; it’s merely a bit more expressive. This expression is best felt when you press the ‘Low’ button (Sport mode? That’s for plebeians) on the steering-mounted shifter stalk, which tells the 8-speed ZF gearbox to downshift more readily and upshift as late as is fashionable. I can’t, of course, tell you at what RPM any of this happens because there’s no tachometer in a Rolls, just a power reserve meter. Without Low mode, it feels identical to the standard Ghost in every respect.

But there is a different kind of pleasure to be found in extending this large V12 (in this large car) as far as it will allow you. It isn’t high-revving, but it doesn’t feel overtly turbocharged either. Power is a swell, like a tidal wave gathering mass and momentum as it makes its way to shore, and I imagine there have been some learnings from the company’s aircraft engines here. At an undisclosed number of revs, it sounds good, too – heavy and mechanical. And interestingly, Rolls says customers want this, especially in the Black Badge.

Digital dials customisable. At the time of purchase.

Where the previous Ghost was based on the 7 Series, this new one shares no mechanicals with any BMW. It, like every other Rolls, is built on the brand’s aluminium spaceframe Architecture of Luxury, and with that comes clever suspension that has dampers…for its dampers. This, in congruence with self-levelling air springs and a ‘Flagbearer’ system that scans the road and primes the adaptive dampers, has allowed Rolls to fit these 22-inch wheels and sliver-thin tyres with little compromise to ride quality. At worst, you can hear the wide rubber as it hits a sharp bump, but you’ll seldom feel it.

Apart from some minor geometry changes to the suspension, the Black Badge’s ‘disruptive nature’ is simply the work of software. It’s what allows the engine to be more ‘voluble’, the gearbox to shift earlier, the steering to be more reactive and the suspension to respond quicker. Agile, however, is a relative term, and by the physics-breaking standards of large grand tourers like a Continental GT or an AMG S63, it feels a little soft. The rear-wheel steering feels essential here, and the steering has some slack, but that being said, once you get it into a rhythm, twirling the thin-rimmed wheel and making all that mass move is, again, joyous in its own special way.

2025 Rolls Royce Ghost price, verdict

Pre-configured ‘Inspired Specifications’ can be easily ordered, get special names like Idealist.

With the Ghost having gotten so accomplished, what is the point of the flagship Phantom, you might ask? De la Grange likens it to what’s in your wardrobe: “The Phantom is a black-tie tuxedo with dress shoes; it’s for special occasions,” he says. “The Ghost is a business jacket and loafers; it’s something you might use every day.” It makes so much sense for something so far removed from my everyday life.

Because in absolute terms, the Ghost is no less of a car. In fact, it’s a greater car than most others available. The lengths Rolls has gone to surpass just about any other luxury carmaker, and the results are plain to see in the level of quality, sophistication and craftsmanship, which few others can match. At Rs 8.95 crore, before options, you should certainly get your money’s worth. So even if you aren’t the type to self-drive your Ghost, or pick an outrageous specification like this, or opt for the Black Badge treatment, or even be swayed by the mesmerising poetry of the Rolls-Royce lexicon, know that you will be in possession of one of the finest luxury motorcars to have ever put rubber to tarmac.

Also see:

2025 Rolls-Royce prices revealed

Rolls-Royce Spectre: A close look