BMW BLOG

British magazine Autocar breaks the monotony of car reviews by comparing two models produced by the same brand: Rolls Royce Phantom and Rolls Royce Ghost. Although the two large sedans from Goodwood have some similarities, such as a BMW-derived engine with 12 cylinders under the imposing bonnet, there are also important differences to consider.

Anyone who has been around these vehicles are of course aware that the Ghost is much more tailored to the driver and provides a much more dynamic driving experience, a bit in a contrast with the usually chauffeur driven Phantom. This is also obvious in the power department since the twin-turbocharged V12 in the Ghost is a lot more potent than the currently offered V12 naturally aspirated engine in the Phantom . Of course, since the Ghost is built on the 7 Series extended platform, the overall weight is lower therefore its dynamics are improved. Read the rest of this entry »

Automotive magazine Road and Track had the opportunity to test drive the latest release from Rolls Royce, Ghost. The new Rolls which is built atop the most recent BMW 7 series platform and it is manufactured at the Goodwood plant. Ghost shares some interior and exterior materials with the Phantom and Drophead Coupe, but fit into a shorter wheelbase.

Rolls Royce Ghost measures 212.6 inches long, 83 inches wide and 61 inches tall, all of this sitting on seven-spoke 20 inch wheels wrapped in 285/40 and 255/45 tires. The engine used in the new “baby Rolls” is an all-new 6.6-liter V12 producing 507 563 horsepower.

While most of the technical and design details are already known, let’s take the time to read about the ride quality and handling.

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Torsten Müller-Ötvös (49) will assume management of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd., a subsidiary of BMW AG based in Goodwood, UK, at the end of March. Müller-Ötvös succeeds Tom Purves (61) as Chief Executive Officer. Purves, who has held this position since July 2008, will retire as of 31.03.2010.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös has been with the BMW Group for more than 20 years. During this time he held a number of management positions in the Sales and Marketing Division. He successfully re-launched the MINI brand and internationally re-established this quintessentially British marque as the first premium small car brand. In January 2004 he assumed responsibility for central Group marketing and brand management at BMW. Müller-Ötvös has been running BMW’s global product management since April 2008, as well as parts of its after-sales business.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös will continue to report to Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Group sales and marketing and also Chairman of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd. Ian Robertson: “Torsten Müller-Ötvös has many years of solid experience in the fields of brand and product management as well as marketing. He is the perfect candidate to lead Rolls-Royce Motor Cars into a period of expansion – having not only a successful track record as a manager, but also a feel for the unique attributes of a traditional brand.”

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2010 starts a bit different here. Instead of focusing on our usual BMW vs. the world comparisons, we decided to change the focus on one of BMW’s most successful acquisitions: Rolls Royce.

In 1998, British luxury car maker Rolls-Royce has been sold to BMW for $571 million – despite promises of a higher bid from rival Volkswagen. At the time, BMW said that they wanted to invest about $1.6 billion in Rolls-Royce over the next 10 years. Skipping forward 12 years, the Rolls-Royce acquisitions proved to be very successful, both for BMW and the UK high luxury automaker. The latest Rolls Royce Ghost model is being said to be sold even before it hits the market.

At the highest end of car luxury, Rolls-Royce has a significant opponent: another British automaker, the VW-owned Bentley. Both brands are highly respectable, with a long history in the high-end luxury segment and with a status icon attached to them.

Valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars, many of these ultra luxurious models remain a dream for many of us and the lack of driving tests, make it even harder to properly compare them. Therefore, we propose to focus today on the heritage, design, road presence, value, quality and technology of these cars, and the photos below will help us to pass on a fairly accurate judgment.

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UK based publication, Car Magazine one of the first automotive outlets to test drive the new 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost, the recent addition to the high-end luxury family. Let’s find out their impression on the car.

This is the new Rolls-Royce Ghost, a £192k British-built luxury limo. Find the majestic Rolls-Royce Phantom a bit gauche? Some potential owners do, says Rolls, so the smaller, more demure and slightly more affordable Ghost is the answer. Read on for CAR’s verdict on the new Rolls-Royce Ghost.

Demure? Surely the whole point of having a Rolls is to make a statement.

We’d have thought so too, but some potential buyers wanted all of the luxury of the Phantom in a package that they could leave on a parking meter without attracting undue attention. The more restrained presence and £192,500 list price (£80k less than the Phantom) means 80 percent of Ghost buyers will be new to the brand. And over half of those are likely to come from Bentley, not something the Crewe concern will be happy to hear.

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Rolls Royce CEO, Tom Purves and member of BMW board, Ian Robertson, have unveiled the production version of their latest Rolls Royce model: Ghost.

Launched at the Geneva Motor Show in a concept form and carrying the name EX200, the Ghost is Rolls Royce’s latest bet. With record sales in 2007 and 2008, RR hopes to return to high sales sometimes in 2010 and the Ghost can be the model that will pull them through.

The new Rolls which is built atop the most recent BMW 7 series platform, will be manufactured at the Goodwood plant and it will share some interior and exterior materials with the Phantom and Drophead Coupe, but fit into a shorter wheelbase. At the same time, RR Ghost has a very modern and round design giving the impression of a smaller and sportier luxury vehicle.

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Rolls Royce has officially launched the beautiful, ultra luxurious and very powerful, Ghost. While the first official photos of the concept were released back in February, the Rolls fans had to wait a few more months for the unveiling of the production model.

The Ghost is scheduled to make its debut next week at the Frankfurt Auto Show and it is expected to be one of the show’s stars. Until the real time photos which will be featured on your number one BMW news website, let’s enjoy the official shots from the UK based company.

Press Release

Autumn 2006, Paris motor show: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announced that work had begun on a new model series. The new car would be in production and on sale by the turn of the decade. The only other facts confirmed at that stage were that it would be smaller than the Phantom saloon and priced somewhere between €200,000 and €300,000 before tax. Speculation about its style and specification began almost immediately…

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In a press release today, Rolls Royce revealed more information regarding their latest model: Ghost. Due to launch in September, with a World Premiere at the Frankfurt Auto Show, the RR Ghost is powered by a new V12 6.6 liter turbocharged engine which produces 563 horsepower at 5,250 rmp and an impressive 575 lb-ft of torque at 1,500 rpm.

The engine is matted to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission, similar to what we will see in future BMW models. The Ghost accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in only 4.7 seconds and has a maximum electronically limited speed of 155 mph(250 km/h).

As we have previously mentioned, the new Rolls Royce Ghost was built on the long wheelbase platform from the new 7 Series and measures 5,399mm (212.6 inches) in length, 3,295mm (129.7 inches) in wheelbase, 1,948mm (76.7 inches) in width, and 1,550mm (61 inches) in height.

With this occasion, Rolls Royce also revealed the highly awaited pricing, which as you might have expected, it’s not on the low side. In the UK, the Baby Rolls will sell for £165,000, while in rest of Europe, the base price starts at €213,000.

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