Skip to main content

Rolls-Royce’s Ghost II exudes opulence, down to the monogrammed fuel cap

If you’ve spent more than $275,000 on a car, you probably have a Rolls-Royce Ghost in your driveway. And you’re in good company, as the big-body Rolly is the best-selling car in its class.

It’s time to put your Rolls dealer on speed-dial; there’s a new Ghost. And it’s called the Ghost II.

Related Videos

Effortless and intentionally boat-like design

Despite the cost and sheer amount of luxury and refinement to the Ghost, at its core, it was designed – as Rolls-Royce puts it – to “harness the power of simplicity.” That means that nothing should ever distract the driver or passenger’s pleasure.

But, honestly, just looking over that wonderfully long hood would be distracting. The British automaker accurately describes the front fascia as more closely resembling a jet air-intake than a traditional Rolly. And I’d say it does. Get too close and you might be sucked right in.

Beneath that big face and hood featuring “wake channel” lines, Rolls designers have installed large chrome air intakes that rapidly feed cool air to the front brakes. Those well-cooled brakes are surrounded by 19-inch wheels as standard, with 21-inchers available on option.

Ensuring Jeeves never forgets who he works for when he’s pumping gas in the rain, Rolls will also monogram the stainless-steel fuel-filler cap. Rolls-Royce calls this option a “surprise and delight.” I just call it amazing.

Intimate interior

On the inside, all the seats have been redesigned. The biggest change perhaps comes in the rear, though. The second-row passenger seats recline, allowing for unparalleled lounging with heat and massage. The rear row seats are also now slightly angled toward one another, “to create a more intimate setting, allowing passengers to communicate more easily,” as Rolls puts it.

For when you’re looking forward, the instrument dials have undergone a transformation. They’re now surrounded by metal chaplets and are designed to evoke the feeling of precise, handmade wristwatches. Surrounding those elegant timepieces are two new wood veneers: Paldo and Walnut Burr Crossband.

The Ghost II isn’t all about old-world luxury and decadence, though. In the 21st century, the successful Rolls owner demands technology, too. In keeping with the original design, however, the technology is there to help, without raising your heart rate.

2015 Rolls-Royce Ghost II

What could you ever imagine your four-door British luxury sedan to do? The Ghost II can do it – and more. With the push of a single button, “on-board Wi-Fi facilitates email, file sharing, telephony and video-conferencing. The user is also able to watch televised business news in order to remain ahead of the game.”

Rather than include a touchscreen, which can gather “unsightly fingerprints at driver and passenger eye level,” the Ghost II includes a Spirit of Ecstasy Rotary Controller and a touchpad. The pad can be used to write out letters and numbers in English, Latin and Arabic. Just like a smartphone, users can pinch on the touchpad to zoom in and out on the screen.

Uncomplicated power and responsive handling

Rolls-Royce doesn’t give performance numbers for the Ghost II. Suffice it to say, it’s wildly powerful. The Ghost II features a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 that is now mated to an eight-speed automatic Satellite Aided Transmission, which was first seen on the Wraith.

The transmission knows what kind of road you’re on – be it a windy mountain road or a slow-moving highway – and chooses the perfect gear for the situation.

Cushioning the blow of all those twin-turbo’d ponies hitting the pavement is the optional Dynamic Drive Package that utilizes redesigned front and rear struts and a new steering gear. The ride is both smooth and spirited with just the appropriate amount of road feel coming through the thicker steering wheel.

Editors' Recommendations

The 10 best Amazon Prime original movies to stream today
These incredible Amazon Prime original movies are worth a watch (or two)
best amazon prime original movies report

If you know anything about Amazon (and let's be honest, who doesn't), you probably know it as one of the biggest retailers in the world. As that retail business continues to grow, though, Amazon has also gotten into the streaming game in a major way. There are lots of movies on Amazon Prime movies as well as plenty of shows, but this list is focusing on the streaming films that have been produced by Amazon as a studio. Amazon clearly wants to be a dominant player in Hollywood, in addition to the dominance it already has in the world of retail, and based on this list, it's well on its way.

Because Amazon is such a new studio, all of the movies on this list are quite recent. Hopefully, that means that they feel vibrant and relevant, and will continue to hold up for years to come.

Read more
Easy, Intuitive Cleaning with DEEBOT T10 OMNI: Hey YIKO, Vacuum and Mop My Home
ECOVACS DEEBOT T10 OMNI cleaning floors

This content was produced in partnership with ECOVACS.
Picture this, you've just sat down after a hard day's work, barely have a moment of respite, and your phone rings. It's your mother-in-law and she's going to pay an impromptu visit. Before even hanging up you're wracked by a state of panic. The house is a mess. There's clutter everywhere. It will take forever to organize, vacuum, mop, clean, and get everything else done before she arrives. It's not a fun situation but let's rewind here. If you had ECOVACS' newest state-of-the-art smart vacuum and all-in-one cleaning system, the DEEBOT T10 OMNI, the situation would be barely an inconvenience.

The DEEBOT T10 OMNI has an all-in-one station that handles just about everything you'd need it to, like auto-emptying the dustbin, auto-cleaning the mop attachments, and auto-hot-air-drying the mop. It's the most advanced docking station on the market, but AI is baked into this system at nearly every touchpoint. Intuitive AI voice controls allow you to issue voice commands without moving a muscle. It could be as easy as calling out, "Okay YIKO, start cleaning here!" It knows exactly where "here" is thanks to a built-in voice locator. AI is also leveraged to prevent the spread of granular particles while it's vacuuming, so it won't make a bigger mess. Coupled with sophisticated mapping and object detection, plus a large battery, this thing will just keep going as long as it needs to. If all of that sounds like something you might need, keep reading.
Buy Now
 
The Best Features First

Read more
The best horror podcasts (listen to at your own risk)
Want a good chill? Check out the best horror podcasts of 2023
A scary sketched Frankenstein monster.

A good scary story doesn't just come to life. It takes great narrative ability and some out-there content. Fortunately, there's a podcast for just that.

Sure, we love a good music podcast, but sometimes you want that eye-opening rush otherwise known as fear. The best horror podcasts reawaken that sense and remind us that not only are humans strange, but some things are just really, really hard to explain. So as the days get a little longer and the darkness of winter subsides, hang on to a bit of that darkness with a good old-fashioned terrifying tale.

Read more