If you’ve ever wondered what a luxury apartment on wheels going fast looks like, this is it. Exhibiting both pace and grace, the Rolls-Royce Ghost is at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend. Despite having a massive V12 engine under the hood, the ultra-luxury sedan is nearly as quiet as the Spectre electric coupe that tackled the same famous hill just a couple of days ago.
The luxobarge in question is a Series II model, a marketing jargon for a facelift. Rolls-Royce discreetly updated the Ghost in October 2024, and this marks the car’s first appearance at Goodwood. It’s the standard wheelbase version rather than the even larger Extended model. Still, at 5.5 meters (218 inches) long, it slightly eclipses the current-generation BMW 7 Series in size.
The Ghost doesn’t just drive up the hill climb course. It glides and wafts, doing so at an impressive pace given its sheer size and weight. Most of the noise you hear comes from the tires, which take a beating as the driver threads the smallest of the Rolls-Royce sedans through the narrow track.
A Rolls-Royce owner will almost certainly never push a Ghost that hard on a track, let alone ride as a passenger while someone else does. Still, it’s remarkable to see how composed this land yacht remains during a hot lap at Goodwood. The air suspension has its work cut out for it, yet it does an excellent job of keeping the car smooth and stable.
It’s worth noting this is a regular Ghost, not the more powerful Black Badge version. That variant has an additional 29 horsepower and 37 lb-ft (50 Nm) of torque, bringing the total to 591 hp and 663 lb-ft (900 Nm). Not that the wealthy occupant in the back would likely notice the difference between the two anyway.
The Ghost is a natural step up from a 7 Series if you want to stay within the BMW Group. Soon, ALPINA will bridge the gap between the two with the return of the B7, under a new name. Based on next year’s 7 Series facelift, it’s rumored to offer six- and eight-cylinder engines, along with electric derivatives. Yes, an ALPINA EV is on the horizon.
If you want twelve cylinders, you still have to move up to the Ghost. The venerable twin-turbo 6.75-liter engine also powers the even larger Phantom and the Cullinan SUV. For how much longer? Rolls-Royce plans to go fully electric around 2030, so the majestic “N74” engine’s days are numbered.
Source: Goodwood Festival of Speed / Instagram