Rolls-Royce Ghost at the Frankfurt Motor Show

• Competes with: 2500sf 4BR/2.5BA … OK, a Maybach 57
• Looks like: A smaller Phantom sedan, which isn’t a bad thing
• Drivetrain: 563-hp, 6.6-liter twin-turbo V-12 with eight-speed automatic transmission
• Hits dealerships: Likely sometime in early 2010

Those who follow the ultra-luxury segment — both fanboys and the people who can actually afford these things — will recall Rolls-Royce’s 200EX concept, which was unveiled at last spring’s Geneva Motor Show. The Ghost is the production version, and it looks much like the 200EX. A smaller, less expensive sibling to the RR’s flagship Phantom, the Ghost should appeal to “customers who have never had a Rolls-Royce before,” Rolls-Royce CEO Tom Purves told Bloomberg News at this week’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

Of course, less expensive is a relative term. With a reported starting price around $338,000, it’s a wee bit pricier — a mere $160,000 — than Bentley’s least expensive sedan, the Continental Flying Spur.  But the Rolls is no Continental lookalike. It looks more like cars of the steel-girded, half-a-million-greenbacks ilk, complete with an imposing upright grille, suicide rear doors and a power-retracting Spirit of Ecstasy statuette.

The Ghost is smaller, to be sure — some 16 inches shorter than a Phantom sedan — but it should prove to be a sizable presence in any driveway. At 5,445 pounds, it packs nearly 1,000 pounds of additional heft versus a Mercedes S600. That won’t weigh it down, though. Thanks to a 563-horsepower, twin-turbo V-12 and an eight-speed automatic, Rolls-Royce says the Ghost scoots to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds.

Inside, the five-seat cabin has a number of influences from Rolls-Royce owner BMW. There’s an iDrive-like controller for the center-dash display, though thankfully, it appears to have the functionality and shortcut keys from the Bavarian’s latest-generation iDrive, which beats iDrive 1.0 like “Top Chef” beats “Iron Chef.” (Oh boy, here come the emails.) As you might expect, wood and leather abound, with cowhides cut from bulls that roamed in barbed-wire-free fields. There are plenty of technological amenities, too:  Front, side and rear cameras provide fish-eye views around the entire car, active cruise control can bring the Ghost to a full stop in traffic and rear passengers can enjoy their own multimedia system displays.

There’s no word on when the Ghost will materialize at U.S. dealerships — a Rolls-Royce representative has yet to return our calls — but we’d expect it to arrive sometime early next year. Stay tuned for more details, and check out the photos below.

Hood Ornaments' Last Stand

Unruly teens have often found solace in ripping hood ornaments off their high-school principals’ sedans. Lucky for principals now, hood-mounted crosshairs, half-naked flying ladies and big, leaping cat or ram heads carving through the wind are practically nonexistent these days. Only a few luxury automakers still use classic hood ornaments.

Hood ornaments of all shapes and sizes used to grace foreign and domestic cars in order to instantly give recognition and status to the car underneath. A combination of new car design aesthetics and European pedestrian safety regulations — to prevent hood ornament versus pedestrian contact — led to the demise of the classic upright hood ornament. Although, if you’re going to be hit by a car, you likely have more to worry about than an automaker’s emblem imprinted in your forehead.

Mercedes-Benz is one of the few makes to still widely use a traditional ornament on its sedans, displaying its classic “Star” emblem on many new sedans, including the newly redesigned 2010 E-Class. For Mercedes, it’s a matter of tradition that keeps the emblem mounted vertically on the hood, says spokesman Robert Moran. Other Benz models that still use the classic emblem include the 2009 C- and S-Class. The Benz models do use an emblem overseas and still pass all European safety regulations; theirs is designed to collapse upon contact. 

2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom Video

We won’t beat around the bush: Cars.com reviewer Mike Hanley gives the 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom a rave review in this video. And it stands to reason that there would be something amiss if he hadn’t, seeing as Rolls wants nearly half a million dollars for this ultra-luxury vehicle. Check out some the Phantom’s bells and whistles in this video.

First Look: Rolls-Royce Ghost

Rolls-Royce released this new image of its upcoming Ghost, and from what we see here, the production model looks much like the concept.

Other than that, the press release was short on details, but it did promise that the vehicle would deliver “impeccable poise.” (The British would say something like that.) The new Rolls will include a state-of-the-art chassis, which will use an intelligent four-corner air suspension system. No word yet on performance numbers or the price tag, but somehow we’re willing to bet it will be hefty.

The Ghost will go into production in England (if you want a job, Rolls might still be hiring) in late 2009, with a release date sometime in 2010. 

Through Ian's Lens: 2009 Rolls Royce Phantom

When the nation is in troubling economic times, car manufacturers are filing for Chapter 11 and talk about expensive cars means you might spend $30K on a sedan, the name “Rolls-Royce” is the last thing you’ll hear in the news. Well, the only reason I’m mentioning it now is because at Cars.com, we never get our hands on one. So when Rolls-Royce asked if we would like to test-drive and photograph the Rolls Royce Phantom Coupé and the Extended Wheelbase Phantom, we jumped at the chance.

As a historical design icon, Rolls-Royce keeps up its legacy while adding cutting-edge technology that puts a modern twist on a classic look. As new screens, buttons and creatively lit headliners are added, the wood, fine leather, lamb’s wool carpet and plush interior quality reinforce the fact that the current Phantom is still, above all else, a Rolls-Royce: Decadent, over-the-top and way too comfortable — three things my car will never be. But I can envy them, right? And how can you not adore that hood ornament? On these models, you can even electronically retract it before it ends up on a chain around some suburban kid’s neck.

Let me know what you think in the comments section below. As always, feel free to use the full-screen mode on the photo browser.

Who's Hiring? Rolls-Royce

The economy may have started showing some signs of life lately, but unemployment is still extremely high in the U.S. and Europe. Car sales everywhere are down significantly. Yet there’s a silver lining for one company: Rolls-Royce announced today that it would increase its manufacturing workforce 50% — that’s 150 new employees — to build its new Ghost, which goes on sale in 2010. A design sketch of the Ghost is pictured above.

If you want to move to England to work on the Ghost assembly line, you can check out Rolls-Royce's current vacancies here.      

2009.5 Rolls-Royce Phantom: First Drive

The Rolls-Royce Phantom extended-wheelbase sedan starts at around half-a-million dollars — $450,000, to be precise, but what's $50 grand, right? — and is 20 feet of attention-grabbing luxuriousness that can be customized to suit your stylistic whims. That was predictable; what I was not expecting was that this big sedan would be so easy to drive.

2008 Geneva Motor Show: Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe

• Competes with: Bentley Brooklands
• Looks like: A two-door for NBA superstars and British aristocrats
• Drivetrain: 453-hp, 6.75-liter V-12 
• Hits dealerships: Fall 2008

Rolls-Royce introduced its latest Phantom Drophead Coupe — aka convertible— to rave reviews from the automotive elite last year. The big, brutish, brush-steel-finished coach led to big sales for Rolls-Royce. So what does the British carmaker do to follow it up? Meet the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe.

This is the “sporty” version of the Phantom. The company promises this is “the most driver-oriented model in the Phantom line.” It’s shorter, has a stiffer body and still has a huge V-12 engine with 531 pounds-feet of torque under the bonnet.

Full specs haven't been released yet, but highlights include rear-opening doors, which the company says strengthen the body. A picnic boot around back flips down so you don’t get your trousers soiled when picnicking. And topping off the ultra-luxurious cabin is a headliner pinpointed with dozens of LEDs to create a star-filled night sky. We’re not sure if that feature is standard or optional. We also don’t know how much the Coupe will cost, but expect it to hover around $400,000. Until you can find that much under the sofa cushions, check out the photos below.

2007 Detroit Auto Show: Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe

Don’t let the name fool you, this is the all-new Rolls-Royce convertible that will have the movers and shakers of Rodeo Drive and Palm Beach rushing to their local exotic dealership to place their orders. The gorgeous ragtop — yep, it has a canvas top, the world’s largest — will go into production this summer with a 6.75-liter V-12 engine capable of 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds. The price for such beauty and exclusivity? If you have to ask, it’s too much. Actually, the estimated price of $350,000 - $400,000 does seem a bit much, even for this piece of automotive art. We expect Rolls-Royce to sell every one they make.

We’ll see more of the Drophead Coupe at next week’s Detroit auto show but for now, check out more photos below.