New Rolls-Royce Ghost will have all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering
A new video teaser details many of the Ghost's new suspension technologies.
A new Rolls-Royce Ghost is on the way. And while the next-generation sedan will have a "post-opulence" theme in terms of minimalist design, the engineering and technology underneath the surely svelte skin should nevertheless be state-of-the-art stuff.
Rolls-Royce released a teaser video Monday detailing some of the new Ghost's suspension and drivetrain technologies. Most notably, the video confirms the Ghost will ride on the same flexible Architecture of Luxury platform that underpins the Cullinan and Phantom. Like its SUV sibling, the Ghost will use all-wheel drive -- something the previous sedan didn't offer. In order to make the Ghost more agile, it'll be fitted with four-wheel steering, as well.
Beyond those well-known technologies, Rolls-Royce says the Ghost will be the first to use its new Planar driveline, which is comprised of three main things. The first is an upper wishbone damper for added ride stability. Next, there's the Flagbearer system, which uses cameras to scan the road ahead and adjust the dampers accordingly -- something we've seen in other luxury cars like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class . Finally, the Planar group incorporates Rolls-Royce's satellite-aided transmission, which takes GPS data and uses it to automatically upshift or downshift as the road ahead changes. This transmission isn't a new thing for Rolls-Royce -- we've tested it in the Phantom, where it's damn near imperceptible.
"It's not trying to be a sports car, it's not trying to be a grand statement," Jonathan Simms, the Ghost's head engineer, said in an official release. "It's simply exceptional and exceptionally simple." This beauty-in-simplicity theme is said to extend to all parts of the new Ghost, hence the aforementioned "post-opulence" directive.
We don't know when the new Ghost will make its official debut, but considering teasers like this are already hitting the web, we assume the unveiling is imminent. We can't wait to see what's in store.
