Rolls-Royce is gearing up for the launch of its second-generation Ghost saloon, and it's going to drip-feed us some info on the new car through the medium of animation.
More fun to drive
According to Rolls-Royce, the customers who bought the original model were as keen to drive it themselves as they were to be chauffeured in it, and for the second-generation model, the en masse request was for more fun behind the wheel. Not too hard, you'd think - after all the Ghost shares some of its DNA with the BMW 7 Series, so presumably, this would be easy.
Not so. In order to meet the demand from customers, but also to retain the Ghost's oh-so-Rolls-y ride comfort, an entirely new suspension system was going to be needed. So, the aluminium spaceframe that forms the Ghost's chassis (and which is related to that used by the larger Phantom and Cullinan) was modified for the new Ghost, and a new suspension layout, called the Planar system, was created.
Planar suspension includes an 'Upper Wishbone Damper unit', which is mounted above the front suspension assembly and which Rolls-Royce says "creates an even more stable and effortless ride." It's been three years in development and Rolls-Royce claims it's a world first.
'Flagbearer' suspension cameras
Then there's the new 'Flagbearer' system, which used cameras to read the road surface ahead, and which can tell the suspension what's ahead. Finally, there's a GPS component, as with the old Ghost and Wraith coupe, which tells the gearbox what the gradients ahead are like, so that the appropriate gear can be predicted. "The Planar system allows new Ghost to anticipate and react to even the most demanding road surface" says Rolls-Royce. The car will also get, for the first time, four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering.
New Ghost Engineering Lead, Jonathan Simms, says, "Ghost clients told us that it's the car in their collection that they're drawn to the most. They love its uncomplicated versatility. It's not trying to be a sports car, it's not trying to be a grand statement - it's simply exceptional and exceptionally simple. When it came to creating a new Ghost - one that outshines its incredibly capable predecessor - the engineering team had to start from scratch. We pushed our architecture even further and created a car even more dynamic, even more luxurious and, most of all, even more effortlessly useable."
Animation series
The new Ghost will be revealed in full in the Autumn, but until then Rolls-Royce is going to get us all up to speed with a series of short animated films, detailing all of the car's technical innovations. The visuals for the animation have been created by renowned illustrator, Charlie Davis. There's also a series of five podcasts have been launched that reveal the marque's findings, as well as insights into the underlying material and engineering substance of new Ghost in long-form. Hosted by Johanna Agerman Ross, Curator of Twentieth Century and Contemporary Furniture and Product Design at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the podcasts are available wherever you get your podcasts.