Rolls-Royce chose Shanghai to introduce the first of a number of models to be spun off the platform of its new smaller saloon: the Ghost Extended Wheelbase.
Like Goodwood’s stretched Phantom, the Ghost ‘EWB’ is simply a longer and more spacious version of the standard four-door. The car has 170mm of extra space between the axles, but that extra length has been cleverly balanced visually, with only 35mm of extra length going into the rear doors.
Minimum kneeroom in the back of the car – the distance between the back of the front seat in its rearmost position and the front of the rear seat’s squab – has risen from 160- to 330mm.
The Ghost EWB also gets a panoramic sunroof as standard that, according to Rolls-Royce, allows more light into the rear of the cabin, enhancing the sensation of space. Styling distinctions outside include a new forged alloy wheel design.
The Ghost EWB is expected to be Rolls’ most popular model in China, and is the first of the firm’s models ever to be unveiled to the world on the Asian continent.
Explaining why anyone who wanted a larger Rolls wouldn’t just buy a Phantom, Rolls CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos told Autocar: “for some of our customers, a Phantom is just too much: too big, too ostentatious, too formal, too expensive. The Ghost EWB is a car that’s more usable every day; the sort of car that you can be chauffeured in during the week, and still enjoy as a driver’s car at weekends. And that’s an increasingly popular usage pattern in developing Asian markets."
The Ghost EWB will go into production at Goodwood later this year. UK prices have yet to be set, but in China, where taxes on expensive imported cars are prohibitive, the car will cost 5.118mil RMB – roughly 20 per cent more than a regular Ghost.
Muller-Otvos wouldn’t comment on when the ‘EWB’ will be followed by Coupe and Drophead versions of the Ghost, but did tell Autocar that customers are already already expressing interest in those particular versions.
Thanks to: Autocar
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