New cars: 2011 Rolls-Royce Ghost

Motor Trend

The 2011 Rolls-Royce Ghost is a “historic car”: The maker of limousines and super-luxury sedans hasn’t made a model this small in half a century. “’Small’ is a relative term, however.” Surprisingly sporty (for a Rolls), this rakish newcomer is 212 inches long—4 inches longer than its most comparable competitor, the Bentley Continental Flying Spur—and weighs “a not insubstantial 5,450 pounds.”

Road & Track

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It may be heavy, but “you wouldn’t know it when you depress the accelerator.” The 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 takes you up to 60 mph in just 4.8 seconds. The car also “drives much smaller than its dimensions would suggest,” with fluid, responsive steering and tires that grip the road. The whole package seems “a unique blend of a limousine’s body with a driver’s spirit.”

Car and Driver

The car’s moniker pays homage to “one of the great names from Rolls-Royce’s past, the Silver Ghost,” a model produced from 1906 to 1926. Yet times change—the company’s now owned by BMW, and the Ghost actually shares a few under-the-hood elements with the BMW 7 Series. Don’t worry: The regal exterior makes it “immediately recognizable” as a Rolls, and the interior bristles with luxurious touches. Needless to say, “everything is wrapped in leather.”