Ghost story: Rolls-Royce's turbocharged future

    Underway, the Ghost is nothing less than a revelation. This is the quietest and most comfortable car I have driven.

    The Ghost is powered by a V-12 engine (compliments of BMW, which contributed 20% of the auto's components) with twin turbochargers that produce 576 horsepower. That's sufficient muscle to fling the Ghost to 60 miles per hour in 4.7 seconds, yet thrifty enough to win an EPA mileage rating of 13 mpg city/20 mpg highway. That compares with 11mpg/18mpg for the Phantom. Even plutocrats like to feel as if they are doing something good for to the environment.

    I did find the steering wheel, traditionally skinny, unnaturally thin for a car of this heft. But I never worried about where I was heading -- or how long it took to get there. Like the Phantom, the Ghost has a power reserve dial in place of the tachometer that indicates how much of the engine's oomph is available to driver. It seldom dropped below 80% during my stewardship.

    I could go on about the umbrella holders in the front doors, the rear-hinged rear doors, the switch-operated electric door-closers and the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament that disappears with the touch of a button. These are features that are unique, quaint and endearing.

    But the real message here is that Rolls is now in a position to waft well into its second century with a sedan whose owners should actually enjoy driving for themselves.