Quieter Spirit: Rolls reportedly planning hybrid Ghost for 15% better economy
Rolls-Royce Ghost - Click above for high-res image gallery
If you've been pondering getting on the list for a Rolls-Royce Ghost but you're hesitant because of the negative environmental impact (and social standing) of the big, beautiful boat's V12 engine, we've got good news for you. British site Autocar is reporting that a hybrid version of the Ghost is in the works. It's rumored to be based off the mild hybrid system of the BMW ActiveHybrid 7, which makes sense considering that the two luxury sleds utilize the same platform. The nearly 18-foot long Ghost will likely still sport a 6.2-liter V12, but the brutish powerplant will be aided and abetted by a 20kW electric motor capable of an extra 15 hp and 155 lb-ft fitted into the baby Rolls' eight speed ZF auto transmission.
Battery power will reportedly come courtesy of a .6 W/h lithium-ion battery pack fitted to the Ghost's substantial trunk. The reported hybrid Ghost won't have the ability to run on battery power alone, but the luxury barge will employ start/stop tech and due to the battery's presence it won't need an alternator, either. The net result of the of the (relative) greenification of the Ghost will reportedly be a 15% bump in fuel economy.
A 15% efficiency bump probably won't do much to improve the Ghost's likely miserable fuel economy figures, but the added twist from the Ghost's electric motor may help it hit 60 mph more quickly than the gasoline-only 4.8 seconds (U.S. spec).
Sure, if this hybrid Rolls ever sees the light of day it'd make the already massive Ghost even heavier and more costly, but the negatives pale in comparison to the gratification of telling other rich people that your chauffeur drives a hybrid.
Gallery: Hands-On: Rolls-Royce Ghost
[Source: Autocar]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
N 6:33PM (11/06/2009)
i want this because hybrids = free parking (in some parts of Europe)
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Whitecollarcriminal 12:16PM (11/07/2009)
You wanna see something hilarious?
Park an S400 Mercedes between a Prius and a Camry hybrid and watch the distraught faces of traffic cops who want to ticket you but can't.
Whitecollarcriminal 11:11AM (11/09/2009)
When the body kits and stickers for the Chrysler 300 comes out to make it look like this...
THE STREETS ARE GONNA BE A MESS.
Venom 6:55PM (11/06/2009)
Just a magnificent car.
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DiRF 7:15PM (11/06/2009)
I just can't get over how beautiful the new Ghost is... when Bentley loses its way with the horrid Mulsanne, Rolls-Royce *finds* its way with the Ghost...
But, really... what will the regular Ghost get, 15-18mpg? A 15% improvement won't be that much... I think N has the point... it may just be for the image, and for the benefits that having a "hybrid" has in some cities, due to green-centric governments that love "feel good" environmental laws...
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Atlas 7:35PM (11/06/2009)
"due to green-centric governments that love "feel good" environmental laws..."
Yep, the so-called "feel good" laws that: Reduce air pollution, reduce dependence on foreign oil and reduce the trade deficit.
But then there's people like you, who believe saving energy is for 'hippies' and that the Hummer causes less emissions than a Prius.
On a different not, I agree that this Roller couldn't be further away from environmental sustainability, the Hybrid sticker is just a marketing gimmick in this case.
DiRF 7:44PM (11/06/2009)
No, I'm all for legislation that really does help the environment.
I'm not for legislation that produces miniscule results, but ties up legislatures, can be easily abused (by a 19mpg "hybrid", for instance), and in some cases causes more headaches and problems than it's worth.
I love knee-jerk reactions that automatically assume that if someone has a small problem with one little thing, they must be 100% for the absolute polar opposite opinion.
downtoearth 8:57AM (11/07/2009)
DiRF:
> But, really... what will the regular Ghost get, 15-18mpg?
> A 15% improvement won't be that much...
15% saved of a huge amount of fuel this car consumes results in much larger savings than 15% from small amount of fuel an economy car uses.
Huge gas guzzling cars are still purchased, whether we want it or not. Applying efficiency boosting technology in such vehicles produces much larger absolute volume of fuel saved than in case of hybridization of small low-power car.
> it may just be for the image
See above.
Jim 10:33AM (11/07/2009)
"15% saved of a huge amount of fuel this car consumes results in much larger savings than 15% from small amount of fuel an economy car uses."
yeah, if we're talking about things like SUVs which sold in huge numbers. A couple hundred RRs or Bentleys sold every year which are driven for relatively few miles truly won't make a damn bit of difference.
ghost_03 7:48PM (11/06/2009)
I think this meant to say .6 kW/h?
.6 W/h is nearly 100 times less than the battery in my laptop.
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jeff 10:37PM (11/06/2009)
Ya i'm sure it's supposed to be 0.6kWh or 600Wh. That's a really tiny battery pack for such a huge car. Probably about the size of a lunch box, won't even notice the space lost in the trunk. Anyway, i guess that's about all you need for a mild hybrid like this. If I were them, I woulda gone all out and make a truly luxurious ride that can cruise around town perfectly smooth and silent on electric only for a good 40 miles or so. Lord knows you could find space for a 12kWh pack somewhere in there. I doubt that trunk would get used very often anyways.
Jeff Johnson 7:58PM (11/06/2009)
totally pointless in terms of helping the environment. Does everyone you know have a Roller Ghost hybrid?
Even if they were much more common and cheap, how many miles are Rolls Royce cars driven each year?
A 15% bump of already dismal economy? who cares, the energy and materials going into making the batteries far outweighs any benefit to the environment. Nobody spending 500,000 dollars on a car will care about saving 15% of a gas bill they have probably never seen in their life.
Wanna help the environment? Start with prohibiting the 20lbs of crap mail I get in my box every week, how much energy and how many trees, and how much landfill space would be saved if we didn't stuff crap that nobody wants into my mailbox? Of course this type of idea has too much common sense and will never be instituted.
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downtoearth 9:04AM (11/07/2009)
Jeff Johnson:
> A 15% bump of already dismal economy? who cares, the energy
> and materials going into making the batteries far outweighs any benefit to the
> environment.
Could you provide some calculations or research papers proving this?
Because the Hummer-vs-Prius myth has been debunked hundreds of years ago:
http://www.greencars.za.net/hummer-vs-prius-the-facts/
This myth now serves to differentiate the dumb ones (believers) from the smart.
> Wanna help the environment? Start with prohibiting the 20lbs of crap
> mail I get in my box every week
This has nothing common with the roller.
xtasi 8:03PM (11/06/2009)
Why doesn't RR invest in weigh savings tech? Those are 6k lbs cars. How much more would be added to the price of a 400K car to add carbon fiber parts? Toyota did it with the LFA, at 400K it's around the cost of some of the RR. A top of the line RR with the same tech would run 500K, 600K? I think they'll find enough buyers.
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Jim 8:55PM (11/06/2009)
y'know, they could just do something silly like downsize the engines. It's not like anyone who owns one of these 6,000 lb pigs actually drives in any way to require 500 hp.
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Venom 9:19PM (11/06/2009)
6,000 pounds, yes you do need that power, especially with the added weight if you armor the vehicle.
waiownsyou 9:42PM (11/06/2009)
I've never understood why this car needed to be so fast and comfortable for the driver. People who I've seen own a RR are almost always in the back seat, which a hired driver in the front.
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cool_ozzyfromkalush 10:48PM (11/06/2009)
Sacrifice your image for better economy??? People who buy cars like this are not really concerned about economy...
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lne937s 12:00PM (11/07/2009)
I was thinking about servo subwoofers the day and noise cancellationb and then thought about hybrids... In an application like this, you could use the electric motors to smooth out shifts and power delivery.
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