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Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II rolls in with some subtle updates [w/video]

Downsizing is a relative term - especially when it comes to a Rolls-Royce. But that's just what the British luxury automaker did with the release of the Ghost in 2010. Sure, it's over seventeen and a half feet long (over eighteen in Extended Wheelbase form), but that's still shorter than the 19 feet the standard Phantom stretches, and that much shorter than the twenty-foot-long Phantom EWB.
The Ghost has now been on the market for four years, high time Rolls gave it a little refresh - and that's just what it's done here in Geneva with the release of the Ghost Series II. It's essentially the same vehicle as the outgoing model, but the Ghost Series II (like the Phantom Series II released in 2012) benefits from a host of minor updates. The styling has been subtly revised, and the sumptuous cabin space has been updated with such features as a new infotainment display, rotary controller and trim.
Although Goodwood hasn't released official output figures, the 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 (only the second twelve-cylinder engine in Rolls-Royce history) carries over from the existing model. We might hope for some of the power upgrades released for the Wraith or the Ghost V-Specification, but what we know for sure is that it's mated to a Satellite Aided Transmission that uses GPS data to 'read' the road ahead and choose the right gear for the turns coming up. It's a nifty technology pioneered by parent company BMW, and along with the other updates rolled out for the Series II, promises to make the hyper-luxurious driving experience that much more so.

BMW preparing two concepts for Villa d'Este

Every spring, the finest automobiles ever to grace tarmac gather on the shores of Lake Como for the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. It's a chance for the most beautiful classics to compete for awards and for automakers and design studios to show off their concept cars under the soft light of the Italian sun. But while most of the vehicles old and new that show up for the concours are ones we've seen before, BMW takes things a step further.
As patron of the concorso d'eleganza for the past ten years, BMW regularly cooks up something new for the glamorous extravaganza. Last year it teamed up with Pininfarina for the Gran Lusso Coupé and revealed it alongside the Concept 90 motorcycle. The year before that came the BMW Zagato Coupe, preceded by the 328 Hommage and the M1 Hommage (pictured above) before it.
The theme for this year's event is the Roaring Twenties. BMW may not have been known back then on the same level as Bugatti or Duesenberg, but Rolls-Royce sure was.

Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II headed to Geneva

Rolls-Royce is not a brand that replaces its vehicles with any great frequency. It expands its lineup, sure: what started with just the Phantom saloon has since grown to include extended wheelbase models, coupes and convertibles, not to mention the addition of the Ghost, followed by the Ghost EWB and the Wraith fastback. What Rolls does to keep its models fresh, however, is spruce them up with a Series II.
The Phantom family underwent just such a treatment a couple of years ago, and now Goodwood appears to be preparing to do the same with the Ghost. At least, that is, going by this teaser image it released with only the line, "After five years as the cornerstone of Rolls-Royce's sustainable growth success worldwide, this mid-life update is a showcase for the most recent technological advances from Rolls-Royce enrobed in a considered exterior design revision."
The arrival of the Ghost Series II at the Geneva Motor Show this year would put it significantly ahead of schedule for when Rolls updated the Phantom. That model arrived in 2003 and was followed by the Series II in 2012, giving the original a nine-year run virtually unchanged. The Ghost, however, only reached production in 2010, so introducing a Series II now would shorten that lifecycle to just four years.