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2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost makes its debut with fresh styling and a real Rolls platform

After just over 10 years, the Rolls-Royce Ghost is getting its second generation. This is an important moment, since the Ghost has been the luxury brand's bestseller. The result is a car that has changed significantly underneath to refine the things owners will see and experience. The exterior styling doesn't look drastically different at first, but looking closer reveals many significant changes. The trademark Rolls-Royce grille is wider and taller, and doesn't have a thick arcing border around it. The headlights are larger with sharper corners and angled slightly to sweep up towards the corners of the fascia. Moving along the sides show a similar profile to the old car, but the tail's trunk lid leans forward, as do the taillights. There's not a distinct ledge to the rear bumper, either, giving this new Ghost a sportier appearance. An extra bit of flair Rolls-Royce added is the illuminated grille. There are 20 LED lights in the top part that shine down onto the grille slats, which in turn reflect light outward. Under this new skin is a chassis that's exclusive to Rolls-Royce, unlike the old Ghost's BMW 7 Series-derived chassis. This new frame uses the flexible all-aluminum platform that underpins the new Phantom and the Cullinan. The car is also larger than its predecessor with 3.5 more inches of length and 1.2 inches of width. It all sits on independent air suspension at all four corners featuring some upper wishbone dampers at the front that Rolls-Royce says helps improve ride quality, though hasn't revealed detailed information on how it does so. It's supported by software that coordinates the reactions dictated by the suspension sensors, drive settings, all-wheel drive, four-wheel-steering (both new features for the Ghost), and even the navigation-controlled transmission to optimize driving performance and comfort. Powering the Ghost is Rolls-Royce's twin-turbocharged 6.75-liter V12. It makes 563 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. Obviously only an automatic transmission is available, and power goes to all four wheels as previously mentioned. The Ghost's interior takes cues from the Phantom, with a full-width section encompassing the instruments, infotainment and an artistic dash panel, which we'll talk more about in a moment. Below that is a wood-finished panel incorporating some air vents and controls. Open-pore woods are available, including one that features aluminum in the wood grain.

The hottest modern sports cars rendered as rally racers

The modern-day World Rally Championship a monumental amount of fun to watch – I should know, as I recently was lucky enough to head to the UK to watch WRC Wales Rally GB – but even the most monstrous of the current WRC cars are based on fairly pedestrian European hatchbacks. Back in the heyday of rally, the Group B era in the 1980s, much hotter cars were the basis of even more incredible competition machines, for the most part. Take the exotic Ford RS200, or the Lancia Delta S4 with its twin-charged engine. And the hatchback-based Group B cars were bonkers, too. So what would some of our favorite modern cars look like if Group B had never ended? A British site named CarWow hired an artist to reimagine everything from the Rolls-Royce Wraith to the Porsche 911 as a retro-inspired rally car, and they were kind enough to let us share the results in the gallery above. The gallery features an Alfa Romeo Giulia in Martini livery, an Audi TT in classic Ur-Quattro colors, a Fiat 500 Abarth sporting massive flares and a hood blister full of auxiliary lights, a new Ford Mustang in RS200 livery, a Lancia Delta in Alitalia colors, a Porsche 911 in Rothmans livery, a Renault-Alpine in classic blue, a Rolls-Royce Wraith tribute to the Jules cologne Corniche Coupe, and a relatively modern-looking VW Touran. So far, the favorite around the office is the incredible Mercedes-Benz S-Class that is an homage to the wonderful 300 SEL 6.8 AMG "Red Pig" that essentially put AMG on the map. Check out the gallery above and see which one you like the best. Related Video:

Rolls-Royce commemorates end of Phantom with Zenith models

Rolls-Royce will discontinue the current generation Phantom in 2016 after 13 years. Rolls will also axe the Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe in November, and the company won't build new versions of them on its future platform. However, the automaker will send off the pair in style with special edition models. The Phantom sedan will eventually return on Rolls' future aluminum platform, which will underpin all of the company's models. Spy shots suggest minor design tweaks for the new generation Phantom, but there's no mistaking the massive vehicle's chiseled shape. The overall size should remain similar to the current one, but the lightweight metal and carbon fiber should dramatically reduce the weight. Rumors suggest it would still use a V12 for propulsion, and there could be a plug-in hybrid variant later. "I am proud and excited to announce that a new Phantom is on the way – a contemporary and beautiful Phantom enhanced with cutting-edge technologies and design innovations." Rolls CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos said. Rolls will also build 50 Zenith versions of the Drophead and Coupe to give the pair a proper farewell from the lineup. These special vehicles will include a Tailgate Hosting Area to party with class, laser-etched armrests that show the launch sites for the 100EX and 101EX concepts, custom instrument dials, a special version of the Spirit of Ecstasy, and more. "Zenith will be the sum of all the best features of Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe, with a few surprises added," Giles Taylor, the company's director of design, said. Related Video: ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS BRINGS SEVENTH GENERATION OF PHANTOM TO AN END Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Executive Officer, Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, has announced that the current Phantom will enter the last stages of its celebrated life in 2016. This announcement follows the recent news that Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has begun testing its all-new aluminium architecture, which will underpin every future Rolls-Royce arriving in-market from early 2018. He also announced that Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe models will not be renewed in the future. These two magnificent Phantom models will end their lives with a special collection of only 50 highly desirable cars to be called Phantom Zenith. The current seventh generation of Phantom started production in Goodwood over 13 years ago and quickly became the foundation upon which the renaissance of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars was built.