2013 Rolls-royce Ghost. Light Blue. 3550 Miles. Seashell Interior. San Diego. on 2040-cars

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2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost has a fascinating new part to make it one of the most comfortable cars in the world

One of the neat things about Rolls-Royce is the extraordinary lengths the company will go to for maximum comfort. It's like how supercar builders will look for every little advantage to make their cars a tenth of a second faster. On the 2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost, the company is employing something called the Planar Suspension System, a nebulous designation for the collection of systems and parts employed. Some are straight forward, such as the four-wheel independent air suspension, and the way the GPS and forward cameras inform what level of firmness should be employed on the road. But one part left us perplexed: the upper control arm damper. We spoke to Jon Simms, lead engineer for the Ghost, for more information, and now we have a better grasp on what it is and what it does. As for what it is, it's the roughly horseshoe-shaped object highlighted in purple in the above photo. The yellow parts are bumpstops, and it's mounted on the same joint as the upper control arm. And it turns out it's a pretty simple piece of equipment. It works very much like the harmonic balancer on the end of an engine. It's a weight with a rubber-y flexible hinge, and going over smaller bumps, it absorbs some of the extra vibration and movement from the suspension. Those bumpstops in yellow give the damper some extra purchase on the control arm, and they absorb impacts from larger bumps that may move the control arm suddenly so that the arm and damper don't bang into each other. This may seem like a pretty minor thing, but remember, Rolls-Royce and its buyers are out for maximum comfort, so there's reason to invest in ironing out every possible ride quality issue, no matter the size. And even if it's a minor improvement, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Simms told us that existing Ghost customers they talked to during development had one key request about the driving experience: "don't break it." So making sure that the new car was basically like the last one, but a bit better, would seem to be what customers would want. 2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost View 29 Photos The Ghost is the first Rolls-Royce to adopt this full suite of Planar Suspension System parts, though other Rolls-Royce models have had pieces of the system. And considering the fact the Ghost shares its platform with the Phantom and Cullinan, now, we wouldn't be surprised if later versions of those models pick-up parts like this damper. Related Video:

Top Gear has an Extra Gear problem | Episode Review

When the BBC announced Extra Gear, I was excited. As an avid fan of show's like The Talking Dead – companion show to AMC's hit The Walking Dead – a behind-the-scenes look at my favorite motoring show sounded promising. But with the fifth episodes of each show, I'm worried that Top Gear is suffering to keep Extra Gear interesting. We'll start with Chris Evans, inarguably the most heavily criticized member of the new Top Gear team. Evans is progressively less shouty and more comfortable filming while driving in each episode – the fifth is no different. He's almost likable in the Zenos E10 video, like a ginger James May, and he delivers accurate and eloquent driving impressions. The review is entertaining, until Extra Gear shows the producers cut a huge element – an old-versus-new sprint around the Race of Champions circuit at the Olympic Stadium in London. Former Formula 1 ace David Coulthard would drive a Caterham 360, while current F1 pro Daniel Riccardo rocked the Zenos. If the entire premise of Evans review is that the Zenos E10 is the newest of the new for British super-lightweight track toys, why did the producers decide to leave a race against the segment's standard bearer for Extra Gear? It's a baffling move, cutting a segment of the film that reinforces Evans' excitement over the Zenos. Rory Reid's Jaguar F-Type SVR piece is excellent. Fifty five years to the day after Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis raced to the Geneva Motor Show in a second E-Type for display, Reid would attempt the same feat in an SVR. If he failed, Jaguar wouldn't have a car to display. Dewis made the 750-mile trip with 13 hours of notice, and Reid would need to do the same. It's a brilliant, simple premise that reminded me of Jeremy Clarkson's so-called "Race against God" in a Jaguar XJ, way back in season 16. The history of the challenge and Dewis' gravelly commentary add gravitas. But the entire film goes by so fast. It's longer than Evans' Zenos video or Harris' BMW M2 film, but at less than ten minutes, Reid and the SVR deserved more screen time. Extra Gear poured salt in that particular wound with a great segment featuring Norman Dewis that deserved to be in the main show. Reid takes the famed test driver for a spin around the Dunsfold track, then, instead of the comedian of the week, the hosts interview Dewis on Extra Gear's couch.

Rolls-Royce Ghost getting a nip and tuck

While there isn't too much competition in the "vehicles priced more than houses" market, automakers still have to keep their products fresh, and it looks like the Rolls-Royce Ghost could be getting a slight facelift for 2014. Like the rest of the Ghost, these spy shots show that Rolls-Royce even makes exquisite body camouflage as it takes a close look to really see that any material has been added to the face.
From what we can tell, though, it looks like the Ghost might be getting a nip/tuck to the front end. This will bring its appearance closer to what we saw on the Rolls-Royce Wraith - the coupe version of the Ghost that debuted back in March at the Geneva show - reshaped headlights that feature LED running lights and also what appear to be LED turn signals. More minor changes to the Ghost include restyled door mirrors that might get some aero tweaks, as well as a smooth rear fascia devoid of visible exhaust outlets.
What we don't know is whether the Ghost will also be getting the more powerful version of the V12 found in the Wraith that produces 624 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, versus the current Ghost's 563 hp and 575 lb-ft.