Rolls Royce Ghost – Air Suspension

The Rolls Royce Ghost tease is starting to get more specific as we close in on the actual launch of the production car, which should be at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. We saw an all but undisguised Rolls Royce Ghost the other day, and RR has now issued information on the suspension system for the RR4.

Rolls Royce were were historically renowned for their wafting ride, if not exactly their handling. The Phantom actually manages to handle pretty well considering its size and ride qualities, but the Ghost does have sportier pretensions than its big brother, so the suspension is going to be a critical part of the package, and will have to be good to contend with the more overtly sporty Grand Bentley waiting to pounce on any imperfections.

To give passengers (and the driver) a cosseting ride without compromising the handling, Rolls Royce are fitting an intelligent air suspension system with multi-link aluminium axles, incorporating Active Roll Stabilisation and Variable Damping Control. All this wizardry is said to be so sophisticated that it would even adapt to a back seat passenger moving from one side of the car to the other. Sounds impressive.

I do hope they’ve got this right. My experience of clever air suspension systems is that they work brilliantly 90% of the time, but get caught out unexpectedly by odd road ruts. And with the current state of the roads in the UK, I would guess that the proud owner of a new Rolls Royce Ghost would be less than impressed when one of his newly veneered teeth drops out as the RR4 reacts badly to the local council’s latest botched attempt to patch up the road.

Getting a bit bored now with snippets on the Rolls Royce Ghost. Bring on the full gen!