Rolls Royce RR4 spotted

Rolls Royce RR4 (Rolls Royce Ghost?) caught testing before its unveiling at Geneva

This is a busy time for testers of upcoming cars in chilly climes. We’ve recently seen the next generation Porsche 911 (998) and Boxster out in the snow, and this time it’s the turn of the new ‘Baby’ Rolls Royce, the RR4.

The new Rolls Royce (which is codenamed RR4 internally, but could well be the Rolls Royce Ghost) is based on the underpinnings of the latest BMW 7 series. But don’t expect to see lots of bits scavenged from the BMW parts bin.

We can expect this new Rolls Royce to be as bespoke as its big brother, the Phantom. BMW has been faithful to the heritage of Rolls Royce and, although it is happy to use chassis and expertise, it will not spoil the Rolls Royce by bolting on bits of Bavaria all over the place.

Planned for an initial launch at Geneva, the new Rolls Royce will be aimed squarely at the Bentley Continental Flying Spur (although you can expect it to cost a bit more – probably in the £180-£200k region). And just like its big brother, it is probably fair to assume that it will spawn a coupe and a drophead version in time to go head to head with the Bentley GT and GTC.

Inside will be the usual acres of wood and leather, and the suicide doors from the Phantom will carry over. Under the bonnet will be a V12 6.0 litre, although it is highly likely that BMW will introduce a hybrid at some point for the RR4.  And although it will a technical tour de force, and include a version of BMW’s latest idrive,most of it will be well hidden. After all, Rolls Royce owners expect the best service, but don’t expect to have to look at the kitchen sink!