New Rolls-Royce Ghost Black Badge 2025 review: the ultimate statement of wealth

Verdict

The Rolls-Royce Ghost operates on a different plane to other luxury cars when it comes to elegance and unimpeachable quality. However we don’t think the Black Badge variant shows the Ghost in its best light because its 22-inch wheels – an inch bigger than in the previous iteration – compromise the ride quality. To some customers this will be a worthy trade-off for the sake of style, but for the true Rolls-Royce experience a standard Ghost is the better option. 

Take one look at the spec sheet of the new Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II and it’d be easy to think it was a relic of the past. This luxury four-door saloon is driven by a V12 petrol engine, unassisted by anything as crude as hybrid modules, or a battery beyond the 12V pack that powers its electrically operated doors. However, much like the Ritz Hotel or a Rolex watch, the Rolls-Royce Ghost represents a great nostalgia trip through tradition and splendour – but with a caveat or two. 

The Ghost has recently been updated for its Series II era, and its fundamentals come with almost no concessions. It may be considered the entry-level Rolls-Royce, yet behind its typically imposing grille sits a 6.75-litre V12 engine with two turbochargers, powering all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. We’re driving the Black Badge variant on this occasion, which lifts power from the standard car’s 563bhp to a more menacing 591bhp. Rolls-Royce doesn’t quote performance figures, but it takes around 4.5 seconds to sprint from 0-62mph. 

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If you’re in tune with the current ultra-luxury saloon hierarchy, these look like rather underwhelming figures in an era of 771bhp Bentleys, but we can assure you that they’re more than enough for something that’s designed to caress, rather than excite. That much is obvious from the moment you pull away because the entire powertrain focuses on ultimate smoothness, rather than sharp responses.

This is a good thing, because the steering and softly damped suspension do seem to be more at one when power is delivered smoothly. You don’t have to manage that weight as you sometimes do in a Range Rover or Mercedes S-Class, and for the driver the Ghost’s key objectives are very clearly calmness and elegance.

If you do wish to make faster progress, there’s no Sport mode, but there is an ‘L’ button on the column-mounted gear selector. This does a whole lot more than just put the car into a low gear; instead it changes the powertrain’s character, so that it makes full use of the V12’s huge torque. There’s also an appreciable sharpening of the throttle response, and even a subtle increase in the noise from the valved exhaust system. 

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The adaptive air suspension also gets involved, because the adaptive dampers change their parameters to help keep the car’s body more stable in the bends, allegedly without affecting the ride quality. And while the suspension itself doesn’t negatively affect it, this is where a fundamental flaw with the Black Badge model comes into focus. Alongside the enhanced suspension, this Ghost has also picked up a set of larger 22-inch wheels, which has some fairly major consequences.

Big wheels add to the visual attitude, but the compromise comes from the tyres, which have a relatively low profile. These can transmit some uncomfortable shuddering into the cabin, especially over rough roads or small fissures in the road.

The suspension system itself is superb, floating the body along undulating tarmac without any issue at all, but without the ability to totally isolate the bumps – as Rolls-Royces are typically famed for doing – the company’s usually captivating ‘magic carpet’ ride is tarnished.

The rest of the experience, though, is utterly wonderful. Rolls-Royce has a way with interiors that balance hand-made craftsmanship with technical perfection that’s different to all its rivals – whether they be Bentley, Range Rover, or Learjet. 

The tall dash retains the basic design and layout from the previous Ghost with the exception of a new driver’s display, plus an optional illuminated section in front of the passenger. 

The quality is simply superb. Not all of the silver buttons inside are solid metal, but they don’t feel like plastic, and almost all of the other surfaces – whether they be wood, leather, or carbon fibre in the case of the Black Badge – feel crafted differently to those in any other car. Even mundane elements like the physical (and leather-wrapped) air-conditioning controls, the main volume knob, or the headlight switch, feel like an event when pressed. 

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Yet underneath this old-fashioned craft is a cutting-edge cabin. The stereo is astonishing in its clarity and volume, while the heated, massaging and air-conditioned seats are ultra-comfortable. The tech is all there, it’s just hiding under a veil of quiet simplicity. 

Space in the second row is fairly good – and considerably better than in a Bentley Flying Spur. Were it not for the incredibly thick seats and space-sapping built-in screens, it’d beat cars like a long-wheelbase S-Class or the BMW i7, too. It is also worth remembering an extended-wheelbase variant is available, albeit not in Black Badge form. 

The rearward-opening ‘coach doors’ are a nice touch, too, and once again confirm the Ghost’s place over and above other luxury saloons. But after a depressingly short time with the Black Badge in my possession, one thing did strike me. 

Rolls-Royce feels at a crossroads. The tension of maintaining tradition against its desire to bring younger customers to the brand has been dealt with well by the British institution. Drive a vast majority of its models and this is almost imperceptible from aboard its leather-lined quarters. 

But every now and then a chink becomes visible through its armour, and unfortunately one is to be found in the new Ghost Black Badge. Almost entirely because of the 22-inch wheels, this car doesn’t quite ride properly. And when it comes to a Rolls-Royce, this is a big deal. Good thing you can order a normal Ghost on smaller wheels. 

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