If the grandiose Rolls-Royce Phantom—birthed by BMW in 2003—reestablished the marque’s exceptionalism, the 2011 Ghost brings that notion down to a more human scale. The Ghost is the daily driver; the Phantom, whether in sedan, extended-wheelbase sedan, coupe, or drophead (convertible) form, should be held in reserve for special occasions, such as crashing White House dinners.

Most Definitely Still a Roller

The Ghost truncates one of the great names from Rolls-Royce’s past, the Silver Ghost, a moniker that attached itself to the full line of classically reliable and smooth 40/50s produced from 1906 to 1926. These were the cars that promptedThe Autocar and Motor to call Rolls-Royce “The Best Car in the World.” The new Ghost will bring that legacy to bear on the luxury-sedan class, reordering the segment’s hierarchy dominated by the Bentley Continental Flying Spur, Mercedes S-class, and BMW 7-series. This steel-monocoque car might weigh as much as the Bentley (nearly a staggering 5500 pounds) but also produces an intimidating 563 hp and charges from 0 to 60 mph in a claimed 4.8 seconds. Moreover, it will achieve total pricing supremacy when it gets here in early 2010, with a projected MSRP of about $245,000 to start. Some might argue that this makes it more of a competitor to the forthcoming Bentley Mulsanne than to lesser Bentleys. We prefer to think of the Mulsanne as an insufficiently expensive competitor to the Phantom.

You Sure It’s Not a 7-series?

Because Rolls is now under BMW’s stewardship, and because using common parts is essential for a manufacturer’s economies of scale (but mostly because Rolls-Royce admitted that the Ghost shares 20 percent of itself with the BMW 7-series, specifically, the V-12–powered 760Li), it’s tempting to think that the new car is simply an upsized BMW, a 9-series with an available metallic hood. That characterization is a little unfair to this new sedan. The 20-percent commonality hides in the climate-control system, the electrical architecture, parts of the floorpan, and some engine components. Both cars’ twin-turbocharged V-12s come from the same engine family, but the Ghost’s is stroked to 6.6 liters (up from the 760’s 6.0) and gets some revised internals such as a new crank. And whereas the BMW has only air springs at the rear, the Ghost uses adaptive air suspension at all four corners. The Rolls needed a more regal seating position, larger-diameter tires, and coach-style doors, which necessitated more changes. The new overall tire diameter meant new steering and suspension kinematics, and the raised seating position and center-opening doors meant reengineering the donor platform for crash safety.

Exotic Materials Up the Wazoo

Chief designer Ian Cameron has delivered a shape that is immediately recognizable as a Rolls-Royce, even though the car does not have the traditional Parthenon-type grille. Its sleeker expression of the chrome-vaned radiator housing is in keeping with the car’s trimmer proportions relative to the Phantom. Grounded by a terrifically powerful stance, the Ghost has fast-raking pillars and bodywork that tucks in around the wheels. The restrained, almost featureless body sides mask a subtlety of proportion and line that makes the car look much smaller than it actually is. As ever, the long prow dominates, with a perfectly proportioned dash-to-axle ratio.

Inside are the traditional Rolls-Royce touches, such as frosted white dials, chromed eyeball vents, organ-stop vent pulls, and violin-key switches. We love the almost yacht-like helm in the Phantom, but this steering wheel has a smaller diameter and a little thicker section. Still, it’s well-suited to the car. The club chairs are regally positioned, padded, and proportioned, giving a commanding view of the road ahead. Everything is wrapped in leather, either a coarse-grained hide on the door panels or smooth stuff on the armrests and seats. (The leather isn’t as soft as the Phantom’s, due to a different tanning process that emphasizes durability over suppleness.) Speaking of which, the rear seats are much like the Phantom’s in that you can opt for a standard couch or individual lounge seating. Entry and egress are even better than the bigger car’s, with rear doors that open to 83 degrees (there are still umbrellas in the front doors). Incorporated into all this clubbishness is the much-improved iDrive, as well as BMW’s memory-key system on the center console, whose eight presets can store map locations, radio stations, and phone numbers from an integrated iPhone.

Because it’s a Rolls, you will be able to order it in any color you want, with whatever color leather, and you’ll be able to choose any type of wood and inlays you can dream up. Want your family crest rendered in carbon fiber on the dashboard? No problem. Care for a mother-of-pearl inlay depicting Homer Simpson on a motorcycle, the devil hot on his tail? We’ve got you covered, says Rolls’s bespoke department. Only not just yet. It will take six months to a year to get the custom shop up and running on Ghosts. For now, you merely have the choice of 12 hand-rubbed exterior colors, eight hand-stitched leathers, and five hand-crafted woods.

Silent and Swift

BMW is an amazing interpreter of English automobiles. It has done great work with Land Rover and Mini, and the Rolls-Royces done on Munich’s watch revere that brand’s heritage and gestalt. BMW understands that Rolls-Royces need to have an eerie combination of silence and swiftness. The Phantom has it, and so does this Ghost, albeit in a slightly different proportion. Whereas the Phantom glides (R-R calls it “wafting”) over the road, the Ghost bears down on it. The ride is still sensational, just a bit more positive in its transmissions of the road surface. With 575 lb-ft of torque available at 1500 rpm (and some 90 percent of that available before torque-converter lockup), the V-12, in combination with the foie gras–smooth ZF eight-speed automatic, feels almost like an electric motor. The car slinks away in a constantly building crescendo of momentum. Transient responses are disciplined for such a huge, heavy machine, as is path control. The steering is very linear and appropriately slow at 3.1 turns lock-to-lock, but it is more aggressively weighted. And as much as this car’s silent cabin feels a world away from the relative chaos of those econoboxes with which it competes (we’re joking, Bentley), we did hear a bit of unexpected tire noise from the optional 20-inch Goodyear run-flats over concrete surfaces.

It Is As It Should Be

That said, the best story we heard about this car’s development was the one about the interior engineer who spent two weeks in a sound booth in the plant listening to the Ghost’s headrest motors going up and down. He was attempting to correct an “acoustical imbalance” in the motors, all part of Rolls-Royce’s obsessive focus on the reduction of noise, vibration, and harshness in this new car. This kind of thing is what links the new Ghost to its namesake—and to its bigger brother. But whereas the Phantom, by virtue of its scale, seems to have one axle in the ’30s and one in the Aughts, this new car feels more completely contemporary. It is incredibly fast and rewarding to drive—sporty, even—but it does not sacrifice the serenity, the calm, and the effortlessness that are essential to a Rolls-Royce. The Ghost cossets and insulates, but it also flies.