Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II and Black Badge review: Superlative luxury built to be driven

Rolls-Royce has not changed much since the first car was unveiled at the Paris Salon in 1904. The technology has evolved, of course, but from that day until now, this car brand has been the pinnacle of luxury motoring – cars built to last, refined for unparalleled comfort and designed to catch the eye.

What has changed, especially in the past 15 years, is who exactly a Rolls-Royce is made for. Put it this way – in 2010, the average owner was 56. Today, they’re 43. And that’s not a change driven only by changing socioeconomic dynamics. More importantly, it’s because, within that time, the Rolls-Royce stopped being a car to be driven in by a chauffeur. Now, it’s a car to drive.

And it was the first Rolls-Royce Ghost, unveiled in 2009, that has led that shift. While the larger Phantom remains the brand’s flagship, the Ghost is more popular. It’s easy to see why – it’s more compact with almost no compromises, built to drive and drive flawlessly.

The Ghost Black Badge, initially launched in 2021, pushed the driver experience even further, adding serious sports car spirit to the already formidable v12 engine. The Ghost Series II, as well as the Ghost Series II Black Badge, both now open for order and set for first delivery towards the end of 2025 in the Middle East, offer refinement on those qualities, rather than a reinvention.

This is with good reason. Rolls-Royce chief executive Chris Brownridge says that clients actually requested they change as little as possible of the beloved model, and so all the updates offer more of what people liked so much about the original Ghost.

Driving both cars across the South of France, where Henry Royce would come each winter, it’s clear that this is more of a driver’s car than ever before. It still glides across the road – Rolls-Royce consciously calls this the ‘magic carpet ride’ experience, thanks to its planar suspension system, which has been improved with dynamic shock absorbers and self-levelling air strut assemblies.

There’s also a new system that uses cameras to read the road ahead and prepare the suspension for changes, and the transmission uses satellite and GPS data to anticipate corners and adjust accordingly. There’s a lot going on here which all amounts to the driver feeling like nothing is happening at all. It’s a zen-like driving experience.

The Black Badge, meanwhile, increasingly distinguishes itself from its counterpart. The twin-turbocharged engine has been tuned to produce more power and torque, upping its performance, and it’s also remarkably agile – thanks to a planar suspension and revised braking system exclusive to the Black Badge, with a sportier exhaust note and faster gearshifts. It’s still not a sports car, but with these features complementing the total package, it does make me wonder momentarily why I'd still need one.

The Ghost and the Ghost Black Badge have also begun to differentiate themselves more obviously from an aesthetic perspective. The front Ghost’s front has a decidedly cleaner, more modern look, punctuated by an illuminated grille, updated headlights, and bright chrome accents.

The tail lamps too have been redesigned to be closer to those of the Spectre – the brand’s first electric vehicle. The Black Badge, meanwhile, had a lower grille with darkened chrome elements throughout – with black door handles and 22-inch, part-polished, seven-spoke forged wheels.

Driving these cars, it’s hard not to see this as the tail end of an era. Rolls-Royce, of course, wouldn’t see it that way, as its doing as much to smoothen the transition as possible. Still, we’re probably only several short years away from the legacy brand’s entire fleet going fully electric.

The positive response to the Spectre thus far means that will probably be a successful switch, but it is all the more reason to appreciate the current era’s engineering before it’s discontinued. This is probably the best we’ll ever see from combustible engine technology, refined to near perfection just as it’s to be replaced for a more sustainable future. While the transition to electric will be more immediately obvious among brands famed for their noisy revved up engines, something will be lost here too – cars built by hand at the Goodwood plant in West Sussex, England, with expertise passed between generations.

For fans of the Ghost, this is the enhancement you were hoping for. For those new to the Rolls-Royce brand, these two are well worth discovering further.