Money is probably the least of your concerns if you are searching for such a ride. Otherwise, you’d be checking out that Volkswagen Golf Mk8 with ballistic protection we wrote about a few months ago, and not a luxury sedan like the Rolls-Royce Ghost because that’s the catch: armoring. You see, armored cars come in most shapes and sizes, and we’ve even seen real exotics with thicker windows and extra plating that could save the lives of its occupants should they ever find themselves in a crossfire. But as great as it may be to own a Ferrari with ballistic protection, you’d get more car for the money in something built to take on the likes of the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class and Bentley Flying Spur.
At first glance, you won’t be able to tell that this Rolls-Royce Ghost features armoring until you open the door and see those extra thick windows that can stop a bullet. The luxury sedan has additional armored plating all around and reinforced hinges in the doors to cope with the added weight. Step inside, and some of the best leather upholstery in the entire automotive industry will greet you. In this instance, it has a light brown finish that makes the car look very classy, with the usual chrome and black trim joining it. The model’s name is proudly displayed on the dashboard in front of the passenger, and at the rear, it has room for three, though that could be a crowd on long journeys, so two would sit more comfortably next to each other.
It’s strange not to see captain’s chairs for rear-seat passengers, but then again, those are available in the Ghost, as well as in its larger sibling, the Phantom, aka Rolls-Royce’s flagship sedan that sits in a league of its own. On top of that, they can be fitted to the Cullinan too, which is the brand’s first-ever SUV. Despite looking at a vehicle with ballistic protection, it doesn’t cut back on the luxury, comfort, and tech gear, as you can tell from the images above. The car even features a starlight headliner that gives it a posher feel when driving at night. A rear-seat entertainment system is also included, with individual displays attached behind the front seats, so looking out the window is no longer necessary. Multi-zone climate control, heated seats with massaging function, and a heated steering wheel are also on deck.
When giving a vehicle ballistic protection, the company responsible for the upgrades usually doesn’t tune the engine. And in the case of the Rolls-Royce Ghost, it doesn’t really need more oomph because it comes with a twin-turbo 6.75-liter V12. The engine develops 563 horsepower (571 ps/420 kW) and 627 pound-feet (850 Nm) of torque without anyone interfering with its internals and software. The Black Badge lifts the output and thrust to 592 hp (600 ps/441 kW) and 664 lb-ft (900 Nm), and in the punchier flavor, you will hit 62 mph (100 kph) in 4.7 seconds. The top speed is electrically limited to 155 mph (250 kph) in both versions. Naturally, we don’t know how fast this armored Ghost is, but it should still be an agile proposal for something that sits in this class, even with the added weight and stock power.
One thing that we can tell you about it, however, is that it is a brand-new vehicle with only the delivery miles under its belt. Klassen advertises it on its website here, and the same company is responsible for the armoring job. Mind you, they haven’t released many juicy details about it, so we cannot tell you how much it weighs and how much time they spent on this build. Speaking of spending, the asking price is available on request because if you haven’t figured it out yet, this Rolls-Royce Ghost is for sale. Klassen is the same company behind the million-dollar Cullinan, so you know an armored Ghost isn’t going to be a bargain machine.
You shouldn’t expect to pay a seven-digit sum on it, or so we think anyway, as Klassen might let it go for a bit less. Still, it is likely well over $600,000, considering that a normal Black Badge, like the one I drove last year and found to be on the annoyingly squeaky side of things, will set you back well over $400,000. The larger Phantom kicks off at an estimated $460,000 in our market, and it is easy to spec it to well over half-a-million dollars. Even the Rolls-Royce Cullinan luxury SUV starts at just under $400,000.
Source : AutoEvolution
