Design your own $280,000 Rolls-Royce ‘Ghost’
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As many potential car buyers across America take a break from impulse buying, Rolls-Royce saw the opportunity to get people dreaming big -- err, virtually at least.
With the launch of their new RR4 model, named ‘The Ghost,’ RR put together an online ‘dream machine’ to give everyone a chance to create and customize the Rolls that best suits their discriminating taste.
And why not, since all of us are dreaming of driving something that costs about as much as an ocean-view condo, med school tuition for two people, or, to put it in perspective, 1,450 3GS iPhones?
The 200EX itself is an experimental car designed to carry over to the production RR4 model, which will debut in Frankfurt, Germany, in September. The Ghost is set to go on sale in North America in 2010.
In the real world, this latest offering from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is far from a bargain at its estimated price of $280,000 to $300,000 (which is still cheaper than the big Phantom’s $382,000 price tag), but the interactive website gives you some luxurious fun for absolutely no money.
As you tool around the site, you’ll see features that simply don’t exist on more affordable vehicles: folding picnic tables for your backseat passengers to enjoy a meal en route, a panoramic sunroof covering two-thirds of the roof, and rear-hinged coach doors that swing open 83 degrees for a movie-star exit.
The “visualiser” feature allows you to create your customized Ghost, with palettes to change the exterior paint colors, interior leather trims, dashboard wood veneers, and an option to hide or show the satin silver front bonnet trim.
The 200EX micro-site also includes an “explore” option, which, once you click on the little blue blinking bubbles, highlights the car’s luxurious details: an elongated bonnet coated in a silver satin finish, a clock in the front dash faced with not just glass, but fancy green glass, and the iconic Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament that even retracts into the hood for its own protection.
No expense is spared, with chrome door handles, frosted lamps, violin-key switches, and an ergonomic roller-ball for controlling the car’s systems.
Though your paycheck may be shrinking, RR wants you to design your own Ghost and dream big - $280,000 big ones, at that.
-- Kelsey Ramos