Minimalism is one of the big buzzwords of the 21st century. Many have tried to ride the wave but few have truly embraced it to full effect. But it’s not necessarily for the lack of trying; not in the case of the all-new Rolls-Royce Ghost at least. 

The British carmaker prides its brand new limousine for the minimalism of its design; its take on luxurious mobility in a ‘post-opulent’ era, so to speak. And while we get that it’s a tip of the hat to how well the design of Henry Cloke and co identifies itself as a Rolls-Royce without question despite being frugal with the brush strokes, hard lines and bold styling cues, finding the meaning of minimalism in a sea of precious aluminium spanning 2.1 meters wide and 5.5 metres long (5.7 for the Ghost Extended) is quite the challenge. 

Peek beneath the hood of the Ghost’s aluminium space frame architecture and you’ll find an engine that adds to the numbers generously. An improved 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12 endows the most successful Rolls-Royce nameplate to date with 563bhp and 850Nm of torque. The latter is available from just 1,600rpm following requests from clients for near-instant torque. And it gets paired to a satellite aided transmission with all-wheel drive and all-wheel steer for good measure. This combo helps the 2.5-tonne Ghost to 100kph from a standstill in only 4.8 seconds. Vmax is restricted to 250kph. 

QUICK FACT - ONLY TWO ITEMS WERE CARRIED OVER FROM THE OLD GHOST: THE SPIRIT OF ECSTACY AND THE DOOR UMBRELLAS

The numbers stack up even more inside, with 100kg of acoustic damping materials used to turn the cabin into a highly-insulated, near-silent sound stage. Speaking of sound, the Ghost gets a 1,300-Watt Bespoke Audio system with an 18-channel amplifier (one channel per speaker). And while the Phantom gets a fully customisable ‘Gallery’ up front, its smaller sibling makes do with an illuminated fascia which surrounds the letters that spell its name with 850 stars made up of 152 LEDs and 90,000 laser-etched dots which echo the effect of Rolls-Royce’s now signature Starlight Headliner, which can also be Ghost customers can also add to cart. And then there's the choice of wheellbase to consider, which directly affects the amount of room in the rear; back-seat clients who want a little more legroom can opt for the Ghost Extended for an extra 170mm from wheel to wheel, although that comes at a small premium (naturally).

In its vanilla state, the all-new Rolls-Royce Ghost is priced from RM1,450,000 before duties, taxes and customisation. The base price for the Ghost Extended (pictured) is RM200k higher, which seems pretty reasonable compared to other things you'd find in the carmaker's Bespoke catalogue. That said, the difference will inflate upon factoring in all the necessary fees to register one for Malaysian roads, as will the final sale price. So much for having something a little less opulent in the driveway...