Rolls Royce Ghost limo revealed

Rolls Royce Ghost limo is downsized from Phantom

While Bentley is a popular giveaway with a home or yacht, Rolls Royce has announced their new limo: the Ghost.

Rolls Royce in a nod to the economic downturn is offering the Ghost as a lower cost alternative to the rest of the luxury Rolls Royce line of cars.

Rolls prefers that you not take the step down to Bentley only to have to give it away with your boat or house.

Rolls Royces usually are monsters of Wall Street. But the new Ghost will be fairly modest by Rolls Royce standards.

The Ghost is a four door and shorter and sleeker than the company's flagship Phantom limousine, making it

"slightly more agile"

and better for daily use, says Rolls-Royce CEO Tom Purves. It's more affordable as well, priced at just $245,000, far below the $380,000 baseline price tag for the Phantom.

The Rolls Royce Ghost has been in the works for several years. But since sales of the larger Phantom have fallen 34% so far in 2009, the timing seems right for the Ghost.

"To have a car like the Ghost [coming out] right now is, of course, ideal," Buyers may be attracted by not only the tens of thousands of dollars in savings, but also the ability to strike the right tone in a recession.

Purves says.

"[The Ghost is] less ostentatious, so owners can give the impression that they're downsizing their Rolls-Royce,"

says Garel Rhys, president of Cardiff University's Centre for Automotive Industry Research.