Ghost Series II unveiled: Most advanced V12 Rolls-Royce yet

Rolls-Royce has unveiled the Ghost Series II, a powerful rendition of the most popular nameplate in its history, featuring a "monolithic and self-assured" exterior that acts as a stage for Bespoke commissions.

The front end has been refined into a cleaner showcase for Rolls-Royce's iconic Pantheon Grille, with the car's modern presence captured in its updated head lights with new daytime running light graphics.

The car's updated headlights flows from the lower section of the grille to the edge of the front wings, which then drops down to emphasise the car's 2148mm width

At its rear, the Ghost Series II profits from a new tail lamp configuration inspired by the Spectre. In addition, buyers can now choose from two new 22-inch, nine-spoke wheel designs.

Alongside the introduction of the car, Rolls-Royce has also created a new exterior colour, inspired both by a Carribean island by the name of Mustique, as well as one of its earliest driver-focused cars: The 1929 Phantom II Continental prototype.

Dubbed 'Mustique Blue', the colour is intended to capture the hues of the island, and utilises glass and mica flakes to create a shimmer meant to evoke "sunlight reflecting from a tropical sea". It joins Rolls-Royce's existing palette of more than 44,000 pre-existing hues - which are offered on top of the Bespoke colour service. 

Built with driving at its heart, the car's 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine is capable of 563bhp and 850Nm of torque. The latter is achievable from just 1,600rpm, ensuring full 'waftability'.

Clients can extend their Bespoke commission into software to tailor the colour of the digital instrument dials to complement the car's interior palette or exterior finish

The four-wheel drive limo also comes with the Flagbearer System that scans the road ahead for bumps and prepares the suspension, and the Satellite Aided Transmission that uses GPS data to select the optimum gear for cornering.

Regarding its interior, the Ghost Series II mainly follows the Cullinan facelift announced earlier this year. This includes Rolls-Royce's new SPIRIT operating system, with both analogue and digital dials.

Adding on, the new Illuminated Fascia's design, which spans the full width of the passenger side, ostensibly looked to the stars for inspiration with a design reminiscent of time-lapse celestial photography.

The original model's 18-speaker audio system is further enhanced in the Ghost Series II, which now has a 1,400-watt amplifier. Rear passengers can now connect up to two streaming devices to the rear screens and pair them with Bluetooth headphones. Wi-Fi hotspots and USB-C charging ports are also available for all occupants.

Whispers, Rolls-Royce's private members application, allows owners to send destinations to their car, view its location, and manage vehicle locking remotely

Additonally, the Ghost Series II's enhanced interior brings with it a new open-pore wood material named Grey Stained Ash - which is said to represent a "coalescence of traditional master craftsmanship and innovation". 

Richly-grained, stained by hand, and enriched with microscopic metallic particles, the material sports a unique and contemporary shimmering effect, and was created using a technique that took Rolls-Royce more than four years to develop. 

Also new to the Ghost Series II is a new rayon fabric Rolls-Royce is calling "Duality Twill". Made from bamboo, the textile is embroidered with a 'Duality' graphic that re-interprets the firm's iconic interlinked 'R' initials. Like the Grey Stained Ash, the fabric took Rolls-Royce quite a while to develop - more than a year, to be precise - with a full Duality Twill interior incorporating up to 2.2 million stitches and 17.7km of thread, and requiring up to 20 hours to complete. 

Customers can have already their base twill textile in either Lilac, Chocolate or Black, but the spread of thread colours is even more diverse: A total of 55 different hues are available. If Duality Twill doesn't suit their fancy, they may opt for Placed Perforation instead, which sees extremely fine perforations made in the seat leather to create unique works of art. 

Alongside the unveiling of the Ghost Series II, Rolls-Royce is also offering customers the chance to commission a Ghost Extended Series II - which offers 170mm more space in the rear suite. Despite the extra length, the brand states that the car's elegant silhouette remains the same, with an extension of only the rear doors and apertures.