Rolls-Royce Ghost at the Frankfurt Motor Show

• Competes with: 2500sf 4BR/2.5BA � OK, a Maybach 57
• Looks like: A smaller Phantom sedan, which isn�t a bad thing
• Drivetrain: 563-hp, 6.6-liter twin-turbo V-12 with eight-speed automatic transmission
• Hits dealerships: Likely sometime in early 2010

Those who follow the ultra-luxury segment � both fanboys and the people who can actually afford these things � will recall Rolls-Royce�s 200EX concept, which was unveiled at last spring�s Geneva Motor Show. The Ghost is the production version, and it looks much like the 200EX. A smaller, less expensive sibling to the RR�s flagship Phantom, the Ghost should appeal to �customers who have never had a Rolls-Royce before,� Rolls-Royce CEO Tom Purves told Bloomberg News at this week�s Frankfurt Motor Show.

Of course, less expensive is a relative term. With a reported starting price around $338,000, it�s a wee bit pricier � a mere $160,000 � than Bentley�s least expensive sedan, the Continental Flying Spur. But the Rolls is no Continental lookalike. It looks more like cars of the steel-girded, half-a-million-greenbacks ilk, complete with an imposing upright grille, suicide rear doors and a power-retracting Spirit of Ecstasy statuette.

The Ghost is smaller, to be sure � some 16 inches shorter than a Phantom sedan � but it should prove to be a sizable presence in any driveway. At 5,445 pounds, it packs nearly 1,000 pounds of additional heft versus a Mercedes S600. That won�t weigh it down, though. Thanks to a 563-horsepower, twin-turbo V-12 and an eight-speed automatic, Rolls-Royce says the Ghost scoots to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds.

Inside, the five-seat cabin has a number of influences from Rolls-Royce owner BMW. There�s an iDrive-like controller for the center-dash display, though thankfully, it appears to have the functionality and shortcut keys from the Bavarian�s latest-generation iDrive, which beats iDrive 1.0 like �Top Chef� beats �Iron Chef.� (Oh boy, here come the emails.) As you might expect, wood and leather abound, with cowhides cut from bulls that roamed in barbed-wire-free fields. There are plenty of technological amenities, too: Front, side and rear cameras provide fish-eye views around the entire car, active cruise control can bring the Ghost to a full stop in traffic and rear passengers can enjoy their own multimedia system displays.

There�s no word on when the Ghost will materialize at U.S. dealerships � a Rolls-Royce representative has yet to return our calls � but we�d expect it to arrive sometime early next year. Stay tuned for more details, and check out the photos below.