After BMW acquired the Rolls-Royce name — and little else — some seven years ago, it developed the Ghost’s two predecessors essentially from scratch. Those cars, the Phantom and the Drophead Coupé, have proved quite successful. Perhaps BMW’s surprisingly uncanny sense of what constitutes British-ness can be traced to having done most of the development work on the third-generation Range Rover (2002-present) and its clever, campy revival of the Mini Cooper.

With the Ghost, the challenge was no less tricky, and the importance of getting it right was never more essential. The brand would have a difficult time remaining profitable if it relied only on its loyal but tiny cadre of customers. What the company needed was a car with broader appeal, greater versatility and a less daunting price. Yes, Rolls-Royce needed a daily driver.

“The Ghost is meant to offer our customers a vehicle that can be used in a wider range of driving situations,” Paul Ferraiolo, the company’s president for North America, said recently.

Many Rolls-Royce owners are not, in fact, drivers. Mr. Ferraiolo said he was surprised, at a recent driving clinic for prospective buyers, to hear from one enthusiastic Phantom owner that “17 miles was the farthest the man had driven himself in the last seven years.” Clearly, this is a demographic few automakers would pursue.

The Ghost’s base sticker price of $245,000 may be a bit more palatable to today’s diet-conscious luxury tastes than the Phantom’s sobering $380,000 price tag — or the Drophead Coupé at (gulp!) $433,000. Options alone for those larger models can easily add the equivalent of an Audi A8 to the final tab.