Compare the2026 Rolls-Royce GhostVS 2026 Audi A8

The Ghost has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. At the same time the pretensioning seatbelts fire, removing slack from the belts. The A8 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Ghost has standard Active Park Distance Control that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The A8 doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

An active infrared night vision system standard on the Ghost helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera and near-infrared lights to detect heat, the system then projects the image on the windshield, near the driver’s line of sight. The A8 doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Ghost has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the A8’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Ghost has standard Cross Traffic Warning, helping the driver avoid collisions. Audi charges extra for Rear Cross-Traffic Assist on the A8.

The Ghost’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The A8 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Ghost and the A8 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

The Rolls-Royce Ghost weighs 683 to 794 pounds more than the Audi A8. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Ghost comes with a full 4-year/unlimited-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The A8’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires sooner.

Rolls-Royce pays for scheduled maintenance on the Ghost for 1 year and unlimited miles longer than Audi pays for maintenance for the A8 (4/unlimited vs. 3/30,000).

The Ghost’s standard 6.6 turbo V12 produces 228 more horsepower (563 vs. 335) and 258 lbs.-ft. more torque (627 vs. 369) than the A8’s 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid. The Ghost Black Badge’s standard 6.6 turbo V12 produces 256 more horsepower (591 vs. 335) and 295 lbs.-ft. more torque (664 vs. 369) than the A8’s 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Rolls-Royce Ghost (base engine) is faster than the Audi A8:

For better stopping power the Ghost’s brake rotors are larger than those on the A8:

The Ghost stops shorter than the A8:

For better traction and acceleration, the Ghost has larger rear tires than the A8 (285/35R21 vs. 265/40R20).

The Ghost’s 285/30R22 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 30 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the A8’s optional 35 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Ghost has standard 22-inch wheels. The A8’s largest wheels are only 21-inches.

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires available on the Ghost can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The A8 doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

The Ghost has active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The A8 doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Ghost offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Audi doesn’t offer an active suspension on the A8.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Ghost’s wheelbase is 6.6 inches longer than on the A8 (129.7 inches vs. 123.1 inches). The Ghost Extended’s wheelbase is 13.3 inches longer than on the A8 (136.4 inches vs. 123.1 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Ghost is 1.1 inches wider in the rear than on the A8.

The Ghost handles at .90 G’s, while the A8 55 TFSI pulls only .89 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Ghost executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the A8 55 TFSI (25.3 seconds @ .75 average G’s vs. 25.9 seconds @ .7 average G’s).

The Ghost uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The A8 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Ghost has .5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the A8 (111.5 vs. 111).

The Ghost has 2.3 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more front legroom, .3 inches more front shoulder room and .5 inches more rear headroom than the A8.

The Ghost has a much larger trunk than the A8 (17.3 vs. 12.5 cubic feet).

The A8’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The Ghost’s standard adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

Both the Rolls-Royce Ghost and the Audi A8 have a standard Qi wireless phone charging system in the front seat. To easily keep personal devices charged in the rear seat, without cables tangling and wearing out, the Ghost also has a standard wireless charging system in the rear seat. The A8 does not.

According to iSeeCars.com the 2026 Rolls-Royce Ghost retains 53.79% of its original value after 5 years, significantly more than the 37.4% resale value of the 2026 Audi A8 after five years, which can save the Rolls-Royce’s owner.