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Udupi:(TOI) The Rolls-Royce Ghost, a luxury saloon from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, has now vroomed into Udupi. The proud owner of this prized possession, named in honour of the Silver Ghost first produced in 1906, is Udupi MLA Pramod Madhwaraj. This makes him the only politician on the coast to own the vehicle with the Spirit of Ecstasy bonnet ornament — the Ghost.

 Ballari mining baron and former minister Gali Janardhana Reddy, known for his luxurious lifestyle had an enviable collection of cars, including a Rolls Royce Phantom. Even in Mangaluru, the only Rolls Royce on the roads is a Phantom, owned by real estate magnate Ramesh Kumar, making Madhwaraj, 47, the only person in this part of the state to own the Ghost. But Phantom costs more than the Ghost, depending on the model. The Ghost cost Madhwaraj around Rs 5.5 crore on road.

Though it was his childhood dream to own one, Madhwaraj was not really after it. But if you think the Udupi MLA had a harrowing time in deciding which car to buy, you’d be way off the mark. Madhwaraj told TOI: I wanted to buy a car. I got information that this car was readily available in Mumbai, so I bought it. Otherwise there’s a waiting period of seven months once you book it."

 Madhwaraj, who manages the Raj Fish Meal & Oil Co., the largest producers and exporters of fish meal and fish oil in the west coast, had a feel of the Ghost on Thursday when he landed in Udupi. "I plan to drive it once, but it will be chauffeured," he said.

 The Ghost is an addition to the couple of high-end cars Madhwaraj owns in his parking lot like Mercedes GL 350, Range Rover Vogue and Mitsubishi Montero.

 Did he ever think he would own a Rolls Royce? "It was a distant dream but never thought that I would own one," said Madhwaraj adding that he would use it extensively. "It will be taken where road permits," he said adding that he has no plans to take it to Bengaluru.

 Madhwaraj’s Ghost Series II has a 6.6-litre twin-turbocharged and direct-injected V12 under the long bonnet, producing 563 horsepower and 575 lb-ft of torque. With an eight-speed automatic Satellite Aided Transmission (SAT) sending power to the rear wheels, the sedan is capable of zero-to-100km/h in 4.9-second runs. Fuel economy is rated at 21.2ltr/100km in urban and 9.8ltr/ 100km in extra urban driving conditions.