Rolls Royce Dawn 2016
The expansion of the Rolls Royce range has continued with the addition of the Dawn, a soft-top convertible to sit alongside the Wraith Coupe in the line-up.
The
Dawn’s bodywork is 80% new compared with the Wraith on which it is based. Rolls
says the cabin has room for four adults to sit in comfort. The only carryover
exterior parts from the Wraith are the doors and the grille surround.
Rolls
says it has worked hard to ensure that the Dawn is as smooth and quiet as other
Rolls-Royce models despite the absence of a fixed roof, delivering on the
firm’s famed ‘magic carpet’ ride.
The
firm says the Dawn is as quiet as the Wraith with the roof up, and as such is
the quietest convertible on the market. The roof retracts in 21 seconds at
speeds of up to 30mph.
The
company’s design chief, Giles Taylor, set out to create a car that was as
beautiful with the roof up as it was down, with the intention of producing “two
cars in one”. The firm looked to the 1952 Silver Dawn Drophead, the last
coachbuilt Rolls, for inspiration.
Rolls
claims the Dawn is the most rigid-bodied four-seat convertible on the market,
something in part achieved by a new suspension system with new air springs and
revised anti-roll bars. Rolls is also talking up the agility of the Dawn thanks
to this suspension system. The rear track is 24mm wider than that of the Ghost.
Powering
the Dawn is the same twin-turbo 6.6-litre V12 used by the Ghost. The engine
produces 563bhp at 5250rpm and 575lb ft at 1500rpm and drives the rear wheels
through an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox, which links with the sat-nav to
automatically pre-select the next appropriate gear. The Dawn can get from
0-62mph in 4.9sec and reach a limited 155mph. Combined fuel economy is 19.9mpg
and CO2 emissions are 330g/km.
The
Dawn is 5285mm long, 1947mm wide, 1502mm high and has a wheelbase of 3112mm,
dimensions broadly in line with those of the Wraith. It weighs 2560kg, some
200kg more than the Wraith. It is set to go on sale early next year, priced at
about £250,000.
Official Photos and Details
We can already tell that 2016 is
going to be a good year for high-rolling sunseekers, as they’ll have a number
of new droptops from which to choose. And unless Maybach drops another Landaulet or Bentley finally chops the roof off the Mulsanne by
next year, no car
company will allow the one percent to roll higher than Rolls-Royce,
which is adding a second extravagant extrovert to its droptop lineup (below the
Phantom Drophead Coupe). Its maker contends that the 2016 Rolls Royce Dawn is
“The Sexiest Rolls-Royce ever built.”
Exterior:
The Wraith of Dawn
Essentially a convertible version
of the Wraith coupe, the Dawn is a lovelier creature than that
fixed-roof model; in terms of exterior skin, Rolls says the two cars share only
their doors and rear bumper. The rear-three-quarter view of the Dawn is
gorgeous, with the rear fenders rising gently to create what Rolls
calls—ahem—“the feminine ‘hips’ of Dawn” before tapering in toward the tail.
Other noteworthy details are headlamps resembling those of the Ghost II,
new 20- or 21-inch wheels, and, of course, the retention of the rear-hinged coach doors.
Note how Rolls applied a tasteful pinstripe to the example in these photos to
accentuate the Dawn’s newfound curvature. Contrary to the beliefs of most New
Jersey car dealers, few of the world’s automobiles can make pinstripes work.
This car can.
The design incorporates a stainless-steel band at the leading edge of the flat
trunk, giving the Dawn a more traditional three-box-coupe look than the
fastback Wraith.
The rear window is small by design, which “heightens the sense of a private
sanctuary when motoring with the roof up.” Rolls describes roof operation as “a
silent ballet”—we would expect nothing less in terms of verbiage—and the
automaker further claims that the Dawn is the quietest convertible in
the world, with French-style exterior seams designed to eliminate wind noise.
Proud that the car retains the rear-seat legroom of the coupe,
Rolls-Royce is adamant about calling the Dawn “a true four-seater,” not a
two-plus-two, which the company considers “anti-social” and a “compromise too
far,” according to the press release. “2+2 ≠ 4,” they say. But even if it were
a little cramped in the back, we’d still find a way to squeeze ourselves inside
in order to savor the Dawn’s material opulence, which can be displayed in a
fashion like no Wraith possibly
can be given that the top goes down. The combination of “Mandarin” and black
cowhides on the Dawn seen here may not float everyone’s boat (many of us really
like it), but no one can argue with the book-matched, herringbone-style
open-pore Canadel wood applied in huge swathes on the dashboard, doors, rear
tonneau, and the “waterfall” panel between the rear seats. The treatment is
nothing short of spectacular. Other interior highlights include
wristwatch-style gauges, an audio system from Rolls’ Bespoke customization
outfit, and a Spirit of Ecstasy rotary controller with a touchpad rather than a center-stack touch screen, “which might leave unsightly fingerprints
at driver and passenger eye level”—the horror!
Powered
by a Ghost
The Dawn is propelled by a 6.6 litre twin-turbo V-12 that
is lifted pretty much intact from the Ghost II, making the same 563 horsepower
at 5250 rpm and 575 lb-ft of torque at just 1500 rpm. The transmission is the
same “satellite-aided” eight-speed unit found in the Wraith that
will use the GPS to prepare for upcoming hills and curves and select the proper
ratio. As for performance, Rolls expects the Dawn will hit 60 mph in 4.9
seconds, while top speed is limited to 155 mph.
Elsewhere under the skin, the Dawn gets the expected structural bracing
to ensure adequate rigidity, while the suspension has been reconfigured for the
revised weight distribution and body-stiffness properties to facilitate “the
expected Rolls-Royce ‘magic carpet’ ride.” Despite the Dawn tipping the scales
at an estimated 5700 pounds—several hundred more than the Wraith. Rolls-Royce claims that the new droptop is lighter
and more fuel-efficient than the majority of “compromised” two-plus-two
convertibles on the market.
A
Mighty Pretty Penny
Rolls-Royce says that the inspiration for the Dawn was the Silver Dawn cabriolet, only 28 of which were built between 1950 and 1954. We suspect that the new Dawn
will surpass that number in a matter of weeks once production is up and running
early next year. Orders are being taken now, with prices starting roughly 20
percent higher than those of the Wraith according to Rolls, so don’t expect much change from your $400,000 bill. Yeah,
that’s almost Phantom money. Then again, for the mega-rich, is that
really all that much? And besides, owning “the sexiest Rolls-Royce in history”
is a pretty powerful piece of marketing.
Comments
Post a Comment