It’s a new Dawn for Rolls-Royce, or certainly for its latest model. CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes has tonight confirmed the Drophead convertible version of the Wraith coupe will be called simply the ‘Dawn’. It will go on sale in the first quarter of 2016, with a price tag approaching £250,000.
When we first learned a smaller convertible to sit underneath the Phantom Drophead was planned, we expected it to follow form and take on the ‘Wraith Drophead’ nametag. But Rolls claims there is a reason behind the break in convention, and it’s buried deep in their car-building history before BMW’s intervention over a decade ago.
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Back in 1949 the Silver Dawn coupe was the first Rolls with a body assembled in its Crewe factory. But bespoke coachbuilders hand-made just 28 exclusive ‘Drophead’ bodystyles for the brand between 1950 and 1954, and these cars were gifted the ‘Dawn’ nameplate.
Aside from the historic reference, Mueller-Oetvoes claims the name represents “an awakening, and opening up of one’s senses and a burst of sunshine”. The cabrio is also described as “the most social of super-luxury motor cars for those beautiful people who wish to bathe in the sunlight of the world’s social hotspots.””
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The Rolls Royce Dawn will become the sixth member of a rapidly-expanding Rolls-Royce range that already includes the Phantom, Phantom Drophead Coupe, Phantom Coupe, Ghost and Wraith.
Our spyshots confirm the styling will almost entirely borrow from the Wraith coupe, with the same high, rising shoulder line and bluff front-end. The rear hinged, front-opening doors will also remain.
Similarities will carry on under the skin, with the same 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12 producing 624bhp. Luxury touches, such as the teak rear decking for the rooflid and and cashmere-lined electric hood, will likely be carried over from its Phantom Drophead bigger brother.
What do you think of the choice of Dawn as a name for the lates Rolls-Royce convertible? Let us know in the comments section below…
