Automotive

Rolls-Royce drops the roof with new Dawn

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Rolls-Royce has aimed to transfer the four-seat luxury that comes with a coupe to top-down motoring
Just in case you forget what your car is called, the Dawn is full of little touches to make owners feel special
Unlike most 2+2 convertibles, the Dawn's rear end has been designed for comfort
Little special details, like the Rolls-Royce stitching, are all around the interior
It was once said that the loudest thing in a Rolls-Royce was the clock
The wooden paneling and open top make the Dawn look almost boat-like
Thanks to a bespoke audio system, the Dawn's cabin should deliver high-end, perfectly modulated sound
At the rear, the roof has been designed to not take any space from rear-seat passengers
Expect no two Dawn interiors to be exactly the same
Inside, it's classic, beautifully detailed Rolls-Royce
The Dawn's long bonnet and short rear deck-lid are classic Rolls-Royce details
Rolls-Royce has aimed to transfer the four-seat luxury that comes with a coupe to top-down motoring
Thanks to a French Seam, the roof is whisper quiet
Even minus the roof, there's no doubt about what sort of the car the Dawn is
Rolls-Royce has worked hard on making the Dawn's roof a theatrical "silent ballet"
Even minus the roof, there's no doubt about what sort of the car the Dawn is
Roof up, the Dawn's roofline apes the coupe Wraith's
View gallery - 16 images

Having targeted younger buyers with the Wraith last year, Rolls-Royce has decided to turn its hand to the four-seat cabriolet. The new Rolls-Royce Dawn is aimed at delivering the same whisper quiet, ultra luxurious experience to those who want to enjoy top-down motoring without all the windy, noisy hassle.

Chief among the priorities for Rolls-Royce engineers was making sure rear-seat passengers have plenty of space. In most four-seat convertibles, the people sitting in the back are left with hardly any leg or shoulder room. According to Rolls-Royce, this makes most 2+2 convertibles "compromised and anti-social."

To tackle the problem, the Dawn's roof has been packaged so as not to impede on passenger space, which means all the people on board are able to enjoy the full roof-down, Rolls-Royce experience comfortably.

Just in case you forget what your car is called, the Dawn is full of little touches to make owners feel special

The roof on Rolls' new convertible has been designed to isolate passengers from the road like it's a coupe or sedan. While a metal folding roof would be the obvious choice for noise isolation and refinement, the Dawn features a soft-top to give it a more traditional aesthetic. Thanks to its smooth surface and tailored French Seam, Rolls-Royce claims the roof creates no noticeable wind noise, making it as quiet as the Wraith inside.

The new Dawn is fitted with a bespoke audio system tuned specifically for the acoustics of its interior. Thanks to 16 individually-tuned speakers and an exterior ambient noise microphone, the system subtly is reported to adjust the volume and tone of music to make sure the sound quality isn't impacted by anything else.

The wooden paneling and open top make the Dawn look almost boat-like

Just as Mercedes did with its S-Class Cabriolet, Rolls-Royce has worked hard to ensure the torsional rigidity of its new convertible. To make sure the extra structural bracing and mass is well controlled, the Dawn's suspension has been retuned.

At the center of the Dawn's driving experience is a 6.6-liter, twin-turbo V12 making 563 hp (420 kW) and 780 Nm. With a new, slightly more aggressive throttle map and GPS-assisted gearbox, the car should be silky-smooth to drive.

Rolls-Royce hasn't yet revealed pricing for the 2016 Dawn, but it will be on show at next week's Frankfurt Motor Show.

You can watch the Dawn launch video below.

Source: Rolls-Royce

View gallery - 16 images
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