Rolls-Royce – It’s a new Dawn!
“Our new Rolls-Royce Dawn promises a striking, seductive encounter like no other Rolls-Royce to date, and begins a new age of open-top, super-luxury motoring. Quite simply, it is the sexiest Rolls-Royce ever built.”
Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Compromise is not a word recognised in the Rolls-Royce lexicon. Indeed the company continues to live by the clarion cry of co-founder Sir Henry Royce to:
“Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it. Accept nothing nearly right or good enough.”
Rolls-Royce’s new Dawn has taken inspiration from the Silver Dawn, whilst delivering a world first in super-luxury motoring – a cool, contemporary interpretation of what a super-luxury four-seater convertible motor car should be in 2015 – rare, refined and the most social super-luxury car there is.
Much like the 1952 Silver Dawn drophead, the new Rolls-Royce Dawn stands apart from its stable mates, featuring 80% unique body panels.
Indeed such attention has been paid to ensuring this amazing new dawn for super-luxury motoring delivers on its promise, even the tyres that connect the new Rolls-Royce Dawn to the roads it will glide over have been specially developed to deliver the pinnacle ‘magic carpet’ ride expected of every Rolls-Royce that leaves The Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood, England.
And, specific engineering and manufacturing attention has been paid to the creation of the Dawn’s roof. Unheard of anywhere in the modern motor industry until now, the roof of the Rolls-Royce Dawn delivers the silence of a Wraith when up and operates in almost complete silence in just over 20 seconds at a cruising speed of up to 50kph.
“It is safe to say that the new Rolls-Royce Dawn is the quietest open top car ever made.”
“At Rolls-Royce, we pride ourselves as creators of fine motor cars that also serve as social spaces,”
comments Taylor.
“The idea of creating a car like Dawn that can be used in comfort by only two adults on a day to day basis is anathema. In creating Dawn we have accepted no compromise to the comfort and luxury of four adults who want to travel together in the pinnacle of style.”
The aim was clear. To do what no other car manufacturer had achieved so far – make a car that looks as beautiful with its roof up as with it down. One could almost say that the result of the design team’s restless endeavours has been to make the new Rolls-Royce Dawn two cars in one.
The Rolls-Royce Dawn maintains timeless Rolls-Royce design principles – 2:1 wheel height to body height, a long bonnet, short front overhang, a long rear overhang, an elegant tapering rear graphic and a high shoulder line. All this tradition is delivered in a beautiful and thoroughly contemporary design.
The wood on the deck, chosen by the customer to suit their individual taste, flows down the ‘Waterfall’ between the rear seats, and around the cabin clothing the interior door panels and enticing the owner to enter Dawn.
The first impression upon entering Dawn is of the four separate bucket seats set in the midst of a sumptuous and sartorial slingshot of wood and leather. The slingshot concept runs from the driver’s A-post towards the rear of the car, around the rear seats before returning to the passenger A-Pillar.
The instrument dials have also undergone subtle enhancements with individually applied polished metal chaplets around the dials evoking the precision design of hand-made, luxury wrist watches, whilst the matt chrome centres ‘float’ in the middle of each instrument. In addition, a new clock design featuring the new motor car’s name has been introduced.
Without question, the engineering highlight of the new Rolls-Royce Dawn is the new roof. To be a true Rolls-Royce, Dawn had to deliver the hushed driving experience associated with all Rolls-Royces. At the same time the only choice for a Rolls-Royce was a fabric roof for reasons of aesthetics, romance and brand appropriateness. There is nothing more romantic than driving a convertible in the rain at night and hearing the drops pattering on the roof. In conversation with its customers, Rolls-Royce realised that they felt the same way.
Of particular note is how the canopy wraps around the rear seats and down over the window tops of Dawn thereby optically lowering the roofline of the car to contribute to its low-slung appearance.
Finely tuned by experts the Dawn’s audio system caters for those more interested in sharing music and entertainment with their friends. The Dawn’s Bespoke Audio system has been specially calibrated for its unique configuration.
A newly designed suspension configuration takes care of the specific behaviour of this open top motor car in the areas of body stiffness and mass distribution, guaranteeing ultimate cruising comfort and the expected Rolls-Royce ‘magic carpet’ ride.
Fewer aerodynamic lifts in front and rear and a lower centre of gravity, in combination with newly designed air springs and active roll bars, deliver surprisingly agile handling capabilities for this super-luxury boulevardier.
Information from the significantly updated Multimedia Interface and Navigation system is displayed beautifully on a new 10.25” high-definition screen, whilst hardware and software changes have improved processing speeds for faster route calculations.
Should the worst of circumstances arise, Dawn will deploy a concealed roll-over protection system from behind the rear head restraints in just a fraction of a second. A ratchet system then locks them in place. This roll-over protection system also encompasses the entire windscreen surround of the car.
Rolls Royce Dawn. The way this light is managed is significantly enhanced by adaptive technology. Electronically controlled reflectors move in the direction of travel in response to wheel turns to give a greater depth of vision when cornering and a whiter, brighter light ensures effortless and safe driving on dark roads whilst helping reduce driver tiredness.
In addition, automatic dipping of full-beam headlights has been replaced with revolutionary new glare-free technology. When a car approaches, light is deflected to ensure the oncoming driver is not dazzled. Dawn drivers therefore enjoy the safety benefits of constant full-beam visibility. A day-time running bar frames Dawn’s contemporary front light graphic, giving the car a distinctive signature whilst augmenting safety at the same time.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions
- Vehicle length: 5285mm / 17.34ft
- Vehicle width: 1947mm / 6.39ft
- Vehicle height: 1502mm / 4.93ft
- Wheelbase: 3112mm / 10.21ft
- Turning circle: 12.7m / 41.7ft
- Boot Volume: 244ltr – 295ltr / 8.6 ft3 – 10.4 ft3
Engine
- Fuel management
- Direct injection
- Power output @ engine speed: 420kW @ 5250 RPM
- Max torque @ engine speed: 780Nm @ 1500 RPM
- Fuel type: 10:1 / Premium unleaded
Performance
- Top speed: 250km/h
- Acceleration: 0 – 100km/h in 4.9
- Fuel Consumption: 14.2ltr / 100km / 19.9mpg (Imp.)
- CO2 emissions: 330g/km