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rolls-royce phantom drophead coupé

With the Phantom, BMW breathed a new life into Rolls-Royce. The Drophead Coupé now introduces the element of open air driving
BusinessToday reports

As she sails through the winds, bent slightly forward, her robes billowing back to form a pair of wings, she turns more heads than most of her kind. She is the Spirit of Ecstasy, arguably the most famous mascot to grace the bonnet of a car for the last 100 years. Indeed, the Spirit has risen again �seemingly without effort �since 1998 when German auto giant, BMW, took over the reins of the troubled Rolls-Royce marque and re-introduced the Phantom to the world in 2003.

The latest incarnation to wear the RR badge and sport the Spirit of Ecstasy on the bonnet is the Phantom Drophead Coupé. It was unveiled as a concept �designated 100EX �in 2004 to celebrate the company's centenary. In the autumn of 2005 it was announced that a production version would be available in 2007. With characteristic British punctuality, Rolls-Royce introduced the Drophead Coupé at the Detroit Motor Show earlier this year and launched it recently in fantastic style in Tuscany, Italy. "Everything about the launch was about quality, from the pickup at the airport to the launch ceremony, and certainly the car itself," says a representative of Business Today who attended the event.

It is expected to make its debut in the sultanate in November this year and delivery of these vehicles might take up to a year from the time of placing the order.

Like any other Rolls-Royce, this too is meant for ‘ultra high net worth individuals� in the words of the people who make these majestic vehicles. Marrying the timeless style of earlier Rollers, as they are fondly referred to, the Drophead was to be a less formal version of the Phantom. "The Phantom Drophead Coupé is about emphasising the essentials of pleasure," says Ian Cameron, chief designer Rolls-Royce. "Above all, we were determined to make this a joy to live with. Rolls-Royce is the opposite of stiff formality. Why would you design and build a car like this and not make it fun to use?"

Drivers testify that despite its huge proportions (length X breadth X height = 5609mm X 1987mm X 1581mm) and unladen weight of over two tonnes, this convertible version of the Phantom is nimble on its feet. This agility is the result of the wheelbase being 250mm shorter than the Phantom. The aluminium spaceframe's additional rigidity also contributes towards a superlative ride quality. And of course all this comes with the quietness that has been the hallmark of those that wear the RR badge. Even at high speeds, with the hood folded away, cabin noise is relatively minimal.

The 6.75-litre 48-valve V12 engine that powers this yacht on wheels is characteristically silent. Mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox, it produces a maximum power of 453bhp at 5,350rpm and a torque of 720Nm at 3,500rpm. The ability to reach 100kmph from standstill in 5.9 seconds and a governed top speed of 240kmph prove that the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé is more than just adequately fast.

The seeds of Rolls-Royce Motor Car were sown in 1903 when co-founder Sir Frederick Henry Royce bought a used French Decauville. Ever the perfectionist, Royce was dissatisfied with this unreliable twin cylinder car. So he used the Decauville as a base and went about building his own vehicles, three of which were eventually produced.

Royce's friend Henry Edmunds, who had been using one of these cars, told his friend Claude Johnson, who in turn told his boss, Honourable Sir Charles Stewart Rolls. It was agreed at a meeting between Royce and Rolls that the latter would have the exclusive right to sell Royce’s cars. The new company made its international debut at the Paris Salon in 1904. Three years later, in 1907, the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost carved the legend of the smoothness and reliability of Rolls-Royce cars with a virtually non-stop run of 14,371 miles (23,000km approx).

Tragically enough, Rolls was killed in an aeroplane crash in 1910 and would not see what the company would later become. Royce and Johnson, who had become the company’s car production manager, continued to build vehicles of extraordinary quality.

The first of the Phantoms, the Phantom I, was produced in 1925 after World War I. Since then a series of Phantoms have come and gone, spanning a little more than 80 years. The Drophead Coupé is the ninth to be named Phantom and, like every other example to bear it, carries the mantle well.

It is the perfect blend of the old with the new. One look at the A-pillars �so reminiscent of the quarter glasses of the 50s and 60s �the streamlined body, the front coach doors, the long bonnet and the dynamic line running along its sides will confirm that the car retains all that is traditional in a Rolls-Royce. Yet the vehicle has all that it needs to live in luxury in the modern age. Intelligent braking systems, integrated active seat belts, carefully incorporated crumple zones and active roll-over protection keeps occupants safe, while a sound system with 15 speakers take care of the changing acoustics of the convertible.

The first of the Dropheads, intended for the US, was sold at a charity auction held during the annual Naples Winter Wine Festival in Florida. At a bid of US$2mn, the Phantom Drophead Coupé is the most expensive car ever sold in America. The buyer, a resident of Naples, will take delivery of the car only by the end of this year.

Nearly 90 years of technological advancement separate the 100EX �the original concept from which the Phantom Drophead Coupé was produced �from its predecessor, the 1EX in 1919. Yet the underlying principles of quality refinement, performance, reliability and unparalleled luxury have remained unchanged. As the marque moves ahead under ownership of the BMW Group, the Drophead Coupé will be one more name in a long and distinguished line of vehicles that have helped forge the legend that is Rolls-Royce.