Rolls built only 28 Silver Dawns through 1954.
Some folks might call it recycling. For the venerable British automaker Rolls-Royce, it’s all about reaching back into its long and storied past. And that means the all-new convertible the maker plans to introduce early next year will be named Dawn.
First used on a Rolls model back in 1949, that nameplate ultimately graced just 28 special models produced through 1954. It was notable for being the first model for which the maker produced its own bodies, rather than turning to an outside coachbuilder.
“Our new Rolls-Royce Dawn promises a striking, seductive encounter like no other Rolls-Royce to date,” said a breathless Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, chief executive officer. “Dawn is a beautiful new open-top motor car with a name that suggests the fresh opportunities that every new day holds – an awakening, an opening up of one’s senses and a burst of sunshine. It will be 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.”
In British terms, the Dawn will be a drophead, and it will join a current line-up that includes he Phantom, Ghost and Wraith. But Rolls is looking at further opportunities and has confirmed it is working on an all-wheel-drive, off-road capable model that should land in its line-up before the end of the decade.
The new Dawn offers a hint of the maker’s plans for an expanding line-up, Rolls says.
The push for more product should come as no surprise and is in line with what’s happening in the rest of the ultra-luxury market. Bentley will introduce its own SUV, the Bentayga, later this year. And, as TheDetroitBureau.com recently reported, it is looking at yet another product line – which is likely to either be a smaller ute or a production version of the EXP 10 Speed 6 concept shown earlier this year.
(For more on Bentley’s plans for its next new model line, Click Here.)
As for specifics, Rolls isn’t offering much in the way of details about the new Dawn. Instead, a preliminary press release goes to extremes, suggesting it will provide an almost “erotic” thrill when it comes to market.
(Click Here for details Bentley’s plans for an SUV or two.)
“‘Dawn’ perfectly expresses the character of the new Rolls-Royce. In its tentative, inchoate, anticipatory state, dawn is the world coming to light from the ethereal dark of the night,” gushes the maker. “The early-day chill of dawn provides an erotic tingle on the skin, awakening the senses and passions as the day begins. Like Eleanor Thornton, thought by many to be the inspiration behind the Spirit of Ecstasy, the Rolls-Royce Dawn will also prove itself to be the muse that leads its owner to believe that at the start of the day, anything is possible.”
(To see more about the Rolls-Royce luxury SUV on the way, Click Here.)
If your heart – and bank account — can handle it – look for the Rolls-Royce Dawn to reach showrooms during the first quarter of 2016.