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Rolls Royce Dawn
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Rolls-Royce Dawn revealed
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22nd May, 2015 -
Rolls-Royce Dawn due 2016
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13th September, 2015
The arrival of the new Rolls-Royce Dawn, the brand’s four-seater
super-luxury drophead, is dawning.
Ahead of the new car's appearance at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany next week, Rolls Royce has released
details.
“It is always darkest just before the dawn”
In the most challenging times, the phrase “It is always darkest just before the dawn” – originally coined by English
Restoration preacher Thomas Fuller – resonates as a beacon of hope. This early morning darkness, where apparitions
such as phantoms, ghosts or wraiths have been imagined, and where one’s apprehensions lurk, is brushed aside by an
energising burst of early morning sunlight as one awakens to a new dawn and the endless possibilities of a new day.
Such was the feeling in 1952 as the world was finally emerging from a period of economic austerity
following protracted war. That year, the world looked forward in hope as the world’s first passenger jet - the British
deHavilland Comet, made its first commercial flight - and Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne of the United Kingdom.
That very same year, the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn drophead, which became the muse for the designers of the new
Rolls-Royce Dawn, was finished by Rolls-Royce coachbuilders Park Ward and delivered to its first customer, Colonel W.A.
Phillips in Canada.
A new beginning for Rolls-Royce at the time, the original Silver Dawn was the first Rolls-Royce to be offered with a
factory-built body. However, the drophead Rolls-Royces that carried the name Silver Dawn continued to be coach-built for
individual customers, ensuring their uniqueness and rarity.
This famous and rare Rolls-Royce name was only ever applied to 28 very special drophead bodies between 1950 and 1954.
The new Dawn
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.
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And, specific engineering and manufacturing attention has been paid to the development 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 50km/h.
It is safe to say that the new Rolls-Royce Dawn is the quietest open top car ever made.
Design
The new Rolls-Royce Dawn greets the observer with an elegant exterior design with typical Rolls-Royce appearance and
presence.
It offers a new level of effortlessness and a relaxed sensory experience with an underlying exhilaration and dynamism.
All this without a single compromise to comfort and space.
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.
A tapered ‘wake channel’ on the bonnet, emanating from the Spirit of Ecstasy’s wings, evokes the sight of a jet’s
vapour trail, hinting at the car’s dynamism. With its high shoulder line, massive C-pillar and horizontally narrow side
window aperture, when viewed from side-on and roof up, the car's silhouette looks akin to a low-slung ‘hot rod’.
At the front, the grille is recessed by approximately 45mm whilst the lower front bumper has been extended 53mm
compared to Wraith. This has been done to focus the eye on the jet air intake face and to make the car feel focused,
even when standing still. The grille design helps accelerate the tension of the car towards the rear shoulders, again
emphasising the unique elegance of Dawn.
The grille and bumper focus attention on the horizontal lines of the car rather than the traditional vertical lines of
the other members of the Rolls-Royce family. The bumper now incorporates the number plate surround and a new focused
lower air dam. The mesh in the lower valance is recessed and black in colour, helping provide a sense of depth which
supplements the depth in the grille. Also, chrome ‘blades’ act to plant the car while also complementing the horizontal
lines and accelerating the flow of the eye around the car thus increasing the impression of power and width.
When viewing the Rolls-Royce Dawn in side profile, one’s eye is instantly drawn to the elegant profile of the car. The
soft top shape is completely harmonious and homogenous without the concave areas or sharp struts seen in some soft tops.
In addition, new 21" polished and 21" and 20" painted wheels ensure Dawn remains a perfectly executed, contemporary
expression of Rolls-Royce luxury.
The rear end of the car, having swelled over the feminine ‘hips’ of Dawn, tapers in towards the rear, echoing the
elegant design of early ‘boat tail’ Rolls-Royce drophead coupés and indeed the beautiful motor launches of the early 20th
Century that inspired them.
The stainless steel waist line finisher that wraps around the cabin encompasses the deck that covers the soft top when
stowed, and integrates the high-level brake light. This beautiful metal feature works in harmony with the stainless steel
door handles, polished wheels, visible exhausts and front and rear bumper jewellery, to provide a priceless look and
feel.
The deck itself is an amazing work of modern craftsmanship. Clothed in open-pore Canadel panelling that traces the
horse-shoe shape of the rear cabin, it demonstrates the great advances that the craftspeople in the factory's Woodshop in
Goodwood have made in wood crafting technology and techniques.
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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.
Interior
Once again Rolls-Royce’s unique 'coach' doors come into their own in a drophead format. The doors complement the long
front mudguards and relaxed waft line, providing a long body profile and a cosseted cabin.
Evocative of the classic sports car profile, they aid the easy entry and egress of rear passengers from the Dawn.
The first impression upon entering Dawn is of the four separate bucket seats set in the midst of a sumptuous slingshot
of wood and leather. The slingshot concept runs from the driver's A-pillar towards the rear of the car, around the rear
seats before returning to the passenger A-Pillar.
The slingshot form is reminiscent of a barchetta, pulled back, poised and ready to launch the occupants of the car to
the horizon, even whilst stationary. This design complements the accelerated tension seen in the exterior of the car. The
interior complements the exterior, a place of opulence, security and presence.
The Rolls-Royce Dawn offers four very individual, cosseting seats. The vehicle is a full four seater and so there is
no compromise in comfort wherever you sit. The seats have been designed to help emphasise the energetic, yet elegant
intent and sense of purpose of the car, complemented by an intersecting full length centre console. The upper seat back
houses the seat belt harness, which together with the pillarless bodywork enhances and emphasises the slingshot of wood
or leather with no breaks in the flow-lines. The wood on the surfaces of the trays are also book-matched down the centre
console in a chevron pattern pointing forward providing an accelerated feel.
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.
Engineering and Technology
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 and brand appropriateness. And
there is something pleasing about 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.
Working with a fabric roof configuration, the Rolls-Royce engineering team set themselves a challenging goal – to make
the quietest convertible car in the world today. This quest for silence applied to all aspects of the engineering of the
new roof and by extension the new car itself.
Firstly, the passengers’ on-board aural experience roof up and roof down while in motion had to be pure Rolls-Royce.
The design of the roof had to be graceful whilst remaining one of the largest canopies to grace a convertible car.
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.
Another point to note is the small size of the rear glass – a carefully-judged proportion which heightens the sense of
a private sanctuary when motoring with the roof up.
Two key techniques were employed to ensure the roof not only appears beautiful in its form, but also contributes to
the silence of the car in its function. A perfectly smooth surface, combined with an innovative tailored ‘French Seam’
ensures that the air flow over the car with the roof up provides no noticeable wind noise. Inside, the Rolls-Royce Dawn
is as silent as a Rolls-Royce Wraith – a first in convertible motoring.
Secondly, the actual opening and closing of the roof mechanism had to be unobtrusive at the same time.
Bespoke Audio
For those not so worried about silence and more interested in sharing music and entertainment with fellow occupants,
Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke Audio system has been specially calibrated for the unique configuration of the Rolls-Royce Dawn.
Whether the roof is open or closed, Bespoke Audio ensures perfect acoustic balance and performance. Audio engineers
were consulted throughout the design process of the car on the effect proposed changes may have had on the performance of
the audio system.
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Sixteen individually-tuned speakers, with both theatre and studio settings, deliver a pure ‘larger than live’
sensation. Two bass speakers located in the boot complement seven tweeters placed throughout the cabin. The system
utilises a highly sensitive microphone to constantly monitor ambient exterior noise, subtly adjusting the volume and tone
settings accordingly to ensure the system delivers consistent perfection. The technology complements this, with frequency
and phase correction for individual speakers eliminating potential loud and dead spots caused by outside influences.
The driving
The beating heart and soul of any Rolls-Royce motor car is the twin-turbo 6.6-litre V12 powertrain. With a power
output of 420kW @ 5,250rpm (563bhp) and a torque rating of 780Nm (575 lb ft) @ 1,500rpm, Dawn’s driving experience is
exceptional.
This experience is enhanced by dynamic accelerator pedal mapping which delivers up to 30% increased response at medium
throttle.
Dawn maintains Rolls-Royce’s typical steering characteristics providing superb driver feedback thereby ensuring that
the car is effortless but precise to drive.
Grip is provided by runflat tyres, metrically sized at 540mm (20 inches) in diameter. These tyres enable the Dawn to
run on a deflated tyre for at least 160km at speeds up to 80km/h before needing a replacement. A remarkable level of
control still exists, even with a tyre fully deflated. Optional 21” wheels are also available, mounted on 10-spoke rims.
The inclusion of runflat tyres removes the spare wheel and jack from the equipment list.
Satellite Aided Transmission
The Rolls-Royce Dawn’s effortless dynamism is augmented with the addition of Satellite Aided Transmission, a
technology that made its global debut on Wraith in 2013.
Satellite Aided Transmission utilises GPS data to allow the car to see beyond what the driver sees, anticipating their
next move based on location and driving style.
It uses this information to select the most appropriate gear from the Dawn’s 8-speed ZF gearbox to ensure the driver
is able to appropriately exploit the power from the Rolls-Royce 6.6 litre twin-turbo V12, ensuring an effortless and
seamless drive experience.
For example when approaching a sweeping bend, the car will predict how you wish to drive through it. When the driver
lifts the accelerator it will hold the lower gear to ensure maximum power is available on accelerating through the exit
of the corner.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
| Dimensions |
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| Vehicle length |
5,285mm / 17.34ft |
| Vehicle width |
1,947mm / 6.39ft |
| Vehicle height (unladen) |
1,502mm / 4.93ft |
| Wheelbase |
3,112mm / 10.21ft |
| Turning circle |
12.7m / 41.7ft |
| Boot Volume (DIN) |
244lt - 295lt / 8.6 ft3 - 10.4 ft3 |
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| Weight |
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| Unladen Weight (DIN) |
2,560kg / 5,644lb |
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| Engine |
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| Engine / cylinders / valves |
V / 12 / 48 |
| Fuel management |
Direct injection |
| Power output @ engine speed |
563bhp / 420kW / 570PS @ 5,250rpm |
| Max torque @ engine speed |
780Nm / 575lb ft @ 1,500rpm |
| Fuel type |
10:1 / Premium unleaded |
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| Performance |
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| Top speed |
250kmh / 155mph (governed) |
| Acceleration 0 - 100km/h |
4.9sec |
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| Fuel Consumption |
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| Urban |
21.4lt / 100km / 13.2mpg (Imp.) |
| Extra urban |
9.8lt / 100km / 28.8mpg (Imp.) |
| Combined consumption / range |
14.2lt / 100km / 19.9mpg (Imp.) |
| CO2 emissions |
330g/km |
NOTE:
Specifications subject to change without notice.
E&OE.
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