Spy Shots: baby Rolls-Royce, this time without the snow
by Jonathon Ramsey on Jan 30th 2008 at 4:56PM 
The newer, smaller Rolls-Royce, which will still be quite large as cars go, has been spotted running around in warmer climes quite a ways south of its previous sighting in the arctic tundra. Expected to roll into 5-star showrooms before the end of 2010, you will need about £175,000 to get it from the dealer's heated garage into yours. If the spy shots are any indication, just because you're spending... ahem, less... doesn't mean it won't look like a Roller. The signature long-bonnet-to-bowing-boot is readily apparent.The platform will be shared with the next generation 7-Series, but will have a unique wheelbase, roof and hood height, and track. Inside, sharing will supposedly be restricted to things invisible to the driver. Engines will also be unique to Rolls-Royce, though developed from BMW engines such as the 407-hp twin-turbo V8 from the X6. And with Rolls in a brand new position in terms of volume, cachet and straight-up cash, the company is exploring something that would have been unthinkable not too long ago: a diesel. All that young money snapping up Phantoms means, in the words of a mole at Rolls, "the old-money buyers who might have been put off by the idea of a diesel engine are becoming a much less important part of our customer base."
[Source: Autocar]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Playdrv4me 5:29PM (1/30/2008)
I find it comical that BMW is thumbing its nose at the older crowd now that younger buyers are being attracted to the brand, but as long as Bentley is being refocused back into actual volume profits and especially with BMW's recent rampage on profits and efficiency, this should provide a perfect and overdue competitor to the Continental.
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Johnny082 6:09PM (1/30/2008)
weird proportions, could be the cladding though. like, theres wayyyyyyyy to much rear overhang and the front (mostly from the side) screams (!) Chrysler 300.
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madgamer 7:26PM (1/30/2008)
I agree that it looks a lot like a 300C (with the cladding anyway). The back is a bit different, but the front is spot on.