Autoblog

Looks like quite a few nuggets came out of the Shanghai Auto Show this week, many of them from BMW. BMW already scored some bigtime headlines with their CS Concept, but it looks like there was big news from corporate cousin Rolls-Royce, too. Chairman and CEO Ian Robertson told reporters that Rolls-Royce plans to launch its new "smaller" model by the end of the decade. Talk of a baby Roller has persisted, but this appears to be the first public acknowledgment of an entry-level model with some specific time frame and pricing info.

"We are working on a smaller car," Robertson said, "A relatively smaller car." We don't know how much smaller it will be than the Phantom, but the pricetag is expected to be one-third smaller. The car should slot in between the Phantom and 7-Series, at least until a production version of the CS appears. A smaller, cheaper Rolls could help the company double their current sales volume of about 800 cars annually. A second assembly line will be added in an update to the Goodwood plant to handle the new model. Shanghai was an appropriate locale for the announcement as China has the second largest dealer network behind only the United States. The number of Chinese dealers will grow to seven when two more are added in the next year or so.

[Source: Reuters]

We figured the new baby Rolls might increase sales, but Rolls-Royce is saying it expects the car to double output to 1,600 units when the junior model debuts in 2010. That model's design has finally been approved according to R-R CEO Ian Robertson. As we told you earlier, the new model should be getting its own platform with a V8 and possibly the Phantom's V12 as an option. We certainly can't get up the nerve to refer to it as an entry-level Rolls, with prices expected to run between 200,000 and 300,000 euros, or about $260,000 to $400,000 currently.

It took Rolls several years to hit the 3,000 Phantom sales mark, so when Robertson says they don't intend to compete with the volume brands, we believe him. Extra production will come from adding a second shift at the Goodwood factory. While he wouldn't give any further details on the lower-priced model, Robertson did say that it will be unmistakably Rolls-Royce. He also said that the new Phantom Drophead Coupe convertible we first saw in Detroit is officially sold out through 2008. We should start seeing them on the road in August, Stateside.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

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When the Rolls-Royce Phantom went on sale in 2003, it was a pretty big deal. After the whole VW/BMW battle over the R-R/Bentley empire, BMW emerged as the owner of Rolls. Soon after, the Phantom was shown, making a huge statement about the future of Rolls-Royce. A big car with even bigger shoes to fill, the Phantom used retro styling cues to update the brand and bring a whole new audience to the marque.

Flash forward four years and Rolls-Royce has managed to do pretty well with its "new" Rolls. With Bentley and Maybach as its only true competition, the big Roller has managed to hold its own. Still the car of choice among the ultra rich in many parts of America, Europe and Asia, in particular, R-R has managed to sell a whopping 3,000 Phantoms over the years.

Car number 3,000 was recently feted as a corporate milestone at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars of London. Mrs. Tchenguiz-Imerman, a London socialite, was the customer who commissioned lucky number 3,000 from Sales Manager Stephen Foulds, who happens to be the most successful Phantom seller in the world with more than 130 units sold. In a small ceremony, she accepted the keys to her Diamond Black Phantom from Rolls-Royce Chairman and Chief Executive, Ian Robertson. The Goodwood plant and the London dealership have been a big part of the legacy of Rolls-Royce, and so it was fitting that this milestone event involved those two institutions. A plaque inside the glovebox marks this particular car as lucky number 3,000.

[Source: Rolls Royce]