Autoblog

Click for more high-res images of the Phantom Coupe

Rolls Royce has been on a roll of late, with a 25-percent increase in global production in 2007, and the gorgeous new Phantom Coupe ready to add to last year's record totals. Since the official announcement of the ultra-luxury two-door, 200 orders have already been taken, which represents all production for 2008. Even more impressive is the fact that two-thirds of the orders come from customers who have never before owned a Rolls. It doesn't hurt that the Phantom Coupe's Drophead sibling is sold out through summer 2009, which means the fixed-top Phantom has little short-term competition on the show floor.

It's hard to blame the filthy rich for sopping up Phantom Coupes so quickly. The luxury-liner's incredible contours, stunning materials, and mind-blowing suicide doors make us lie awake at night thinking of ways to become wealthy enough to one day own one. So far all we've thought of is more blogging, which means we'll have to settle for something a bit less well-heeled.

[Source: Auto News (subs. req'd)]

click above image to view more high-res pics of the Drophead Coupe from RR

Giving to charity is a good thing, no doubt, but what better incentive is there for budding philanthropists than dangling the keys to a brand new Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe in front of their compassionate eyes? One guy took the bait and dropped £800,000, or a little over $1.6 million, at the 9th Annual White Tie and Tiara Ball's charity auction for a new Drophead Coupe. His cash will go to the Elton John AIDS Foundation, while the Drophead Coupe will arrive in exchange later this summer. A new RR Phantom Drophead Coupe costs "only" £260,000, but in comparison to what the undisclosed auction winner paid, that's beginning to sound like a bargain.

[Source: Newspress]

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]

Click image for hi-res photo gallery

The Detroit Auto Show traditionally belongs to the domestic automakers, who pull out all the stops as they unveil some of their best and brightest new products and concepts. This year, however, the ultimate showstopper may well be located at the Rolls-Royce display. The fabled British marque (now owned by BMW, of course) has chosen Detroit to reveal the 2008 Phantom Drophead Coupé, a jaw-droppingly spectacular 4-seat convertible aimed squarely at Bentley's Azure.

The Drophead Coupé is, for all intents and purposes, a perfect production interpretation of RR's 100EX concept car, which made its debut at 2004's Geneva show. The key elements of the 100EX remain -- the thin LED headlamps, rear-opening "suicide" doors, brushed steel hood and A-pillar, and teak decking aft of the passenger compartment are all here. The V16 that powered the 100EX is replaced in the Drophead Coupé by the Phantom sedan's proven 6.75L V12., which generates 453 horsepower and 513 lb-ft of torque at 3500 rpm. That's enough to propel the 5775-pound droptop to 60 mph in approximately 5.7 seconds.



Follow the jump for more of our take, an animation of the roof mechanism, plus the official (and very long) press release and tech specs from Rolls-Royce. If you'd like to have the Drophead Coupe grace your desktop, check out our mega-gallery of over 60 hi-res photos.

[Source: Rolls-Royce]