Rolls-Royce officially announces Phantom Coupe

Click image for a photo gallery of the Rolls-Royce 101EX

In his speech on BMW's future plans, CEO Norbert Reithofer mentioned that a Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe is on the way. Today, Rolls-Royce made its official announcement confirming this new addition to the Phantom lineup. If the eye-popping Phantom Drophead Coupe is any indication, the new, enclosed Phantom Coupe should be a dead ringer for the 101EX concept car that previewed it back during the 2006 Geneva show. Power will be identical to the other Phantom models, with 450 horses and 531 lb-ft of torque coming from the car's 6.75L V12. According to Rolls-Royce, the Phantom Coupe will be more driver-oriented than the sedan, with a shorter body and suspension/power tuning that places a slight emphasis on sport compared to its siblings. The Phantom Coupe will complete the Phantom lineup for Rolls-Royce, giving its customers a car for every occasion. It will be priced somewhere between the Phantom and Phantom Drophead Coupe.

This also seems like as good a time as any to inform you that we recently had the 2007 Rolls-Royce Phantom in the Autoblog Garage (that's it at right). Check back on Monday for the full review and photo gallery, and if you need to catch up on the recent vehicles we've had come through, click here to see what you might have missed.

[Source: Rolls-Royce]

PRESS RELEASE:
ROLLS-ROYCE ANNOUNCES NEW COUPÉ
Goodwood, 28 September 2007

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has confirmed that a series version of the two-door, four-seat experimental car, 101EX, will be launched in 2008. Production is scheduled to begin next summer. It will be hand-built at the company's manufacturing plant in Goodwood, England.

This model will complete the Phantom family line-up alongside the Phantom, Phantom Extended Wheelbase and Phantom Drophead Coupé.

The new car will be an elegant two-door, four-seat coupe that builds on the extraordinary driving experience offered in the Phantom and Drophead Coupé. It will use an all aluminium construction similar to the rest of the Phantom family. However, it will be a unique car in the Phantom family, designed around the desire to create the worlds' foremost transcontinental tourer.

Outright power will be identical to the other Phantom models – an impressive 453bhp and 720nm of torque – however the coupé will be subtly tuned with more emphasis placed on the driver. The body will be shorter than that of the Phantom sedan and there will be revisions to the suspension and chassis set-up.

Rolls-Royce Chief Designer, Ian Cameron, said, "With this car we wanted to emphasise the performance potential of the 6.75litre V12 engine and the effortless experience that it delivers. Whilst never overtly sporty, Rolls-Royce is a brand that has always offered owners a powerful and refined drive combined with, as Sir Henry Royce described it, a bit of fizz."

Ian Robertson, Chairman and Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said, "This new model represents an important milestone in the company's history. It completes the Phantom family and judging by the customer reaction to 101EX, we are confident of its success. Our challenge lies in meeting the exceptional levels of customer demand for the Phantom range and in preparing Goodwood to meet the needs of future new cars."

The new coupé will be priced between the Phantom and Phantom Drophead Coupé. Further information will be released in the coming months.