Pebble Beach '08 Preview: Rolls-Royce Hyperion by Pininfarina

Click to view more of the Pininfarina Hyperion

As we count down to this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, one of the most highly anticipated concept cars scheduled to make its debut there has popped up a bit early. Based on the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, the Pininfarina Hyperion has been commissioned by one lucky and presumably very wealthy customer. The unique creation does away with the rear seats and moves the front ones, along with the swept windscreen, back by 400 mm. If you can believe it, a gun rack has been fitted in front of the cabin (yeah, we're serious), while famed watchmaker Girard Perregaux has crafted a special tourbillon timepiece for the Hyperion that can be removed from its wrist-strap and mounted in the dashboard. Meanwhile, word has it that Rolls-Royce could be collaborating with Zagato or Bertone on another special model as well.

This, of course, is the first new vehicle from the Italian design firm to be unveiled since the untimely death of Andrea Pininfarina. Stay tuned for live shots of the Hyperion after its unveiling in five days. In the meantime, click on the thumbnails below to view new images of the concept, along with the original teaser sketch.