The launch of a new Rolls-Royce model is a big deal in this industry. The company operates in the stratosphere of the automobile world, along with an extremely small number of competitors. Actually, there’s just one – Bentley – and this week it revealed its new SUV to almost universal derision, while Rolls-Royce has done the exact opposite. When it whipped the covers from its new model, the world’s collective jaws dropped for an entirely different reason: it’s gorgeous.
Dawn. I think the name is daft, but there’s previous form here, with the Silver Dawn, which was built between 1949 and 1955. Just 760 were made, which nowadays is a preposterously small amount, but it was the very embodiment of glamour and sophistication on wheels. And so it is with the new one – a thing of rare beauty and grace; a car that transcends the normal to such an extent that the term “car” somehow does it an injustice. It is, by far, the sexiest thing ever to bear the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot.
For months now, car magazines and websites have been speculating about what the Dawn would look like, and countless computer renderings and Photoshopped images have been doing the rounds, none of which were accurate. Because while everyone was (understandably) expecting it to simply be a convertible version of the Ghost, this is so much more than that. Its physical manifestation is quite unique, and you have to see it with your own eyes to really appreciate it.
That’s exactly what I did in late July, when a select group of the region’s media and I were flown to Monaco for two days. At a harbourside location, away from prying lenses and curious mariners, we descended on a building that I’ve seen many times over the years but that has only recently been transformed into a residence that, like the car within it, needs to be seen to be believed.
Handing over our mobile phones and anything else that might be used to take a sneaky photo, we gathered around while two leggy models pulled back the satin sheet hiding an enormous automobile. As it emerged, we assembled hacks were united in our praise – this car could well stake a claim to being the most glamorous of all right now.
This visual success is down to Rolls-Royce having in place a young(ish) design director by the name of Giles Taylor – a man who looks, and indeed sounds, too much like the British Prime Minister David Cameron for comfort, but nevertheless is more comfortable talking about automobile design icons than the national deficit. With the Dawn, I believe he and his team have created a car that will be viewed the world over as some sort of ultimate achievement.
As light dances over its substantial flanks, intelligent and beautiful design shines through. Its rear wings are subtly flared, highlighted by the daintiest hand-painted coach line, while the front end looks neater and more rounded than ever before. Its roof is made from fabric, because these days it’s as good as steel for noise insulation and is much lighter and less obtrusive. With the hood raised, the roofline is low and sporting, while the look is regal and full of splendour when it’s lowered. A great deal of thought has gone into this car, and it shows through with every delicious detail.
Rolls-Royce’s people kept mentioning “la dolce vita” during our time with them. It’s Italian for “the good life” and, if yours has a Dawn-shaped future, that’s precisely what you’ll have for your Dh1.4 million.
This is a new, less formal Rolls-Royce for a younger generation, yet it has lost none of the other worldliness that sets the brand apart from the herd. And it has worked, too. A quick straw poll in my office this week had hardened sports-car enthusiasts admitting that, for the first time in history, they have found themselves being seduced by a beautiful thing called Dawn. La dolce vita, indeed.
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