Tailored only by and with the world’s best, the new Rolls-Royce Dawn is the epitome of every single extravagant desire, encapsulated in a frame befitting Kings and Queens.
Rolls-Royce,hand-in-hand with the world of Haute Couture, athering the finest materials in the world and thenculminating in car manufacturing manifested as grand luxury. Such idealism has seen the launch of its ultimate creation, the Rolls-Royce Dawn wheresignature detailing in vibrant colour complements palettes of classic white as Dawn is Inspired by Fashion.
Under the stewardship of Design Director Giles Taylor, a team of talented designers were hand-picked from the worlds of fashion, fine textiles and luxury accessories. These included textile specialist Cherica Haye from the Royal College of Art and leather technologist Michelle Lusby who previously worked at Mulberry. Their work has seen the incorporation of fine silks and unexpected textures into an interior of truly bold and distinctive bespoke commissions. These have been conceived and executed with a depth of inspiration far beyond the traditional automotive inclination.
The beating heart and soul of any Rolls-Royce motor car is the beloved twin-turbo 6.6-litre V12 powertrain. With a power output of 563bhp or 420kW at 5,250rpm and a torque rating of 780Nm or 575 lb ft at 1,500rpm, Dawn’s driving experience is exceptional. Enhanced by dynamic accelerator pedal mapping, which delivers up to 30% increased response at medium throttle, Dawn also maintains Rolls-Royce’s typical steering characteristics providing superb driver feedback thereby ensuring that the car is effortless but precise to drive.
Satellite Aided Transmission, which comes as standard on Dawn utilises GPS data to allow the car to see beyond what the driver sees, anticipating their next move based on location and driving style. It uses this information to select the most appropriate gear from Dawn’s 8-speed ZF gearbox to ensure the driver is able to appropriately exploit the power from the Rolls-Royce 6.6 litre twin-turbo V12, ensuring an effortless and seamless driving experience.
Dawn’s grip is provided by runflat tyres, metrically sized at 540mm (20 inches) in diameter. These tyres enable the Dawn to run on a deflated tyre for at least 100 miles/160km at speeds up to 50mph/80km/h before needing a replacement. The inclusion of runflat tyre technology removes the need for a spare wheel and jack, freeing up space in the luggage compartment.
Dawn is fitted with the Spirit of Ecstasy Rotary Controller, an intuitive, one-touch solution that allows the user effortless access to media and navigation functions. Characters for navigation input or media searches can be finger-drawn onto its surface, echoing seamless smartphone functionality and removing the need for superfluous buttons to ensure absolute ease of use. The system recognises Latin and Arabic characters as well as Mandarin.
An Automatic Cruise Control system helps to reduce constant small precision adjustments in distance and speed, reducing continuous creep and stop and start. The driver is now able to move along in city traffic in a confident and relaxed manner, relying on the system to monitor conditions and react to changes in traffic patterns. New software for the radar and camera provides faster system response times, including faster pre-conditioning of the brakes to expect emergency pressure.
The most recent developments in LED lighting technology have also been applied to the Rolls-Royce Dawn. Electronically controlled reflectors move in the direction of travel in response to wheel turns to give a greater depth of vision when cornering and a whiter, brighter light ensures effortless and safe driving on dark roads whilst helping reduce driver tiredness.
Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke Audio system has been specially calibrated for the unique configuration of the Rolls-Royce Dawn to compensate for its dual personality. Whether the roof is open or closed, Bespoke Audio ensures perfect acoustic balance and performance. Sixteen individually-tuned speakers, with both theatre and studio settings deliver a pure, blissful sensation. The system utilises a highly sensitive microphone to constantly monitor ambient exterior noise, subtly adjusting the volume and tone settings accordingly to ensure the system delivers consistent perfection and eliminates potential loud and dead spots caused by outside influences.
The Rolls-Royce Dawn maintains timeless Rolls-Royce design principles – 2:1 wheel height to body height, a long bonnet, short front overhang, a long rear overhang, an elegant tapering rear graphic and a high shoulder line. Dawn’s powerful and striking front end gives it a sensuous yet edgy, almost masculine look whilst the bold sweeping shoulder line becomes more sensuous as it flows over the swell of the rear wheels, accommodating a wider track.
Roof down, the sexiness of the Rolls-Royce Dawn is even more apparent. From the side the steep rake of the windscreen, the swage line that flows over the rear haunches plus the high beltline that rises along the profile give the impression of effortless swiftness. The beautiful metal feature works in harmony with the stainless steel door handles, polished wheels, visible exhausts and front and rear bumper jewellery, to create an invaluable look and feel.
The customer-personalised deck itself is an amazing work of modern craftsmanship. Clothed in open-pore Canadel panelling that traces the horseshoe shape of the rear cabin, it demonstrates the exquisite expertise the woodshop at the home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood has made in wood crafting technology and techniques.
The first impression upon entering Dawn is of the four separate bucket seats set in the midst of a sumptuous and sartorial slingshot of wood and leather. The slingshot form is reminiscent of the barchetta, pulled back, poised and designed to help emphasise the energetic, yet elegant intent and sense of purpose of the car.
Ultimately, the engineering highlight of the new Rolls-Royce Dawn is the new roof. The engineering team even went so far as to invent a phrase for what they achieved with the roof mechanism, The Silent Ballet, meaning that the actual opening and closing of the roof mechanism had to be both beautiful and unobtrusive at the same time. Meanwhile Rolls-Royce only choice is a fabric for reasons of aesthetics, romance and brand appropriateness. A perfectly smooth surface, combined with an innovative tailored ‘French Seam’ ensures that the airflow over the car with the roof up creates no noticeable wind noise. Operating in complete silence in just 22 seconds, and at cruising speeds of up to 50km/h this ‘Silent Ballet’ engages the majority of one’s senses as silence and seclusion are exchanged for the sounds, light and aromas of the outside world.
