First Look: The Dawn, New Rolls-Royce Convertible - Performance Technology

Performance Technology - First Look: The Dawn, New Rolls-Royce Convertible

If you are shopping for a new Rolls Royce, you've had only three choices: the Phantom, the Ghost and the Wraith.

So it's a big deal when Rolls unveils something totally new. And this one is doozy as my grandad would say.

It's called the Dawn and it's a twin turbo, 6.6 litre, V12, drophead convertible, that gets 563 HP and will cost you upwards 300 000 dollars. Top speed is 155 MPH.

The car is different from its siblings, strating with its non Ghoster name.

Dawn refers to the original Silver Dawn that Rolls Royce first made in the early 1950s. Only 28 were made.

Rolls is hoping that this new Dawn will be as treasured as its predecessor.

It has that long Rolls nose, short front overhang and the high shoulder that we all recognize. But the grill is a little different than we've seen before.

It's recessed into a front bumper that is lower and wider than the Wraith's.

The interior of the car is truly beautiful. The entire cabin is rendered by open-pore Canadel Panelling. And the technology is impeccably Rolls Royce. There is a night time heat detection system that can see both humans and animals in the dark.

Rolls said that did the ragtop because, quote, "nothing is more romantic than driving a convertible in a rain at night and hearing the drops pattering on the roof".

But I prefer the silence, aesthetics and increased durability of a hardtop.

The Dawn gets to 60 MPH in 4.9 seconds, with a combined fuel efficiency of about 19 miles per gallon. Those are not especially impressive numbers but I have the feeling you'll be so taken with the yacht level wood panelling, bespoke theatre audio system and soft as a glove leather seats that you won't mind.