E
verything about this serenely beautiful
car is designed to mimic or pay visual
resepct to Campbell’s Bluebird craft, from
the discreet etched logos and bespoke
interior, to the specially blended Maggiore
Blue paintwork that flows across the curving
bodywork.
The underpinnings of the car are
predominantly the same cast, extruded,
welded and milled alloy chassis as the more
brutal looking Phantom limousine. Rolls-
Royce have trimmed a few mm off the
wheelbase, added extra sill reinforcement
and Forth-Bridge-strong windscreen pillars.
It is immensely robust, but lighter than
you’d expect, and the perfect rigid structure
to mount the suspension and steering
components to, effectively isolate noise,
harshness and vibration from the cabin’s
occupants.
You get a real sense of this solidity the
moment your hand grasps that chunky,
highly chromed door handle. It’s in the
‘wrong’ place for a start. If the drama of
opening the doors at the front leaves a
lasting impression, the view that greets you
when the door’s wide open is pure theatre.
Even climbing in and out requires a different
set of physical contortions to a ‘normal’ car –
it’s all part of the experience.
Hand stitched leather – an almost
overpowering scent – lambswool carpet,
deep, thick chrome and a huge amount of
space. It’s bright. It reeks of not only the
finest leather hides but quality, too. It takes
sixty people 450 hours to build one of these
cars and one glimpse of the interior reminds
you of this instantly.
MAGIC CARPET RIDE
Parts of the chassis may be shared with
the Phantom but every body panel of the
Drophead Coupé is unique. Parked side
by side with its bigger Limousine brother,
it’s hard to image that there are any
similarities. With its slightly sloping radiator
grille and smooth, handsome, flowing lines,
the Drophead is achingly beautiful from
whichever angle it’s viewed, the flawless
paint finish adds differing drama as the sun
changes position and intensity.
Rolls-Royce talk much about wafting and
waftability – they’ve been using that phrase
for more than a century - and thanks to
the milled aluminium body strengthening,
the Drophead Coupé does glide over road
imperfections in an eerily magic carpet
fashion, its air suspension cushioning
occupants from the reality of over-stretched
road maintenance budgets.
You can hurry along if you wish but the
very essence of this car lends itself to
making progress in a sedate and unruffled
manner. As you’d expect, there’s none of
the windscreen juddering, body shaking
shenaningans of lesser drophead cars, which
can be severely weakened by the process of
removing the steel roof section.
That silky V12 engine purrs into life after the
briefest engagement from one of the world’s
quietest starter motors. Particularly with the
roof up, you find yourself glancing at the
rev counter just to make sure it is actually
running – such is the hush. The eight-
speed auto-box emulsifies gear changes
imperceptibly.
Once on the move, the engine is equally
unobtrusive. Only when you floor the
accelerator into the thick carpet does it make
itself heard, but even then it’s still eerily
muted, almost distant. For a car nudging
three tonnes the pace can be surprising –
really surprising - but the Drophead is far
more comfortable, far more soporiphic
when you guide it’s thin-rimmed steering
wheel with a delicate finger’s touch and use
the pace available sparingly. The huge disc
brakes also need just the gentlest nudge to
scrub off speed.
That distinctive rear deck lid, perhaps the
most nautical aspect of the Coupé, is finished
in exquisite brushed steel to match the
bonnet. In that one piece there are over
54 //
“STRIVE FOR PERFECTION IN EVERYTHING WE DO.
TAKE THE BEST THAT EXISTS AND MAKE IT BETTER.
WHEN IT DOES NOT EXIST, DESIGN IT.”
SIR HENRY ROYCE
