2008 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Preview

Rolls-Royce Finally Unveils New Convertible

The long-awaited Rolls-Royce convertible has been revealed: The two-door Phantom Drophead Coupe looks like a shrunken version of the Phantom sedan.

See Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Images

As apparitions go, this Phantom is far from ghostly: Rolls-Royce’s new convertible, the Phantom Drophead Coupe, won’t be striking bystanders with mortal fear, but rather envy. This droptop, to be unveiled at the Detroit auto show, has been a long time coming — its previous incarnation was the 100EX concept car, unveiled in 2004. But the Phantom Drophead Coupe is now (finally) in pre-production, and is likely soon to be featured in a rap video or dropping off celebrities and high rollers on red carpets the world over — perhaps as early as this summer, by some reports.

Like its cousin the Rolls-Royce Phantom sedan, the Phantom Drophead Coupe features the same 6.7-liter V12 engine pulling 453 hp and 531 pound-feet of torque and connected to a six-speed automatic transmission. Although the car weighs a hefty 5,776 pounds, the aluminum space frame was re-engineered to promote greater rigidity while still providing Rolls-Royce performance (a certain amount of stability in a car’s frame is usually lost and significant weight gained from added structural reinforcements when the car’s roof is chopped off).

See Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Pictures

According to company specs, the Phantom Drophead Coupe sprints to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds and attains a top speed of 149 mph. Some highlights of the 100EX concept car were carried over to the Drophead, such as suicide doors (that is, hinged on the rear door beam instead of the front), an eye-popping, imposing grille, sporty brushed-steel exterior touches and a nautically inspired teak cover for the stowed convertible top.

Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe Vehicle Summary

Unlike the sedan, the Phantom Drophead Coupe is smaller (by about 10 inches), heavier by nearly 200 pounds and boasts the largest fabric roof ever made for a production vehicle, which retracts at the touch of a button into a compartment in the boot.

See all Rolls-Royce models in the Rolls-Royce Showroom

Even with its staggering $400,000 estimated price, the entry of the Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe into the increasingly crowded luxury convertible market should give Bentley, with its two-door Continental GTC and Azure convertibles, and Maybach, rumored to have a convertible in development, pause. They’ll have to.

Check back for a full review.