The sun sets on the Rolls-Royce Dawn because the convertible is officially out of production. The brand reports that the model is the best-selling open-top in its history.
When it created the Dawn, Rolls-Royce wanted to appeal to the younger buyers who it saw coming to the brand. The company used the Wraith coupe as a starting point but didn’t want to simply chop the roof off.
The body removed unnecessary lines, and 80 percent of the panels were unique from the ones on the Wraith. As Rolls-Royce puts it in the announcement of the Dawn’s production ending: “Supple, flowing coachwork wraps around its occupants akin to raising a collar on an overcoat, affording those inside a cossetting, private and chic cabin experience.”
The company considered giving the Dawn a folding hardtop but eventually settled on a fabric roof using a mix of materials that includes cashmere. Rolls claimed that it came up with the world’s quietest convertible.
During development, the company used a mannequin wearing a wig with long hair. The developers then filmed how it flowed to tweak the roof opening into the optimal position.
Rolls-Royce is famous for its vehicles’ comfortable ride. According to the company, an American journalist allegedly drove a Dawn during an earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale and didn’t the ground shaking until reading about it later.
The Dawn premiered at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. The model at launch had a twin-turbo 6.6-liter V12 making 563 horsepower and 575 pound-feet. This got the convertible to 62 miles per hour in 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph. The roof folded in roughly 20 seconds while traveling at speeds up to 31 mph. Later, Rolls added the Black Badge version pushed the V12’s output to 593 hp and 620 lb-ft
Rolls-Royce is currently developing the Spectre electric coupe. It’s not yet clear whether the company would make a convertible version like the relationship between the Wraith and the Dawn.
