Hot News: Baby Rolls-Royce Targets Bentley

There's a new arrival on the way in the Rolls-Royce family!This is the best look yet at the new luxury saloon, and when it goes on sale here in 2009, it will provide Rolls-Royce with a long-awaited baby brother to its Phantom limousine. Following recent news from parent company BMW that the project had got the green light, we can bring you all the details on the exciting new model, which will go head-to-head with Bentley’s Continental Flying Spur. The newcomer is set to be priced at around £150,000, and will prove crucial to securing the future of the famous luxury car manufacturer. Rolls currently sells around 800 Phantoms each year. But it plans to more than triple output at its plant in Good­wood, West Sussex, by producing around 3,000 examples of the new model annually from next year.Engineers are well underway dev­eloping the car, and our spies have caught this BMW 7-Series-based prototype undergoing trials in Germany. At first glance, the test mule may not look like anything out of the ordinary. But with its stretched bonnet, long wheelbase and flared arches, it’s clear that this is a very special model. Although the new Rolls-Royce shares its chassis with the next-generation 7-Series, it will be significantly bigger than the forthcoming BMW flagship. Despite its ‘baby’ tag, the Rolls will still be an enormous car, measuring around 5.5 metres in length – that’s only 300mm shorter than the Phan­tom. What’s more, it will weigh in excess of two tonnes. The body will be made of steel and aluminium, while in terms of styling, the car resembles a shrunken Phantom. It borrows its trademark grille, short front overhang and long tail. All that car’s neat design cues are to be used, too; the rear-hinged back doors, retractable Spirit of Ecstasy bonnet ornament and enormous 20-inch alloy wheels, complete with fixed cen­tre caps, are set to appear. Buyers will also have the option of two different types of panoramic glass roof. Power is set to come from a new BMW-developed 6.0-litre V12 petrol engine producing around 550bhp. This drives the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission, and will propel the baby Rolls from 0-60mph in only 5.5 seconds, on its way to an electronically limited top speed of 155mph. The driving experience will of course major on comfort, and the newcomer is certain to set the stan­dard for refinement in the class.
It won’t try to offer a sporty driving experience in the manner of Bentley’s Continental Flying Spur. Instead, it will cosset occupants in true Rolls-Royce fashion, and have an unparalleled ability to cover long distances. The cabin will be a work of art, and feature the best leathers and wood veneers available. Rear seat passengers will enjoy an environment offering as much legroom as the Maybach 57, plus a variety of different lighting levels to match their mood.Soft-close doors, adaptive headlights and automatic cruise control are among the range of hi-tech gadgets. Inside, a large centre console display houses the sat-nav, while a head-up display system will be standard.
The baby Rolls will make an appearance at a major motor show some time towards the end of 2008, with sales starting next year. A name for the new model has yet to be confirmed.