Spied: 2007 Rolls-Royce Cabriolet

From an awesome concept to an impressive cabriolet

By Brandy Schaffels
Motor Trend, December 2005

BMW first presented a two-door Rolls-Royce Cabriolet at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show as a concept car meant to celebrate 100 years of Rolls-Royce cars. Labeled 100EX, the experimental touring sedan concept was designed in California at the BMW Group's Designworks studio. Since then, BMW has confirmed the car will be built alongside the Phantom at the Goodwood Factory in the UK. Our trusty spy photographer snapped photos of this pre-production model as it was cruising in the Bavarian Hinterlands, before going off to test its seat warmers during extreme cold-weather testing in Scandinavia. The prototype seen here has a rather different rearend than the 100EX displayed in Geneva, but the signature sloping front grill has been maintained.

A showpiece for 21st-century coach building, the Cabriolet will feature an aluminum spaceframe chassis harnessed to the same 6.7-litre/453-hp V-12 engine that propels its Phantom sibling from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.9 seconds and to a limited top speed of 149 mph. Rolls-Royce doesn't hold back in quality, and we're expecting it will be built with painstaking attention to detail, featuring aluminum trim, teak and mahogany wood, woolen fabric, and fine leather.

We're hoping to see it make its first public airing at the 2007 Detroit Motor show in January 2006, and then hit the market some months later. As would be expected from Rolls-Royce, it will be an awesome car which will certainly be coupled to a stellar price somewhere near the $328,750 suggested retail of the standard Phantom.

It's shorter than the 100EX, which was expected and it seems as though that new radiator grill design will go into production. I have to be honest and say I'm still not enamored with that grill - I guess I'll get used to it - other than that, I think it's going to be really great

*** is that ??????? crazy , the lights and the grill just mess the whole thing ....

this news just made my day. from the first pic i saw of this thing i was in awe. my only complaint is the lights in the front those tiny things dont look as good as the line lights in the concept. i guess if you have money you could always change that

I hope you're joking Moss6.3...............obviously it's a test vehicle.

hmm.. ile take the azure.. over this.. it seems very boring from the rear..more or less like a phantom..

It's clearly going to look very much like the 100EX concept.

I like the Azure too Artist

i loved that concept the front of it made it work for me with those lights i can only pray that that pic above is a test car cause otherwise this car would look very weird

man i sat in that car at the IAA...it was so nice..one of the nicest cars ive been in.. ohh if i had the money.. and didnt live in dead cold sweden..