Rolls-Royce
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by C.J. Hubbard
March 10, 2009
What you’re looking at here is a total lack of respect for the global recession: a brand-new Rolls-Royce.
Officially, this is just a concept – or "experimental car" in the official Rolls parlance – as signified by its 200EX designation.
But really it’s a very big clue to what the fourth contemporary Rolls-Royce model, code named RR4, will look like when it reaches production in 2010. And, frankly, it’s an incredible piece of work. Considerably smaller than the existing Phantom 4-door, it will become one of the marque’s most affordable models ever.
Just what affordable means, Rolls-Royce isn’t yet saying. But with a new V12 up front it’ll certainly cost well above your average top-spec Mercedes S-Class or long-wheelbase BMW 7 Series -- the latter being particularly interesting since, as MSN Autos UK reported last week, the new Rolls-Royce uses a BMW platform.
The engine is also a suitably modified BMW unit. BMW board member and former Rolls-Royce Chairman and CEO Ian Robertson assured the assembled press that "the engine will still perform as you would expect it to in a Rolls-Royce." BMW has owned the Rolls-Royce name since 1998.
Anyway, back to the show car. The 200EX has been penned as "a modern car that is immediately recognizable as a true Rolls-Royce, even from angles that obscure the grille and the Spirit of Ecstasy," said chief designer Ian Cameron. It looks like a modernized, miniaturized Phantom.
It’s even got the reverse-hinged rear "coach" doors, which Rolls-Royce says offer unparalleled back-seat access. Rear legroom isn’t quite as limo-like, but still ample. The interior is beautifully finished, although the curving dashboard form is a little too BMW to our uncultured eyes.
Rolling on 20-inch rims, the 200EX is an imposing presence. However it is also intended as a "less formal" Rolls-Royce, with more "bravado." The flanks bend gently inward – like the Phantom Drophead Coupé – the rear is tapered, and the grille is intended to reminiscent of a jet intake.
Translation: The 200EX is curvier than before, and the vanes are set farther back within it. On either side, the narrow, letterbox-like headlamps use powerful LEDs instead of conventional bulbs. The interior headlining is blended with cashmere, matched to the Crème Light leather seats, Cornsilk carpets and Santos Palissander veneer.
From an engineering perspective, one very interesting development on the 200EX is its thermal electric generator (TEG). Attached to the underside of the car, this derives electric energy from the difference between the hot exhaust gas and the colder outside air.
Currently, the TEG achieves a 5 percent improvement in fuel economy by reducing the load on the alternator. Rolls-Royce reckons there's even more to come, but that TEG is still also about five years away from production. Expect to see a similar device appearing on future BMWs.
The 200EX follows a long line of previous Rolls-Royce experimental cars – starting with the very first, 1EX, built in 1919. Unlike many concept cars from rival automakers, all Roll-Royce EX models are fully functioning vehicles. Turn up with a big enough check and Rolls-Royce might just let you drive it straight off the stand.
However, even in the current economic climate, this most prestigious of luxury brands appears to be thriving. 2008 was the best year ever for Rolls-Royce – the record in fact being broken for the fifth year in a row. Its growth in sales was a remarkable 20 percent.
The production version of the 200EX, or RR4, will appear later this year. It seems certain to bring Rolls-Royce even more customers.
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