Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé Preview – 2007 Detroit Auto Show: Rolls-Royce doesn’t manufacture cars. It hand crafts motorcars. Similarly, the two-door open-air version of the Phantom sedan is no mere convertible, but a drophead coupé. No matter what you call it though, it is a striking automobile to behold. The styling evokes traditions of past Rolls-Royce cars without slumming the retro ghetto. The wood is plentiful, the chrome finishes are mirror-like, and every interior surface that isn’t wood or metal is covered with hides from a small herd of identical cattle. You don’t drive this car, you motor.It’s likely that 99.99 percent of the people reading this won’t ever come close to buying a Phantom Drophead Coupé. For those that can consider this car, they can be content that they purchased a vehicle that continues a long line of extraordinary Rolls-Royce convertibles. It is also the second vehicle to be developed at Rolls-Royce since BMW took over stewardship of the company in 1998. The rest of us will have to make do with fleeting glimpses

The days when Rolls-Royce used ambiguous terms like “adequate” to describe its power output are long gone. The Phantom Drophead Coupé’s 5776 lbs. are motivated by a 453 horsepower 6.7-liter V12 mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Torque is a prodigious 531 lb.-ft., more than enough to get the mighty Roller rolling. Rolls-Royce estimates 0-60 mph in 5.7 seconds, and top speed is limited to 149 mph. We’d call that “more than adequate.”

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