The best-selling open car in the history of Rolls-Royce will cease production soon.
Launched in 2015, the Dawn convertible became one of the British marque’s most successful models, drawing in younger buyers to the Rolls-Royce brand.
However, as Rolls-Royce heads towards an all-electric future, the sun has set on the Dawn. The forthcoming electric Spectre will replace it, along with the previously discontinued Wraith coupe.
A classier convertible
Rolls-Royce revealed the Dawn at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. Following in the tyre tracks of the Phantom Coupe and Phantom Drophead Coupe, its mission was to attract an ‘increasingly youthful, universally self-confident and sociable client base’ to the brand.
Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös challenged his team to create a convertible that would ‘evoke the romance and glamour’ of the company’s history. The Dawn was also a proper four-seater, rather than a ‘2+2’ with rear seats that are only suited to children.
Although the Dawn shared a platform with the Rolls-Royce Wraith, 80 percent of its body panels were bespoke. These included the bonnet, with its unique ‘wake channel’.
For the car’s name, Rolls-Royce turned for inspiration to the Silver Dawn drophead coupe, which was produced in limited numbers between 1950 and 1954.
This time it’s personal
Powered by twin-turbocharged 6.6-litre V12, the Dawn served up 563hp as standard. However, the Black Badge model, introduced in 2017, stretched this figure to a mighty 593hp.
The Dawn was also the basis for a number of special editions, including the Landspeed model of 2021. This paid tribute to Captain George E.T. Eyston, who set three land-speed records in the 1930s using Rolls-Royce power.
Endless personalisation options, made possible via the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective, were also demonstrated by the Dawn. These included a bright yellow model created for Google’s vice president of engineering, Benjamin Treynor Sloss.
Living ‘la dolce vita’
With the Spectre on the horizon, Rolls-Royce has now called time on the Dawn. The company’s first electric car will reach showrooms at the end of 2023 – but we’ll be driving it soon.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös said: “In reviving the Dawn nameplate, Rolls-Royce reinvigorated something much more than a motor car. Like the glamorous convertible it drew inspiration from, the contemporary Dawn has come to characterise a modern expression of ‘la dolce vita’ – a way of living that embraces the beauty and richness of life.
“As production of Dawn draws to a close, we can reflect on an extraordinary chapter in the marque’s history. This beautiful motor car perfectly embodies contemporary luxury, while celebrating the marque’s founding principles and heritage.”
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