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Rolls-Royce drives in Dawn at Rs 6.25 crore

June 24, 2016 20:20 IST

Basically the convertible version of the Rolls Royce Wraith, the Dawn made its public debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show

Super luxury British carmaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, on Friday, launched the new version of its convertible Dawn in Mumbai with an asking price of Rs 6.25 crore (ex-showroom, Mumbai).

Dawn comes with a 6.6-liter engine and downs the roof in flat 20 seconds while cruising at 50 kmph, and is the quietest convertible car in the world today, said Sven Ritter, Rolls-Royce's Sales Manager for South Asia.

He said the new four-seater Dawn is the first super-luxury convertible in the country and will be launched in Delhi and Chennai soon.

The firm's Asia Pacific regional director Paul Harris said Dawn is the pinnacle of luxury and therefore meant for only a select few.

"With the progressive economy, growing appetite for luxury goods and increasing number of successful entrepreneurs, Rolls-Royce has targeted India for future growth," he added.

Basically the convertible version of the Rolls Royce Wraith, the Dawn made its public debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. It measures 5,285 mm in length, 1,947 mm in width, 1,502 mm in height, and has a wheelbase of 3,112 mm.

The highlight of the Dawn is its fabric roof, which takes just 22 seconds (revised from previously stated 20 seconds) to operate, and can be opened or closed at speeds of up to 50 km/h.

With the roof stowed into the boot volume, the leftover space for luggage is 244 litres. It also has a Phantom Drophead-inspired Canadel open-pore veneer on the doors, dashboard and rear deck.

Otherwise, the interior and features are largely identical to the Wraith.

The Rolls-Royce Dawn is powered by a 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12 engine that is shared with the Rolls Royce Ghost and Wraith. It produces 563 bhp at 5,250 rpm and 780 Nm of torque at 1,500 rpm, and is paired to an 8-speed automatic gearbox with GPS-guided shifting. It can do 0-100 km/h in 4.9 seconds and has an electronically governed top speed of 250 km/h.

While refusing to share sales expectation, he said globally the company sold over 4,000 units last year and "with the already strong heritage that the brand has here, we are optimistic about the demand for Dawn."

He added that the company is not looking at expanding its dealerships here in the near future, which stands at just three now.

It has showrooms in Ahmedabad and Mumbai (Navnit Motors), Hyderabad (Kun Exclusive), New Delhi (Select Cars), and Chandigarh.

Sharad Kachalia, who owns Navnit Motors that has exclusive marketing and sales rights for Rolls-Royce in the country, told PTI that since the company became the authorised dealer in 2005, it has sold over 250 units here.

Refusing to offer any break-up, he said the Ghost, priced at Rs 5 crore, is the largest selling model, followed by the Wraith at Rs 5.5 crore and the Phantom, which is priced at a whopping Rs 8.5 crore.

Kachalia said onroad price of the Dawn will be close to Rs 7.5 crore considering customisation and the 20 per cent road tax, apart from the 183 per cent customs duty.

Additional inputs: PTI

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