CAR magazine had a good idea, Rolls has done it five years later, though not to our correspondent’s satisfaction…

by Wallace Wyss –

Five years ago, the very alert staff at CAR magazine in England published a drawing of a two seater Phantom Rolls.

And guess what, when I began to research it, I found they are already offering it. No, not on the Phantom but the Dawn.

Why? Because they need to move the average age of a Rolls buyer down a notch, say ten years. That way they can ensure future growth as they trade one in for another newer model.

Also they have Bentley pressing in with various aggressive models, and likewise appealing to a younger more adventurous clientele.

This device means they don’t have to make an actual two seater, just offer a tonneau cover made of plastic (in their case carbon fiber) that goes ahead of the regular convertible top cover, and has aerodynamic headrest fairings much like, dare I say, the 1962 Thunderbird Sports Roadster. Maybe the Thunderbird designer copied it from some earlier car, who knows, but it sure made the Thunderbird look a lot more exclusive and sporty.

I still prefer the Thunderbird version because it matched the body color but the Rolls Royce version looks good. I would go that extra step to make people think it’s a permanent part of the car.

For marketing purposes, I would also call it the Merlin package and offer a tad more horsepower, special badging, special wheels, and have a way to split it in two halves so they could be stored in the boot should the couple in the car when it arrives in two seater form wish to accommodate two additional passengers. The split won’t look that good but maybe it could be fitted with a stainless steel seam that’s detachable.

And for intro, the show car would have side exhausts on the front flanks copied from those on a Submarine Spitfire, Fairey Battle or Hawker Hurricane, which you may remember, all used a Rolls Royce V12 “Merlin” engine.

I would introduce it at the next Goodwood Revival, hopefully with an RAF veteran as passenger as they take a hot lap…and a brace of WWII fighters flying overhead.

Let us know what you think in the Comments.

Wallace Wyss

 
 
 
THE AUTHOR: Author Wallace Wyss has been a consultant to several car companies on advertising high performance models. He can be reached at Photojournalistpro2@gmail.com

 
 
 
 

 
 

Summary

Article Name

Rolls Royce Needs A Different Two Seater

Description

Rolls Royce should borrow an idea from the Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster.

Author

Wallace Wyss