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First Look: Baby Rolls Royce
Written by: Autocar staff   http://www.autocar.co.uk
05/28/2008 - 08:18 AM
London, UK
 
RR4 will be smaller in size but not in price compared to the Phantom. (Rolls-Royce image) ยป More Photos

Rolls-Royce has just released the first official sketches of its new 2010 sedan, codenamed RR4. It’s a smaller, sleeker, more driver-orientated model than the Phantom and will get an all-new engine that is “unique to Rolls-Royce”.

We expect the RR4 to share at least some of its essential underpinnings with the next BMW 7-series. However, the new Rolls engine is likely to have been developed independently. Interestingly, the company says the smaller sedan will “sit alongside” the Phantom in its lineup, rather than as an entry-level alternative as originally envisaged. It could therefore command a price tag upwards of $300k.

The RR4’s design – reflected above in this early sketch – has been finalized and was signed off last year. Engineering development is well under way at Rolls’ reconfigured
Goodwood plant, which now has a significantly higher annual production capacity than ever before.

We’re told that extended paint, wood and leather shops have been installed, along with a second assembly line. The company has taken on new staff and will start a second production shift nearer to the RR4’s launch to cope with demand.

Ian Cameron, Chief Designer of the new baby sedan, said, “The RR4 has a more informal presence than the Phantom models with a greater emphasis on driving. In design terms this is expressed through its slightly smaller dimensions and more organic form, yet with powerful, purposeful proportions.”

Rolls-Royce’s chairman, Ian Robertson, added, “This new model will expand the appeal of the brand.”

Will Powell/Autocar magazine.
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