Externally, the Dawn continues to pay homage to RR’s timeless design principles – the 2:1 wheel height to body height, a long bonnet, short front overhang, a long rear overhang, an elegant tapering rear graphic and a high shoulder line. The grille is recessed by around 45 mm while the lower front bumper has been extended by 53 mm. Rolls-Royce say that this helps draw attention to the jet air intake face. The bumper now incorporates the number plate surround and a new focused lower air dam. The mesh in the lower valance is recessed and black in colour, helping create a sense of depth which supplements the depth in the grille. Also, chrome ‘blades’ act to plant the car while also complementing the horizontal lines and accelerating the flow of the eye around the car thus increasing the impression of power and width. At the rear, the feminine ‘hips’ of the Dawn tapers in, echoing the elegant design of early ‘boat tail’ Rolls-Royce drophead coupés.
The first impression upon entering Dawn is of the four separate bucket seats set in the midst of a sumptuous and sartorial slingshot of wood and leather. The instrument dials have also undergone subtle enhancements with individually applied polished metal chaplets around the dials evoking the precision design of hand-made, luxury wrist watches, whilst the matt chrome centres ‘float’ in the middle of each instrument. Specific attention was paid to creating the Dawn’s roof, which delivers the silence of a Wraith when up. At cruising speeds of up to 50 km/h, the Dawn’s roof takes just over 20 seconds of silence to cover the car’s cabin (or vice versa).
