29 Dec 06
So far as can be told from the wrong seat, this would appear to be exactly the kind of convertible Rolls you'd expect and, I'd imagine, its customers are hoping for. As Cameron assured me, Rolls-Royce has not allowed the drop top, short-wheelbase format to turn the Drophead Coupe into something other than a Roller. It still glides down the road, the ride quality remains impeccable, the engine a strong but silent presence under that magnificent bonnet. We don't go fast enough for wind buffeting to be an issue but even at gentle speeds you feel close enough to the elements to be exhilarated, yet sufficiently isolated for your comfort never to be questioned.
Besides, you can always pull over to the side of the road, press a button and watch the sheer majesty of the largest convertible roof in production as it towers above you and clamps into place on the windscreen. I tried it while sitting in the back and, although I'm 6' 4", my head still came nowhere near its lining.
The good news is we won't have to wait another four years for the next chapter in the Rolls saga. There is a coupe version of this car on the way - 'If it gets the green light, which I think is very likely,' says Ian Robertson. So likely indeed that engineering work has already begun and the car will be seen next year. Where I come from, lights don't get much greener than that.
It will be interesting to see if Rolls uses that opportunity to make a car with a harder edge, or if it will choose to maintain the distance between it and Bentley which, even as we speak, is also preparing a coupe version of the Azure. The year after that, the factory will roll out a new family of smaller (but still huge) and more affordable (but still £170,000-plus) Rolls-Royces, which will require a second shift to build and bump production up from 800 cars a year to around 2,000.
It's been a long time coming, but at last things are about to get very interesting for the most fabled car company of all. We can't wait.
