It's hard to be inconspicuous when you're driving an 18-foot-long Rolls-Royce convertible in Death Valley, California. Couple that with the need to stop for water every hour or so, and you can see why it was so easy for spy photographers to snag photos of the upcoming 2008 Rolls-Royce Corniche.

First shown two years ago at the Geneva auto show as the 100EX concept, this two-door convertible has the same screw-you styling as the now famous Phantom sedan. There's a bolt-upright grille up front along with a retractable "flying lady" and squared-off lights on each side. It looks as though the Corniche will retain the concept's squinty-eyed look through the use of LED turn signals just above the main set of xenon headlamps.

A set of reverse-opening doors is another unique detail retained from the concept. They don't look all that practical, but neither is this convertible's nearly 18-foot length. Although the interior was covered with computers and cables it's obvious the Corniche will get a cabin similar to the Phantom in both its design and materials. There will be plenty of wood, a few pieces of metallic trim and heavy chrome controls throughout.

With its massive convertible soft top in place the Corniche doesn't look half bad. The few shots we managed to get with the top down revealed a nicely detailed cover for the roof and reasonable rear-seat passenger room. No word yet on whether a hard top will be available, but given there was a coupe version of this car shown in Geneva this past year we would be surprised if Rolls didn't offer one.

One piece of the concept that won't make it to production is the 16-cylinder engine. It looked good on the show floor, but we doubt parent company BMW is going to shell out the money required to make it a viable production power plant. A large-displacement V12 similar to the 6.8-liter engine currently in the Phantom is a far more likely scenario.

Look for the production version of this all-new Rolls-Royce convertible at next year's Geneva auto show in March.


Source: http://www.yahoo.com
Posted by Ed Hellwig


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