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Rolls-Royce exec says new convertible 'is the most beautiful Rolls-Royce I've ever seen'

Rolls Royce Silver Dawn 1952
Rolls Royce Silver Dawn 1952

Rumors of a new Rolls-Royce convertible have been floating around the interwebs for a few months. But now the car has a name: the "Dawn."

We have it on good authority that the car will be a looker. Although the finished design has yet to be released, Rolls-Royce North America president Eric Sheperd told Business Insider at the New York Auto in April that he believes the car " is the most beautiful Rolls-Royce I've ever seen."

The Dawn will be "complementary drophead" to the Wraith coupe that's already in production, a spokesperson told us.

Although the Dawn won't exactly be a Wraith with its roof chopped off, expect to see tons of Wraith DNA make its way into the new car.

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The Dawn is a convertible, but you're not allowed to call it that. In the luxury car world, Rolls-Royce operates in a stratum all its own. It isn't building an SUV, coming in the next few years, but it is creating a "high-sided, all-terrain motor car." This is actually consistent with how Rolls does things. Its convertibles have traditionally been referred to a "dropheads."

In this case, the Dawn convertible is a "drophead coupe."

Rolls is very excited about the vehicle.

"Our new Rolls-Royce Dawn promises a striking, seductive encounter like no other Rolls-Royce to date," CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said in a statement. “Dawn is a beautiful new open-top motor car with a name that suggests the fresh opportunities that every new day holds – an awakening, an opening up of one’s senses and a burst of sunshine."

Rolls Royce Wraith
Rolls Royce Wraith

Power will likely come from the 6.6-liter, twin-turbocharged V12 (shared with the Wraith as well as the Ghost sedan), topping 600 horsepower.

When the Dawn hits the streets next year, it will revive a name that dates to 1949, and that was used in 28 custom drophead cars built from 1950 to 1954.

The Rolls-Royce Dawn is expected to launch in early 2016.

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