Rolls Royce Dawn global launch in Africa

Dawn over

AFRICA

South Africans were recently inspired by Rolls-Royce – or was it the other way around? Richard Webb (instagram.com/richardmarkwebb) ponders the enduring heritage that links the luxury brand to SA

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ur mighty African continent runs from the Atlas Mountains in the north all the way to the verdant Garden Route along the Indian Ocean coastline and beyond. Rolls-Royce chose SA to showcase its latest stunning car, the Dawn, against the backdrop of the country’s diverse beauty.

There are few other places in the world more majestic than the Cape winelands, with breathtaking sea vistas, mountain passes and valleys. A jewel in the crown of this gloriously beautiful region is Delaire Graff Estate, created by the famous jeweller Laurence Graff.

The estate appeals directly to the values of Rolls-Royce customers, with its superb wines, fine dining, luxury accommodation, magnificent art collections – and, of course, its jewellery.

“I’m a South African myself and the Western Cape – with its scenic splendour, excellent roads and sumptuous accommodation – provided the perfect backdrop for a selection of world-class journalists to test-drive our new Dawn,” says Richard

Carter, Director of Global Communications: Rolls-Royce.

Rolls-Royces don’t compete with other cars. Rather, they vie for attention with the likes of helicopters, yachts, luxury apartments and jewellery. “The key body line in the Dawn’s design is the ‘attention-seeking’ centre-line profile,” explains Alex

Innes, Bespoke Designer for the brand. “It’s low and fluid. From the low front screen flows a fast and sleek line that sweeps over the four seats, settling onto a neatly tapered tail.”

By now, I’m itching to Clockwise, from top right: A striking, yet elegant exterior. • At home on the Route Napoleon, the Dawn also felt at home in SA. • The conventional instruments resemble the finest Swiss vintage complications.

Opposite: The perfect balance of sophistication and freedom.

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ROLLS-ROYCE AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONNECTION

Frederick Henry Royce founded the engineering company of FH Royce & Co in 1884, making a diverse range of products, but no cars. After the South African War (1899-1902), Britain suffered a depression and things became tough for the fledgling business before it even considered producing vehicles.

Royce’s health suffered from the resulting stress and overwork. Happily, he decided that the best place in the world for rest and relaxation was Cape Town and he spent 10 weeks there with his wife, Minnie, in 1902.

Suitably inspired, he returned home to make motorcars as an alternative product for his factory. He bought a French two-cylinder Decauville and set about improving it. By May 1903, Royce had built three of his own prototype cars, paving the way for the Rolls-Royces we know today Driving around the Western Cape was an emotional experience heightened by the awareness that the sublime vehicle’s designer had roamed the very same area and gazed upon the same beauty himself 110 years before.

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actually experience this beautiful new vehicle. I approach “my” blue Dawn with something close to reverence, so regal is this drophead. I find myself gazing at its exquisite details as though I were a small boy mesmerised in the world’s biggest toyshop.

There’s a lot to take in here.

The underside of the roof, for example, is bedecked with grey cashmere – one of six layers of fabric for sound insulation. The lamb’s-wool carpets are so dense that my feet almost disappear into their embrace. Cross-banded walnut-burl veneers coating the dash wouldn’t look out of place on Thomas Chippendale’s finest English rococo furniture.

And those leather-, chromeand wood-clad rear-hinged

THE HORIZON-MAGNIFYING ACCELERATION OF 0-100KM/H IN 4,9 SECONDS IS LAUGH-OUT-LOUD RIDICULOUS FOR A CAR WEIGHING 2,5 TONS. doors? They close via a hidden button near the “A” pillar. Yes, it’s all about the art deco detail.

I push the “start” button and the 6,6-litre, twin-turbo V12 engine fires up with quiet authority, as if a distant nuclear turbine has awoken from its slumber. I select “drive” and gently point the Spirit of Ecstasy out of the estate and onto the Cape’s twisting ribbons of tarmac. I quickly discover its horizon-magnifying acceleration of 0-100km/h in 4,9 seconds.

Clockwise, from top right: It’s like no other Rolls-Royce ever made. It’s the most social of all super-luxury drophead motor cars. • The Spirit of Ecstasy felt completely at home on the magnificent Western Cape roads.

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION Price: About R10,5 million, subject to exchange rate fluctuations COMBINED ECONOMY: 14,2 litres/100km 0-100KM/H: 4,9 soundless seconds TOP SPEED: 250km/h ENGINE: 6 592cc twin-turbo V12 POWER: 420kW TORQUE: 780Nm TRANSMISSION: Satelliteaided eight-speed auto CO2 EMISSIONS: 330g/km

This is laugh-out-loud ridiculous for a car weighing 2,5 tons.

The eight-speed automatic, satellite-aided transmission assists the car’s silent, effortless progress. There’s no drama, no delay – this fabulous creation is seen, but not heard. Seemingly far from the chaotic outside world, I take a coastal road that winds around primeval, rocky mountains above the pounding waves. The view across False Bay eases south, culminating at the boundary of the two oceans.

This is a striking, seductive encounter for me – and moments like these are the most memorable open-top motoring experiences to be had.

Shhh… don’t tell anyone, but this really is the best car in the world.

ORDERS ARE BEING TAKEN NOW BY PEDRO CARNEIRO AT THE DAYTONA GROUP IN JOHANNESBURG. TEL: 011 301 7000 130 Sawubona August 2016

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