Rolls-Royce Dawn revealed

Suddenly within the space of two weeks, the (rarefied super-rich) world has a duo of extra-large four-seat convertibles from which to choose.

The Dawn – homage to the original Silver Dawn drophead of 1952 – claims to have 80 per cent unique body panels compared with its $600,000-plus Ghost sedan and Wraith coupe stablemates.

Taking a shot at other rivals that adopt a 2+2 seater philosophy, the brand says, “The result is a sector populated exclusively by open-top cars that Rolls-Royce would consider compromised and ‘anti-social’”.

It claims the Dawn is the most luxurious four-seat drop-top in the world and indeed, “the most social of super-luxury drophead motor cars for those who wish to bathe in the sunlight of the world’s most exclusive social hotspots”.

May as well belt out a few lines of Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain while you’re there.

A fabric roof has been chosen “for reasons of aesthetics, romance and brand appropriateness,” Rolls says, claiming it has created the quietest convertible in the world with the roof up. It can also acrobat away in “almost complete silence” in just over 20 seconds at up to 50km/h.

Stowed away, a stainless steel waistline finisher and open-pore Canadel deck paneling reveal themselves to a world not as wealthy as you. (They’ll see you Rollin’ and, yes, they will be hatin’).

The same 6.6-litre twin-turbocharged V12 and eight-speed ZF powertrain is used, with 420kW at 5250rpm and 780Nm from just 1500rpm diverted to the rear wheels only. That latter figure may make cruising in Dawn as silent as its name suggests.

Rolls-Royce has also pinched from BMW new technology such as full LED headlights with auto high-beam that can ‘block out’ individual cars ahead, active cruise control, head-up display and heat detection system that can pick up humans and animals ahead and warn the driver not to mow them down.

Expect a $700,000-plus price tag for a model that will soon be as common in Monaco and Lake Como as a Golf GTI is in Melbourne and Sydney.