Rolls-Royce 101EX @ Geneva

siko · Feb 27, 2006

Press Release: Rolls-Royce unveils second experimental car at Geneva show

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has unveiled a second experimental car, 101EX, at the Geneva show today. It has been hand built to explore a potential design direction for a future coupé model.

"It is a very modern car, a 21st century design that respectfully nods to the past but focuses indisputably on the future," said Ian Cameron, Chief Designer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

101EX uses the same lightweight aluminium construction that was developed for the Phantom, although the body is shorter by 240mm. A full four-seat coupé, twin coach doors add to the car’s rakish good looks and streamlined coupé profile.

The roofline is lower than the Phantom’s, with a shallower glass area. Streamlined styling starts at the front with the famous grille, discreetly reclined, and extends back across a brushed aluminium bonnet and windscreen surround. The rest of the sleek bodywork is finished in dark tungsten. New 21-inch forged aluminium wheels complete the exterior look.

Inside, the cosseting interior has been designed for elegance and maximum comfort for all four occupants. Machined aluminium, fine leather and rosewood and red oak veneers are used throughout. Slimline bucket seats offer outstanding comfort for front passengers while the exceptionally spacious rear seat delivers intimate comfort for two. Privacy is assured by the sweeping C-pillars.

The design team has experimented with interior lighting on 101EX, and the car features a ‘starlight headliner’ made up of hundreds of fibre optic cables to give the impression of a star filled night sky.

Ian Robertson, Rolls-Royce Chairman and Chief Executive, said, "101EX employs the same engineering philosophy as the Phantom, balancing high technology with hand craftsmanship. It illustrates the position of strength from which we operate and points the way for potential new models."

Currently there are no plans to develop a production version of 101EX.

carscoop

Centurion · Feb 27, 2006

I guess they are planning on giving the world a coupe and a converstible. Nice news.

siko · Feb 27, 2006

Luwalira said:
I guess they are planning on giving the world a coupe and a converstible. Nice news.

True, but the convertible has been confirmed... this is not yet (at least that's what it says)

Centurion · Feb 27, 2006

^^
Producing a coupe is definetly easier than producing a convertible and therefor it isn't totally impossible that they will also hit us with a coupe.

Deutsch · Feb 27, 2006

Direct competitor to the Continental GT... sickness.

Porsche Guy · Feb 27, 2006

Deutsch said:
Direct competitor to the Continental GT... sickness.

I don't think this is supposed to compete with the Continental GT. This car is going to be more expensive and larger than the GT, plus it won't be nearly as sporty/fast.

Deutsch · Feb 27, 2006

Porsche Guy said:
I don't think this is supposed to compete with the Continental GT. This car is going to be more expensive and larger than the GT, plus it won't be nearly as sporty/fast.

This car will compete w/ the Bentley CGT > same size, same prospective customers, same performance, but no, not the same price. RR is of a different caliber than Bentley now, albeit, not that different, but another step up(if you can imagine). Not as sporty? This is a car engineered by BMW you know...

Porsche Guy · Feb 27, 2006

Deutsch said:
This car will compete w/ the Bentley CGT > same size, same prospective customers, same performance, but no, not the same price. RR is of a different caliber than Bentley now, albeit, not that different, but another step up(if you can imagine). Not as sporty? This is a car engineered by BMW you know...

This car (I would assume) is going to use the same 6.7 liter V12 as in the Phantom, which produces 453hp and 531 lbft of torque. Compare this to the Bentley Continental GT with 552hp, 675 lbft of torque and roughly the same weight and you're not going to have a close fight on your hands. This RR coupe is going to much more of a luxury cruiser than the Bentley. The 100EX Concept, off which this more production ready version is based, was huge, much bigger than the Bentley. I'm fairly certain that this car is going to be larger than the Bentley. Also the car will not have the same prospective clients because people who can spend $160K do not necessarily have the resources to spend ~$300K on a car. The reason the Bentley is so successful is partly because it is so relatively cheap for the Bentley name. Don't forget that BMW designed the Phantom and I wouldn't call that car sporty.

LaArtist · Feb 27, 2006

seriously that car does not look good.. very long from good loking imo..

PS
It still looks better than the Conti GT

Alx · Feb 27, 2006

Looks very sleek this is the first photos that i like of it. :usa7uh:

Deutsch · Feb 27, 2006

Porsche Guy said:
This car (I would assume) is going to use the same 6.7 liter V12 as in the Phantom, which produces 453hp and 531 lbft of torque. Compare this to the Bentley Continental GT with 552hp, 675 lbft of torque and roughly the same weight and you're not going to have a close fight on your hands. This RR coupe is going to much more of a luxury cruiser than the Bentley. The 100EX Concept, off which this more production ready version is based, was huge, much bigger than the Bentley. I'm fairly certain that this car is going to be larger than the Bentley. Also the car will not have the same prospective clients because people who can spend $160K do not necessarily have the resources to spend ~$300K on a car. The reason the Bentley is so successful is partly because it is so relatively cheap for the Bentley name. Don't forget that BMW designed the Phantom and I wouldn't call that car sporty.

Much of what you said is true. However, the RR Phantom and the 101 EX concept are very much two different cars, for more obvious reasons. Both the CGT and 101 EX are GT's, and you must not forget that horsepower only means so much. It has more so to do w/ how the whole car works together(engine & chassis mainly). The CGT is by no means a "sporting car", have you ever seen or heard a review where they seriously tried to throw one round, cutting the tail loose? No, and you never will, because it's a GT, grand touring. Which means that this car was built for the purposes of traveling in not only style, but straight line speed, lots of it. So in the end, both the CGT and 101 EX are very much in the same exact catergory.

Centurion · Feb 27, 2006

The CGT has turned about to be the obvious choice for new selfmade millionaries but this RR coupe is something different and will probably cost over twise as much as the CGT. Not to mention being more bulkier and hard to get ones hands on. Additionally the RR coupe will probably be produced in a much smaller quantity than the all most over produced Bentley.

Deutsch · Feb 27, 2006

I'm not trying to win converts to back what I'm saying, but what does quanity produced have to do w/ anything as far as competition? For that matter I guess you'd say the Audi's RS cars are in a different class than both M and AMG cars? It's the same difference really, though we are talking in singular terms of the CGT and 101 EX as individual cars.

So if they don't compete in the same class, the CGT and 101 EX, then what class/es do they fill in?

I'm not trying to win converts to back what I'm saying,

Osnabrueck · Feb 27, 2006

Porsche Guy's analysis is correct.

The CGT and the 101EX share a great many traits, but by virtue of their respective price tags, don't slot in as direct competitors. Just as there's few people who can afford the GT's hefty price tag, there's even far fewer who can afford something costing twice as much.

There's been lots of talk in marketing-land about how to categorize buyers of such cars. The phrase bandied about has been "Super Affluent." If the new Bentleys are for "Super Affluents" then we could probably say that cars like the Maybach and the Phantom are for "Ueber Affluents" or perhaps, "Sultans."

It seems silly to call cars like the Conti or Spur "common", but in the LA area these cars have become such common sightings they're on the cusp of losing their exotic card.

siko · Feb 27, 2006

More pics from AMS...

Michael · Feb 27, 2006

I can't get over the presence this car posses in these pictures. I don't know what it would be like to see it in person.

If they do end up making it, it will definitely be a sucess. Measuring success for RR is not like what you would measure for Honda in selling Civics, nevertheless this would truly go down as one of the best cars ever made by them.

The car possess something so natural, vicious, but yet calm that I just can't pin point. Obviously you see a lot of its design cues coming from the Phantom but yet it seems like it is in a different level. It is like the younger brother of the Phantom that we are seeing here.

Sick! Sick!

Osnabrueck · Feb 27, 2006

Hey, nice pics.

As if the Phantom wasn't crass enough, here comes something that's tantamount to a pile of gold bricks on wheels. It's ostentatious, disgusting and I want one.

SDNR · Feb 27, 2006

Osnabrueck said:
Hey, nice pics.

As if the Phantom wasn't crass enough, here comes something that's tantamount to a pile of gold bricks on wheels. It's ostentatious, disgusting and I want one.

LOL - me too.

Those are the best R-R wheel rims I have seen - they will probably be on the production car I would expect, they look a lot better than the current options.

audi_rudy · Feb 27, 2006

This car is the definition of stlye at its best. If you take the time to go back and look over all the pictures in detail you keep on seeing new things that catch your eye. One of my favorite things about this car is the rear ward opening front doors. Might even be better than lambo doors

Deutsch · Feb 27, 2006

Osnabrueck said:
Porsche Guy's analysis is correct.

The CGT and the 101EX share a great many traits, but by virtue of their respective price tags, don't slot in as direct competitors. Just as there's few people who can afford the GT's hefty price tag, there's even far fewer who can afford something costing twice as much.

There's been lots of talk in marketing-land about how to categorize buyers of such cars. The phrase bandied about has been "Super Affluent." If the new Bentleys are for "Super Affluents" then we could probably say that cars like the Maybach and the Phantom are for "Ueber Affluents" or perhaps, "Sultans."

It seems silly to call cars like the Conti or Spur "common", but in the LA area these cars have become such common sightings they're on the cusp of losing their exotic card.

Nice analysis. I still stand by my words, though I agree, price wise they are not competitors. Would you say that the Z06 is not a competitor to the SL55 or vice versa, when the Z06 costs $60k less, and that's not the only car that costs tons more than the Z06 that has comparable performance. I rest my case.

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