2010 Rolls - Royce RR4

Disguised prototypes of the all - new 2010 Rolls - Royce, codenamed RR4, have been seen testing near Munich. The car will be an ddition to the Phantom line, and it ' s somewhat smaller. The RR4 will be launched initially as a sedan, though two - door variants, both fixed - roof and convertible will inevitably follow.

Rolls - Royce ' s Goodwood plant in southern England will assemble the cars, and it ' s getting a doubling of capacity to cope. That implies an output of 1000 RR4s per year, only one - eighth of Bentley ' s output of Continentals. Rolls CEO Ian Robertson confirms this positioning: " It will be significantly more expensive than the Bentley. " Pricing is likely to be about $340, 000 here in the U. S.

As it ' s being built in Britain, it can use all the skills there in hand - worked leather, wood, and paint. It ' ll offer high scope for personalization in trims and issues such as entertainment electronics. Under the skin, " the car will use some BMW DNA and some of ours, " Robertson says. " It ' s Group technology. "

Unlike the Phantom, it doesn ' t have an all - aluminum space - frame body, but has a variant of the next - gen BMW 7 Series steel - and - aluminum underbody, a flexible architecture that also will provide for the larger, lower 2012 BMW CS, a big sedancoupe seen as a concept at the 2007 Shanghai show. A specific Rolls body plant at Dingolfing, Germany will build the RR4 steel bodies as well as the Phantom shells, Robertson confirms.

The RR4 will be larger than the 7 Series and considerably taller and statelier. Photos show a car with an upright nose, more swept back than the Phantom sedan. It has the familiar thick Rolls C - pillar. The wheels are extra large; it ' s a Rolls - Royce cue that they ' re half the height of the vehicle.

Expect the car to use a V - 8 with direct gas - injection and twin - turbo technology as shown in the BMW X6. Robertson refuses to confirm this, but says the RR4 will be efficient. " Remember, the Phantom is already the lowest - consumption car in its class and we want to repeat that. " He points out that Rolls must be open - minded about powertrains in the long - term future. " Last year everyone was talking about hybrids. This year, it ' s plug - in hybrids and diesel, too. I won ' t rule anything out, but I won ' t rule anything in. I believe gasoline has a long way to go, yet. "