British luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce is welcoming the new decade with its first collection car. It’s called the Dawn Silver Bullet, and it pays homage to the magnificent roadsters of the 1920s. According to Rolls-Royce’s press release, the Dawn Silver Bullet collection ‘captures the carefree attitude of those far-off days in a bold, contemporary expression designed for today’s non-conformists and pleasure-seekers.’
In short, the Silver Bullet collection is the most opulent version of the Dawn drophead coupe.
And it’s strictly limited edition
Rolls-Royce promises to only make 50 examples of the Dawn Silver Bullet for worldwide distribution, so you’re essentially getting a limited-edition car. It features a bespoke ultra-metallic Brewster Silver paint finish inspired by the metallic hue of previous Rolls-Royce Silver models like the Silver Spectre, Silver King, Silver Silence, Silver Meteor, and of course, the Silver Dawn.
Apparently, the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn of the 1950s was the first to have a factory-built body while convertible models remained coach-built for the duration of the era.
It’s designed to look the part
Rolls-Royce only sent a couple of renderings of the Dawn Silver Bullet. From these alone, it’s hard to view all the exciting details that make this car worthy of admiration. But Rolls has a nice way of satiating our appetites despite the lack of drool-worthy imagery.
The Dawn Silver Bullet features darkened exterior detailing to highlight the custom silver paint. The car has dark headlights and a new dark front bumper finisher. Even the wheels are blacked out with its translucent shadow finish with a single silver pinstripe.
But the most prominent feature is the new Aero Cowling which, according to Rolls, can ‘shift the persona of the car’s high-shouldered silhouette, heightening the sense of speed and purpose,’ and we believe them. There’s also a silver center spine that literally bridges the magnificent bodywork into the cabin.
You see, the Dawn is based on a similar architecture as the Wraith, which happens to be the sportiest and most athletic Rolls-Royce you can buy today. But unlike the Wraith, the Dawn has four proper sets instead of the standard 2+2 seating, effectively making it the most socially or family-oriented luxury drophead in the industry.
In fact, both the Dawn and Wraith share the same mechanical components, as well.
It has a detuned turbocharged 6.6-liter V12 engine
The Rolls-Royce Dawn Silver Bullet is powered by the same twin-turbocharged 6.75-liter V12 engine from the Wraith, albeit in a detuned state. Whereas the Wraith produces 624-horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, the Dawn makes do with 563-horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque – the latter of which arrives at an impressive 1,500 rpm.
The engine is bolted to an eight-speed automatic gearbox driving the rear wheels. And while the Dawn is not as much of a scorcher as the Wraith, it also happens to be the most powerful drophead Rolls-Royce has ever made. In fact, it has more power than the Phantom drophead.
Meanwhile, the interior is typical Rolls-Royce with exclusive materials and unflappable craftsmanship. You’ll find open-pore carbon-fiber and a leather-quilted transmission tunnel inspired by the ultimate expression of punk-rock rebellion – the leather jacket.
The new Rolls-Royce Dawn Silver Bullet is an ode to the past with new-age innovations of the future. If you’re interested in buying one, Rolls-Royce is poised to curate a series of Silver Bullet driving events and road trips; all of which are accessible via RR’s exclusive Whispers app.