Rolls-Royce unveils Dawn; likely to debut in India next year

Rolls-Royce is gearing up to tap the country's billionaires with new models, including new convertible and a potential SUV.

Super luxury car maker Rolls-Royce today unveiled its new open-top model Dawn that is likely to be launched in India next year.

"Our new Rolls-Royce Dawn promises a striking, seductive encounter like no other Rolls-Royce to date, and begins a new age of open-top, super-luxury motoring," Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Executive Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said while unveiling the vehicle at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Dawn offers the most uncompromised open-top motoring experience in the world, he added. Mueller-Oetvoes said the company has been witnessing record sales in the last five years successively.

The new model revives a rare Rolls-Royce name, which was first used in 1949. It sold 28 units between 1950 and 1954.

The company is expected to launch the model in India in the middle of 2016.

Rolls-Royce is gearing up to tap the country's billionaires with new models, including new convertible and a potential SUV.

The British brand, which is owned by Germany's BMW, sells a range of super luxury cars with starting prices ranging from Rs 4.5 crore to Rs 9 crore.

It is confident that India, which is projected to be home to the fourth-highest number of billionaires in the world by 2023, will be one of its key markets.

In India, Rolls-Royce currently sells Ghost Series II with price starting at Rs 4.5 crore, the Wraith at Rs 4.6 crore upwards, the Phantom starting at Rs 8 crore and the extended wheel base version of the Phantom at Rs 9 crore onwards.

The prices go up depending on the level of customisation that the buyer wants. India is one of the top five markets in the Asia Pacific region for the Ghost.

Photographs: Courtesy, Rolls-Royce