OK, now that we've seen the first official photos of the 2009 Roller Coupe', we take back almost 
everything bad we've said about the sedan version of the car ... from those box-shaped headlights to the overwhelmingly massiveness of the entire car, from front to rear, from tires to roof, in the engine bay and the car's interior ... the intimidating Phantom sedan is simply too much. But this Coupe' is something else again. The front end is a bit more friendly than it's four-door sister, and the whole thing appears, at least in these photos, more balanced and attractive, inside and out, than the sedan. The huge 6.75 liter BMW V12 (that's 412 cubic inches) sitting in the engine bay no doubt provides plenty of low-end torque (531 foot-pounds) and top-end horsepower (453hp) for this vehicle which weighs ... who knows how much? They ain't saying.
Times have changed, though. There's a lot more known about these cars than in years past. When my good friend Reg Abbiss (whose new book, "Rolls-Royce From The Inside; The Humour, The Myths, The Truth", Tempus Publishing Ltd, United Kingdom, 2007, is available everywhere and more-than-worth your few US Dollars or Euros or Yen) was in charge of public relations for Rolls and Bentley here in the US for many years, the company would never release horsepower figures or top speeds. When asked, the world's most-skilled and most-British of all automotive PR people would answer only, "Adequate," to the horsepower question, and, "Rather quickly", when the top speed query inevitably was raised. By the way, there's a wonderful photo of Yours Truly and Reg in his new book, both of us hard at work, with Reg no doubt begging me to interview the thoroughly and happily sleazy Howard Mosher, who ran Rolls/Bentley in the US from 1998 to 1994.
Car Nuts know for certain that times have definitely changed greatly when one mentions "BMW" and "Volkswagen" in the same breath as "Rolls-Royce" and "Bentley". The world used to be much simpler; as far as most Americans were concerned, the two-door, coupe version of Rolls was most always a Bentley.
Today, Rolls' are built ("crafted"?) in a wonderful, environmentally-conscious new facility on the grounds of the the Earl of March near London, UK, where Lord March annually stages his "Goodwood Festival of Speed". Yes, the guy's grounds are so large that the Rolls factory takes up barely an acre or so of his several hundred (or thousand, or whatever it is). Bentleys are also still made in the UK, and VW invested well over $104 million recently to upgrade the facility in Crewe.
In going through the release which you'll find below, it occurred to us that it's been a long time since we saw a line like this in an automotive PR release of any sort: "A 25 per cent increase in fuel capacity, compared to the Drophead Coupé, adds significant driving range." Well, isn't that just ducky!
Now, we'll allow the Rolls-Royce PR folks have their say, with a possible comment from The Royal We:
2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe - First Official Pictures 
ROLLS-ROYCE TO REVEAL PHANTOM COUPÉ AT GENEVA
16.02.2008 - Rolls-Royce Motor Cars will unveil its new Phantom Coupé at the 78th International 
Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday, 4 March 2008. Production of the new car will start at Goodwood in the summer of 2008.
The Coupé is the most driver-orientated model in the Phantom line. A number of subtle but significant modifications have been made that change its character. It is noticeably more dynamic, whilst still offering incredible levels of comfort.
Marrying cutting-edge technology with a beautifully proportioned, muscular body that exudes power and style, it incorporates timeless Rolls-Royce design cues in an utterly contemporary manner.
Designed to cover great distances effortlessly, the Coupé is the perfect choice for a transcontinental trip. Power is provided by the Phantom’s 6.75-litre (412cid) V12 that produces 453 bhp, 720 Nm (531 pounds-feet) of torque and has segment-leading fuel economy. A 25 per cent increase in fuel capacity, compared to the Drophead Coupé, adds significant driving range. Agile, fast, long-legged and virtually silent, the Phantom Coupé allows both driver and passengers to emerge unruffled, even after an all-day run.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chief Designer, Ian Cameron, said “Rolls-Royce has always been about pace, performance and style. For the Coupé design we gave the quintessential Rolls-Royce design a dynamic twist. This adds a sense of drama to the outstanding engineering and drivability that are fundamentals of Rolls-Royce cars. The dynamic drive of the Phantom has always come as a surprise to customers and the Coupé takes it one step further.”
The Phantom Coupé features rear-hinged coach doors which add considerably to the ease of access to the rear lounge seats as well as to the overall aesthetics. Crucially, they aid the overall stiffness of the body as the rear hinged doors allow for an uninterrupted A-pillar helping to make this the most torsionally rigid Rolls-Royce ever. A brushed steel finish of A-pillar and bonnet, as seen for the first time on 100EX, is also available for the Coupé.
At the rear is a spacious picnic boot. A split tail compartment that opens in two parts, gives easy access to 395 litres (14 cubic feet) of space. The lower tailgate also provides a comfortable seating platform for two adults when lowered.
At the core of the Phantom Coupé is an advanced aluminium chassis, perhaps the single most significant
component in delivering the marque’s legendary refinement. Lightweight and exceptionally strong, it impacts positively on ride comfort, handling and safety. Hand made, it requires over 130 meters (427 feet)of welding to create each body.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Chairman and Chief Executive, Ian Robertson, said, “The Coupé has been designed and engineered to be the most dynamic interpretation of our values. Our 2007 sales figures illustrate how successful the entire model range has been with an increase of 25 per cent over the previous year.”
Rolls-Royce
Goodwood, West Sussex, England, United Kingdom (end of release)
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