You know the recession has not hit India’s mega rich, when Rolls-Royce launches a top-end model from its Rolls-Royce Phantom line-up.
The company has launched the fourth new model from its Rolls-Royce Phantom portfolio, the 2009 Phantom Coupe, at a price of Rs 4 crore, the most expensive sports coupe launched in India ever.
At the time of the launch, Rolls Royce Motor Cars’ General Manager (South and East Asia Pacific) Matthew Bennett said, “The Phantom Coupe is the most driver-oriented model in the current line-up. It completes the Phantom family, adding to Phantom, Phantom Extended Wheelbase and Phantom Drophead Coupe.”
The 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe is customisable. Customers can choose from 44,000 different colors but they cannot make any modifications to the coupe. The company said that the customisation of the car would take up to three months from the date the order was placed.
The two-door, four-seater 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe is three feet smaller than the Rolls-Royce Phantom, at 220.8 inches.
Exterior features of the 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe include body colored front and rear bumpers, Spirit of Ecstasy Hood Ornament, daytime running lights, LED sidelights, and a raked grille.
The 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe has a 6.765 L, V12 engine, with 48 valves, four per cylinder. The engine develops a peak output of 453hp and 720Nm of torque.
The coupe has a top speed of 55 mph or 250 km/h. The 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds.
The back seats of the 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe are very accessible because of its rear-hinged coach doors. The Phantom Coupe has a high torsional rigidity because of stiff dampers and an uninterrupted A-pillar.
Like the Roll-Royce Phantom Drophead coupe, the 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe has a Picnic Boot than can provide seating for two.
The 2009 Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe has a leather-covered telescoping steering wheel, wood and leather trim on the dashboard, instrumentation panel with LED illumination, a trip computer, and a tyre pressure indicator.
Safety features include dual front airbags, front side airbags, height-adjustable front head restraints, dual height-adjustable rear head restraints,
three-point seat belts for all positions, and four-wheel anti-lock vented disc brakes.
The Rolls-Royce line-up in India comprises the Phantom, Phantom EWB and Phantom Drophead Coupe, all of which are priced about Rs 3.15 crore.
Despite the meltdown, Rolls-Royce had sold 1,212 Phantoms globally in 2008 compared to the 1,010 cars that it sold in 2007. However, it sold only 14 units in India in 2008, falling short of its target of 18 units.
Rolls Royce spoke about the prevailing market conditions, “I cannot say that we are not affected by the global meltdown, but we are buffered because we cater to an exclusive group. Our sales volume for 2008 was up by 20 per cent, despite the economic situation.”
Rolls-Royce re-entered the Indian market in 1995, after a gap of 50 years. In the past four years it has sold 41 units. So far in 2009, Rolls Royce has sold three units and has got three bookings.
