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First Dawn from Rolls-Royce raises $750k in charity auction

Even for a Rolls-Royce, $750,000 seems like a lot of money. But that's how much one customer paid this past weekend for the privilege of acquiring the very first example of the new Dawn convertible. And we're glad to report that the the money is going to a good place. Rolls-Royce introduced the Dawn this past September at the Frankfurt Motor Show as the convertible counterpart to the Ghost sedan and Wraith coupe. It's set to take on the likes of the Bentley Continental GTC and Mercedes S-Class Cabriolet, packing a 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12 good for 563 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque up front and a folding fabric roof over its four-seat cabin. The company's Bespoke division set up this particular example in Andalusian white, with a deep red roof, red coachline, and a corresponding interior in red and white with Indian rosewood paneling and special treadplates. Valued at over $400,000, the vehicle was donated for the charity auction at the Naples Winter Wine Festival held this past Saturday to benefit the Naples Children & Education Foundation. The winning bid of $750,000 was placed by insurance mogul and hedge fund manager Julian Movsesian, pictured inset at left with Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos. He'll take delivery in April from the dealership in Naples before anyone else gets theirs. Over the same weekend in Arizona, an Acura NSX sold for $1.2 million, a COPO Camaro for $300k, and Jay Leno's Harley-Davidson edition Ford F-150 for $200k – all of them the first of their kind, and all benefiting charitable causes. Related Video: Rolls-Royce Dawn Raises $750,000 For Children's Charities As The Brand Marks A New Era With The Most Social Rolls-Royce Ever NAPLES, Fla., Feb. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- - Dawn brought a winning bid of $750,000 at the 2016 Naples Winter Wine Auction - California area collector to receive the very first Rolls-Royce Dawn globally - Over past 15 years, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars have grossed $4.8M in bids for the auction - Proceeds to benefit Naples Children & Education Foundation It is one thing to bid on a prize as rare as a Bespoke Rolls-Royce and quite another to bid on the once in a generation opportunity to be the first owner of the newest member of the Rolls-Royce Motor Car family, the all-new Dawn.

Even in a down economy, Rolls-Royce is on a roll

Limited Volume, Big Margins Spell Success
Bigger isn't always better, especially when it comes to selling super luxury. Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös expects the British automaker to again post a record year, despite the economic troubles in Europe and weak growth in both the US and China.
"It is not all doom and gloom out there," Müller-Ötvös explains, noting that the declining sales in Europe and elsewhere have been offset by good performance for the marque in the Middle East, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia.

2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn First Drive

There is apparently a migration of sorts among the set that would buy something like the 2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn, the newly arrived drophead variant of the raffish Wraith. When our theoretical Dawn buyer finds the Cote d'Azur or some such place a bit chilly, perhaps it's off to South Africa. Late March is the tail end of summer, and it's an exceedingly pleasant way to get into the Dawn state of mind. Stellenbosch is just northeast of Cape Town, the "Mother City." What used to be open country occupied primarily by the Khoikhoi and Khoisan peoples, as well as prototypical African game, is now wine country. Our starting point is a vineyard estate called Delaire Graff owned by a diamond baron. South Africa's diverse and stunning countryside is on display as we leave the vineyard and climb. The lower highlands are covered with quasi-Californian scrub, but with altitude the scene transforms into a mist-tickled moor full of low heather-like plants and tumbling rivulets. We traverse the suburban lowlands to a windy road clinging to a cliffside above the crashing surf of the Indian Ocean. Ancient cliffs and peaks jut over us at improbable angles and in fascinating shapes. At the end of our drive, looking across False Bay, the Cape stretches south towards the equivocal boundary between two oceans. Twice and then once, the Cape lighthouse winks at the end of Africa. Most automakers consider sportiness the ultimate attribute. Like its stablemates, the Rolls-Royce Dawn's draw is its timelessness and unabashed luxury. Here that's paired with the inherent hedonism of a convertible, not to mention the cachet that comes with spending $340,000 or more (most likely more) on a car. That figure makes the Dawn more expensive than the Ghost or Wraith, but less than the Phantom range. The Dawn is vast; like most huge things, it commands attention because it takes up so much space. Watching my colleagues dart around town was a bit like watching a flotilla of cruise liners maneuver to their moorages. Like a yacht with a lot of freeboard, the flanks rise impressively to the top of the door, but then there's some tumblehome inward to the thick brightwork strip ringing the cabin. A longitudinal spear of chrome bisects the hood, a bit like a grab-rail on the foredeck. The Spirit of Ecstasy could have graced the bowsprit of any of the windjammers that hove into Table Bay. Twice and then once, the Cape lighthouse winks at the end of Africa.