Rolls-Royce literally makes music with a Dawn convertible

Monday, 28 May 2018

Rolls-Royce comes over all musical with the release of the Dawn 'Inspired by Music' edition.

To celebrate the launch of the 'Inspired by Music' version of the Dawn, Rolls-Royce has come over all rock and roll (well, sort of) and released an new music track, complete with a music video, both of which feature musical contributions from the car itself.

A Dawn 'Inspired by Music' was taken for a spin in Rolls-Royce's anechoic chamber in Goodwood. The special sound-deadening room is most commonly used during the build process to detect any unwanted extraneous sounds, but this time it was used to create musical magic. Okay, a few clicks and thumps then.

A hyper-sensitive microphone was used to capture the 'mechanical and electrical tones' of the Dawn (that would be the clicks and thumps), including the soft closing doors, the umbrella popping out from the door, the windscreen wipers, indicators and the Spirit of Ecstasy rising up from the front of the car. These sounds were then mixed together with what Rolls-Royce calls 'deconstructed music stems' to create a new track.

Rolls-Royce has created a new music track to launch the Dawn 'Inspired by Music'

The Dawn 'Inspired by Music' isn't the first Rolls-Royce to be so inspired, with a Wraith 'Inspired by Music' first appearing in 2015.

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* Jon Olsson's amazing custom Rolls-Royce**

John Lennon had his Rolls-Royce Phantom extensively customised, including a fairground caravan paint job.

Both cars featured the company's Bespoke Audio system that was created from scratch by a team of automotive audio engineers. The two-year development process saw the team work closely with Rolls-Royce interior designers to ensure the system was 'perfectly tuned to the interior of the cabin.'

John Lennon's famously psychedelic Rolls-Royce Phantom wasn't to everyone's taste, but it is a legend today.

In fact Rolls-Royce was so determined to get the absolute best sound quality that the interior designers actually had to consult with the chief audio engineer before they could make any changes.

The Wraith' Inspired by Music' featured a 1300W, 18 channel system comprising two highly powerful bass speakers, seven tweeters and seven mid range speakers, with microphones constantly monitoring ambient and exterior noises allowing the system to adjust volume and tone settings automatically to 'ensure no external agent detracts from the user's listening pleasure.'

Rolls-Royce says the Lyrical Copper exterior paint finish and numerous copper highlights throughout hint at the use of copper 'found in only the very best audio systems'. You can also order it in white, which doesn't signify anything.

Of course, Rolls-Royce does have something of a track record in the music game, with the marque being a favourite of wealthy musicians over the years, often finding itself at the centre of musical urban legends as a result.

In January 1961, Elvis Presley walked into the Beverley Hills Rolls-Royce dealership. Flush with the success of his music career and a five-year movie deal, he ordered a Rolls-Royce Phantom V; the only motor car in the world that could possibly befit his status as the 'King of Rock & Roll'.

John Lennon also acquired a Phantom V in 1965 to which he added a number of cutting-edge additions for the time including a television, portable fridge, record player and the first blacked-out windows to appear on a car in England. He even is said to have converted the rear bench-seat into a double bed.

Not satisfied with the Phantom's black lack finish, Lennon commissioned a Dutch art collective to re-paint the car in a psychedelic motif designed to mirror the decorations on fairground caravans. The result was not met with universal acclaim, with Lennon often gleefully recounting the tale of a woman who chased the car, shouting, 'You swine! You swine! How dare you do that to a Rolls-Royce!'

Then, of course, there is the legendary tale of when Keith Moon, drummer for English rock band The Who, drove his Rolls-Royce into the swimming pool of the Holiday Inn in Flint Michigan on the night of his 21st birthday. Which Rolls-Royce say entirely untrue.

The company claims the urban legend likely came about from a combination of two episodes, only one of which involves a Rolls.

The first features what Rolls-Royce graciously calls a 'lapse of concentration on Mr Moon's part' when he failed to fully secure his Rolls-Royce's handbrake. Unfortunately he had parked on a slope leading to a half-constructed swimming pool and the car made what Rolls-Royce hilariously calls 'a characteristically graceful descent down the hill' before coming to rest at the bottom of the unfilled pool.

The second is a little closer to the legend. On purchasing a new American car he tried to charge it to the band's account, naturally they refused to indulge his request and Moon expressed his displeasure by parking the car in an ornamental pond before calling the dealer to take it away.

Not, according to the company, something he would ever have done to his 'beloved Rolls-Royce.'

But's let's be honest here - he certainly would have.