First look Rolls Royce 200EX

...every so slightly and ever so briefly, suggest that the latest Rolls Royce offering is simply a smaller version of the flagship Phantom.

“This is absolutely not a pocket Phantom,” Cameron, chief designer for the famous British marque, counters as the `experimental' 200EX exerts its considerable presence in the background. “If you use the analogy of clothing this is not a different sized suit it is a different style ... but at the same time you want to be able to recognise the hand of the tailor that cut the Phantom.

“So, you will see the same sort of strong surfaces but this car is all about informality where the Phantom is about formality.

“If you think of the Phantom as a tuxedo then this is maybe the business suit.”

Cameron has just finished introducing the baby Rolls — expected to be badged as the RR4 when it goes into production at the end of this year — and is clearly unimpressed with any suggestion that the latest car is any way the result of an “if it ain't broke don't fix it” expansion of the marque.

“The brief was to produce a Rolls Royce that would have a different clientelle, a youthful clientelle,” Cameron says. “Typically our customers have garages with five or six cars. They use that garage like a wardrobe — different cars for different ocassions.”

In Rolls speak the 200EX is still an “experimental car” but Cameron concedes it will be very close to the production model due to be revealed at the end of this year.

“Truth be told I think it bears the same relationship to previous experimental models such as the 100EX (Coupe) and 101EX (Drop Head Coupe) ... it is very close to what the final production car will look like.”

At this stage the 200EX is all about visual appeal with precious little information on the engineering and technical specifications of the car released. The four-door five seater rides on 3295mm wheelbase with an overall length of 5399mm, compared to the Phantom's 3570mm wheelbase and 5834mm overall length.

The engine is described only as a “new” V12 but will certainly be comparable to the 338kW and 720Nm 6.7-litre unit used in the Phantom and coupled to a similar ZF six-speed automatic. The 200EX performance figures are likely to be slightly more sporty than the Phantom given the younger target market and the car's smaller size. The Phantom is governed at a top speed of 240km/h and can put the 0-100km/h sprint away in 5.9 seconds.

Cameron says that the genesis of the 200EX was to produce a complementary model that would attract customers apart from those interested in the Phantom — an objective early feedback seems to indicate has been met.

“That is the feedback we have had ... tremendous enthusiasm from people who think that the Phantom is just too much over the top,” Cameron says. “I personally think the whole car is cool but we always say with a Rolls Royce that you have to deliver something special. When you live with these cars and drive them it is not something you can describe. It is rather like a piece of music ... and that is what design is like.

“You have all these elements that you have to pull together and at some point it becomes music — or that is what you hope happens. When it does you have a great design.”