The West Sussex Way; a Luxurious And Exquisite Drophead Phantom Coupé
The JBS Collection’s 2011 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Drophead Coupé has a striking convertible top and is accented in immaculate light wood. The car looks equally at home taking lavish trips down a country road or on a sleek city adventure and provides a one-of-a-kind experience Rolls-Royce no longer produces.
From the wood cover for the stowed convertible top — or drophead — to the hidden umbrella tucked discreetly in the driver’s-side door with the famous “RR” logo on the handle’s hilt, the attention paid to detail in this vehicle is exquisite. It is these signature touches, along with Rolls-Royce’s legendary quality and luxury, that made the sales price of these automobiles almost $500,000 new.
What’s in a Name?
“Drophead” is the term used to describe a convertible top on a British automobile. As Rolls-Royce produced the Phantom III Drophead Coupés in their Goodwood plant in West Sussex, they are referred to as dropheads as opposed to convertibles. The Phantom was also responsible for bringing the suicide door back into vogue, renaming them “coach doors” in 2003.
A Brief History of Suicide Doors
Suicide or coach doors were first a gigantic success in the 1930s and ‘40s. They were not oddities in this time but more the rule than the exemption. They bucked certain senses of practicality and safety in favor of a greater sense of style. They also had a practical inspiration: Horse-drawn carriages. These carriages offered French-style doors that opened from the center towards the rear of the car to make it more graceful for women with long skirts or dresses to enter the vehicle.
The danger of these doors though was that if they were opened in a moving vehicle, they would act as a sling, using the force of the wind created by the car to fling passengers out of the vehicle. Fear not though, in modern times, features like doors that lock when a car is in motion protect passengers from these fates. Rolls-Royce has added this modern safety feature to its coach doors and inspired a whole new generation of doors in Mercedes, Toyota, Porsche, and more.
Exterior Details
2011 Rolls-Royce Phantom Specs:
- 453 horsepower
- 6.8 Liter V12 Engine
- Creates 531 ft. lbs of torque
- Six-speed automatic transmission
- Top Speed: 149 mph
- Dual-zone automatic temperature control
- Drophead or convertible top
- Coach or ‘suicide doors’
- Leather interior
- Parking assist
- No longer in production
Interior Details
