Minneapolis Street Sightings: Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe

I usually don't post modern cars up here unless they're extremely rare, and boy does this big guy qualify. All 2008 examples delivered in the US have already been sold, each one at well over MSRP. At a rather lofty $459,000, the newest incarnation of the legendary Rolls isn't cheap by any means. But, what a car it is. Sitting a hair over 18 feet long, this thing is huge, and with size comes weight: all 5700 lbs of it. It's got a real teak deck tonneau out back for the top to rest under, and the interior can be configured with over 5 different woods and 4 different seat colors. The exterior has a custom color palette so you can ensure your DHC won't look like your neighbor's. If he has one, that is. Now, don't think that because the Rolls is loaded with luxurious amenities it lumbers itself around town. In fact, it does quite the opposite. It's 6.75L V12 (a RR/Bentley staple I might add) propels the uber-luxovert to 60 MPH in just 5.7 seconds, or about the same time as a new Subaru WRX. Acceleration isn't the only piece of the performance car pie the new Rolls excels at. The vehicle goes on to achieve a top speed governed at 149 MPH, and it does so while getting 18 MPG highway and it prowls the city whilst returning 11 MPG. So, if you have 500 large to spend and you want your car to stand out from a crowd, the Drophead Coupe is the car for you. Or, if you want finesse and true British excellence, get a new Bentley Brooklands. Either way it can be guaranteed no one will have the same motorcar as you.