Rolls-Royce will debut a smaller, leaner, less formal car next week at the Geneva Auto Show. The 200EX concept is a near- production version of the Saloon that will begin production in 2010.
So, is this a smaller Rolls for leaner times? Is the car’s gross tonnage some kind of index of the global economy? Not really. The fact is, sales of the Phantom, extended- wheelbase Phantom Coupe and Phantom Drophead Coupe have been brisk, despite the $400,000 to $560,000-plus price tag. Global sales of 1,212 in 2008 were up 20 percent from the year before.
The 200EX debuting March 3 — the development of which predates the current financial downturn — appears to be an attempt to extend the brand to compete in the suburban grocery-getter segment. That’s a price point in the $230,000-to-$300,000-plus range, somewhere just above the coming Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera. Los Angeles Times
