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At the 2006 Geneva Motor Show, Rolls-Royce undraped a sleek number called 101EX that previewed a production coupe which we were all so convinced would be called Corniche. We were right about the car reaching production – it starts in Chichester UK in June of this year – but the car carries the name of Phantom Coupe.

This pre-production prototype seen here was shown prior to the March 4th Geneva debut at a press event this past week in Monterey, California, and WINDING ROAD was fortunately present. Rolls president Ian Robertson and design boss Ian Cameron were both on hand to give us some details beyond the white paper.

In the most general of terms, the Coupe uses the front half of the stunning Phantom Drophead Coupe and the rear half of the original Phantom. Wheelbase length falls just a bit longer than the 130.7-inch stretch on the Drophead, trunk space increases from 11.1 cubic feet on the Drophead to now 13.8 cubic feet, and the removal of the added rollover structure for the Drophead shaves off 66 pounds while also making room for the Phantom’s larger 26.4-gallon fuel tank versus the Drophead’s 21.1-gallon unit. Stated unladen curb weight for the Coupe is quoted by Rolls-Royce at 5,710 pounds versus the stout Drophead Coupe at 5,776 pounds.

While the family 6.75-liter direct-injected V-12 remains the same here and with power and torque similar to the Drophead at 453hp and 531 pound-feet at 3500 rpm, the Coupe has been planned out to be the sportiest Roller off the production line. Response times of the brakes have been significantly shortened, so the cushy 747 Jumbo feel at the brake pedal of the Phantom and Drophead is gone. Conversely, the throttle is much more immediate when needed. Then, between the solid aluminum roof, stiffer rear dampers and springs, and thicker rear anti-roll bar, the Coupe is the most rigid Phantom of the brood through any curve. Much like on the recently driven Bentley Brooklands coupe, the Phantom Coupe has an exquisitely welded rear half – not an easy task at these stress levels and using aluminum to establish such sensuous shapes. Topping off the car’s powerful aura are the two reverse opening carriage doors first approved – in a genius move – for the Drophead Coupe.

Adding to the sportiness is a Sport button at the steering wheel which permits the holding of gears up to higher revs, plus a much quicker kick-down function when juice is needed to overtake in a flash or what have you. Final drive ratio at the rear has also been made shorter and uses a rear axle adapted from the Phantom axle in order to take the higher stresses required here. Aiding the drive experience as well are the standard 21-inch wheels and tires which ensure that you are still wafted, but also stick harder to the road surface. Finally, 10 percent of the typical Rolls steering assistance is removed from the Coupe experience in order to put the driver in a more involved attitude. Acceleration up to 60 mph should be quicker than on the Drophead by a tenth or two of a second, so we anticipate a 5.5-second launch.

Personalization add-ons are as vast as a buyer may desire. Take the “starlight