200EX Closer Look at Upcoming Baby Rolls

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ upcoming baby sedan moves a little closer to reality at next month’s Geneva auto show, where the super luxury-car brand will unveil the 200EX concept it says indicates the design direction of the RR4 production model to bow in 2010.

The 200EX “has a dynamic edge to its styling and is noticeably less formal than previous models, Rolls says.

Design elements include a long hood but short front overhang, more steeply raked A-pillar and an elegant rear treatment that “give (the) 200EX an air of informal presence – powerful but unobtrusive,” Chief Designer Ian Cameron says in a statement.

As with the Phantom, the 200EX features rear-hinged coach doors that open a full 83 degrees for easier access to the rear passenger compartment.

The car’s face is distinguished by its light-emitting-diode headlamps and a tweaked version of Rolls’ signature grille that has the vanes set back from the opening.

Rolls’ signature grille “more like a jet intake.”

“We wanted this to be less reminiscent of the traditional ‘Parthenon’ style and more like a jet intake,” Cameron says.

Inside are the usual Rolls-Royce treatments and amenities, with chrome door handles, frosted lamps, eyeball air vents and opaque dials among the highlights.

The instrument panel features a clean layout, and natural-grain Crème Light leather, Cornsilk carpeting and a cashmere-blend headliner finish off the cabin in traditional Rolls style.

The 4-door model measures 212.6 ins. (539.9 cm) in overall length, sits on a 129.7-in. (329.5-cm) wheelbase and seats five. Power comes from a new V-12, specifications for which have not been released.