MARWAR - the magazine that inspires Excellence

Driving without a roof can be an exhilarating experience. Better still, if the car is opulent and state-of-the-art with elegant interiors. So step on the accelerator of the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé and let the wind in your hair

Now, topless motoring has taken on a new meaning with the ultimate in topless luxury available in India – the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé. Way back in 2004 Rolls-Royce unveiled the 100EX, a striking experimental drophead concept car built to celebrate its 100 years of existence. It proved so popular that, in the autumn of 2005, Rolls-Royce announced it would be in production by 2007. Now, the car is here to take on Indian summers and winters. The RR Phantom DH is a two-door, four-seater convertible that retains much of the Phantom it joins to start a range. Evidenced by the long bonnet, large-diameter wheels, short front and long rear overhangs externally; the opulence is mostly inside where the owner and lucky passengers get to sit.

Wood, leather, chrome and brushed steel have been employed in the DH to balance the interiors. Importance has been given to the styling to make it look aesthetic and yet, function has not been forgotten. What one will find in the Phantom Drophead Coupé is an unparalleled experience that combines driveability with exceptional engineering, technology and design – hand-crafted from the finest materials to an exceptional level of quality. In fact, the inspiration for combining dissimilar materials actually came from a boatyard in Southampton where a 1930s America 's Cup J-class yacht was being restored.

Porsche's Carrera GT roadster, now available in India , is unlike any other from the marque's stable. With a V-10 engine, accelerating the supercar from zero to 100 kph in less than four seconds, it's sure going to set the roads ablaze

While a fan could tend to think of all Porsches as supercars, the firm's latest offering, the Carrera GT roadster, is truly in the supercar mould. Best part is that the car is available in India now. First unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 2003, this V-10 engined roadster is quite unlike any car that has come out of the Porsche stable in recent times. It does not hark back to the firm's staple, the 911. Nor does it have any similarities with the Boxster or Cayman and certainly not the Cayenne . If any thing, when viewed from the rear three-quarter angle, it could be said to hark back to that infamous VW-Porsche collaboration, the 914. Porsche likes to say it's been developed along the lines of their Le Mans race cars.

Whatever it looks or is styled like, the technology contained within is leading edge stuff. The 5.5-litre V-10 engine was developed from a smaller F1 racing engine that was enlarged by the engineers for use in sports cars at the company's development centre at Weissach. The figures are quite astounding — a 605 bhp of power together with maximum torque of 590 at 5,750 rpm accelerate the Carrera GT from zero to hundred kph in less than four seconds. Two hundred kph comes up in 9.9 seconds, the torque fed through a specially developed six-speed manual gearbox.