Rolls-Royce unveils new Melbourne showroom

ROLLS-ROYCE has opened its largest Australian dealership in Melbourne’s inner east, bringing the only Australian example of the Dawn ‘Inspired by Fashion’ convertible along to mark the occasion.

Located in Swan Street, Richmond, the new dealership has expanded significantly over the old site on City Road, with the two-storey showroom encompassing a ground-floor showcase, a first-floor display space with room for six vehicles, undercover parking with 15 long-term parking spaces, a full stocked bar and full-service cafe.

A part of the Zagame Automotive Group dealership network, the Rolls-Royce dealership is the only showroom for the brand in Victoria and one of only three dealerships in Australia for the super-luxury brand.

The new showroom also contains a Bespoke lounge inspired by the Atelier room in the company’s home of Goodwood, England, where customer can tailor their Rolls-Royce down to the finest level of detail.

Zagame Automotive Group managing director Bobby Zagame said that the new dealership would be able to offer customers a more exclusive and luxurious experience.

“We’re really just trying to make the experience much more special (than the old City Rd site),” he said.

“Particularly with the bespoke area, the lounge, the delivery process, all those sorts of things, we didn’t have those facilities at City Rd, and it was also blended a lot more in with other brands, so this is much more exclusive.

“You’re buying ultra-expensive cars, so we think the experience should be ultra-expensive as well.”

Rolls -Royce Asia Pacific regional sales manager Ian Grant said that the Melbourne dealership was able to channel the spirit of the Goodwood atelier.

“If you look at any dealership globally or certainly within Asia, this is a new kind of concept of taking the extension of the bespoke ateliers that we have in Goodwood and bringing them here,” he said.

“The customer is much more open here to talk freely about design, and you’ve got much more open areas for putting together colour combinations.

“I think with Rolls-Royce it’s all about experience, and this now takes away the fact that you’re walking into a car dealership, you’re actually walking into a brand experience centre.”

Rolls-Royce prides itself on its ability to cater to customers’ personalisation of their vehicles, with buyers able to choose from a myriad of colours, trims and upholstery for their car.

To mark the occasion of the dealership opening, Rolls-Royce showed the sole Dawn ‘Inspired by Fashion’ convertible that has been allocated to Australia, that was stationed in the curtained-off bay where customers first take delivery of their vehicle.

Painted in Adalusian White with a Mugello Red cloth roof and hand-painted red coachline, the special edition Dawn was fitted with an Arctic White and Black interior colour scheme with unique piano white trim and silk door inlays.

The luxury British manufacturer also showed one of 50 swansong edition Phantom Zenith Collection coupes, which have been customised by Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke design team.

All Zenith Collection Phantoms come with a glass shelf with padded leather that can fold out onto the tailgate, where owners can enjoy a bottle of champagne housed in the cavernous fridge situated under the floor of the boot.

The Zenith Collection marks the end of the life cycle for the Phantom VII, which has existed since being reborn in 2003, and will be replaced when the Phantom VIII arrives globally in 2017, with Australian deliveries expected to commence in 2018.

In 2016 Rolls-Royce sold 37 total vehicles, with 25 of those of the two-door variety.