I n tradition is geared toward the domestic automakers, who pull out all the stops as they debute some of their best and brightest new products and concepts. This year, however, the ultimate showstopper may well be located at the Rolls-Royce display. The fabled British marque has chosen Detroit to reveal the 2008 Phantom Drophead a jaw-droppingly hansom 4-seat convertible aimed squarely at Bentley’s Azure.

The Drophead Coupe is, for all intents and purposes, a perfect production interpretation of RR’s 100EX concept car, which made its debut at 2004’s Geneva show. The key elements of the 100EX remain the thin LED headlamps, rear-opening “suicide” doors, brushed steel hood and A-pillar, and teak decking aft of the passenger compartment are all here.

The V16 that powered the 100EX is replaced in the Drophead Coupe by the Phantom sedan’s proven 6.75L V12., which generates 453 horsepower and 513 lb-ft of torque at 3500 rpm. That’s enough to propel the 5775-pound droptop to 60 mph in approximately 5.7 seconds.