Dawn breaks in Melbourne

Rolls-Royce has announced the appointment of the Zagame Automotive Group to sell the brand's model range in Melbourne.

The new dealership will sell Rolls-Royce cars in Richmond in the same location where it will also sell Aston Martin. Until now Rolls-Royce has been sold in Melbourne through a Southbank facility operated by Trivett Classic. Some of the senior staff employed there will make the jump to Zagame and continue to sell Rolls-Royce and service the needs of Rolls-Royce clients.

Present for the Melbourne unveiling of the Dawn at a special event held in the Royal Exhibition Building today, dealer principal Bobby Zagame spoke of his passion for the Rolls-Royce brand, all the way back to when he was a small boy sitting in a Rolls for the first time. He also mentioned that the group has "some great future plans with the brand, with facilities and much better customer experience with service and sales..."

Zagame, whose group sells 12 different brands throughout Melbourne – and his Audi outlet in Melbourne's central business district the sole 'volume-selling' brand among them – extended his thanks to Paul Harris, the regional director for the brand in the Asia/Pacific region, and Michael Schneider, General Manager for Rolls-Royce in the region before signing off with a positive outlook for both the brand and the new dealership.

"This is an exciting time for our group," he concluded, "and I have no doubt we will continue to grow this bespoke brand in the Melbourne market.

The Dawn, which made its official Aussie debut in Sydney last week, is priced from $749,000 and is powered by a 420kW, 780Nm twin-turbo V12, displacing 6.6 litres. A canvas roof closes at speeds up to 50km/h – and while it does take 22 seconds, the operation is almost completely silent.

According to Jonathan Shears, Dawn Global Product Manager (pictured), the convertible is testament to the view that "design can drive function".