How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Rolls Royce Dawn?

A two-day weekend in a Rolls Royce Dawn costs $2,390 before delivery. That's two days at $1,195, which is how much to rent a Dawn in white with an orange and black cabin. The Dawn in black over red lists at $1,295 a day. Every day includes 100 miles, and delivery is quoted by your address.

The rest of the bill comes from three numbers. They are the deposit, the mile rate, and the number of days you keep the car.

What the open roof adds to the rate

The Dawn is the four-seat convertible Rolls Royce. It's also the last open top V12 the company built. That roof is the reason it rents for more than a Wraith, which starts at $795 a day. The Wraith makes 61 more horsepower, so you aren't paying for speed.

You pay for the moment the roof goes away. Six layers of cloth fold under a rising wood deck in about 20 seconds. The roof will do it while you're still rolling at up to about 30 mph. You hear almost nothing while it happens.

Say you're rolling slowly past the harbor in Newport Beach with the top still up. You touch the switch, and the deck rises behind your head. By the time you reach the next light, all four seats sit open to the street. The people in the back seat are part of the picture now.

Rolls Royce Dawn rental price per day, white or black

Every Dawn shares the same V12 and the same four-seat body. The listings differ in the year, the colors, the deposit, and the home base. Here is each car as its listing shows it.

• 2020 Dawn, white over an orange and black cabin, $1,195 a day, $1,000 deposit, $5 a mile past the allowance, based in Orange County
• 2019 Dawn, black over bright red, $1,295 a day, $2,000 deposit, $5 a mile past the allowance, based in Los Angeles

The white car is the coast car. Its orange leather runs the length of the open body once the top is down. On Pacific Coast Highway through Laguna Beach at golden hour, the cabin becomes the subject instead of the paint.

The black car rents for $1,295 a day. It rides on chrome 21-inch wheels with black grille slats and a bright Spirit of Ecstasy. Its listing suggests Ocean Avenue along Palisades Park in Santa Monica, then Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu. With the roof stowed, the red seats sit above the black doors like a stage.

The Dawn rental deposit changes by car

The deposit is a hold on your card, not a charge. It's released after the car comes back in the condition it left. The white Dawn holds $1,000, and the black Dawn holds $2,000. The part most people miss is that the hold stays on your card until the car is back.

The hold covers small things, like a curbed wheel. Those chrome wheels on the black car sit close to the curb at a valet stand in Beverly Hills. Ease the car in slowly and let the attendant guide you. Real damage goes to your own insurance, subject to your deductible.

The handoff photos are the record of how the car left. If something does happen on the drive, tell us right away.

How much to rent a Dawn for three days or longer

The daily rate drops on its own once you pass two days. Nobody has to ask for it, because the discount comes from the length of the booking. Here is the daily rate for each car at every step of the ladder.

• 1 to 2 days, full rate, $1,195 or $1,295
• 3 to 4 days, 10% off, $1,075.50 or $1,165.50
• 5 to 6 days, 15% off, $1,015.75 or $1,100.75
• 7 to 13 days, 20% off, $956 or $1,036
• 14 to 20 days, 30% off, $836.50 or $906.50
• 21 to 27 days, 40% off, $717 or $777
• 28 days or more, 50% off, $597.50 or $647.50

On a three-day booking, the third day costs less than a full day. Three days in the white Dawn come to $3,226.50, so day three adds only $836.50. A full week in the white car costs $6,692 before delivery, and the same week in the black car costs $7,252.

A longer booking also changes how the car feels to you. On the first night, you notice the coach doors every time you step out. Because the doors hinge at the back, you stand up facing forward instead of climbing out sideways. By day five, the Dawn is simply your car in the hotel garage, and the keys stay in your pocket.

Miles on a car built for slow roads

Each day includes 100 miles, and a longer rental pools them. A three-day booking gives you 300 miles to spend however you like. Past that, each Dawn listing bills $5 a mile.

So say your weekend runs 40 miles over the pool. That adds $200 to the Dawn rental cost. If you know the trip runs long, say so when you book. The miles get priced in ahead of time instead of billed after the car comes back.

The Dawn doesn't push you to add miles the way a sports car does. Its V12 makes 563 hp and reaches 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, but the speed arrives as a swell. The black car has a Power Reserve gauge where a rev counter would sit, and it reads 93% in reserve at a cruise. The car leans a little in corners, as if it's asking what the hurry is.

What you need before you get the keys

You need to be 18 or older with a valid driver's license and full coverage insurance in your own name. A larger deposit may apply under 25, and that's the whole list.

The insurance check is the step most people don't expect. Your policy has to extend comprehensive and collision to a rental car that isn't on it. That's called non-owner vehicle coverage, and it means your policy covers a car you don't own. It can't carry an exotic exclusion or a cap that rules the car out. The Dawn's listing puts its MSRP, the sticker price when new, at $361,850. A low cap on your policy ends the conversation there.

We call your carrier with an agent on a recorded line before the rental. A credit card's rental benefit almost never helps, because most cards exclude cars worth more than $50k to $75k. Once that call is done, the Dawn pulls up with the top down and your name on the contract.

Three other cars at three other prices

The Ferrari 488 Spider rents from $1,295 a day with a $2,000 deposit. Its metal roof folds in 14 seconds at up to 30 mph. It makes 661 hp but only seats two. The roof lives in its own compartment, so the trunk stays the same size open or closed.

The McLaren GT rents from $895 a day with a $2,000 deposit. It has a fixed roof, two seats, and 570 liters of luggage space. Pick it if the trip has suitcases and nobody needs the back seat.

The Porsche 718 Boxster rents from $295 a day with a $1,000 deposit. Its fabric roof drops in about 9 seconds at up to 31 mph. It has 300 hp and two seats. On a canyon road, the nose goes exactly where you point it. You give up the coach doors and the Spirit of Ecstasy, and you keep $900 a day.

What the Dawn isn't built for

The Dawn is a car for the drive itself, not for an airport run. The roof folds into the trunk area, so the luggage space is small. The Dawn isn't the car for four suitcases at the LAX curb. Book a sedan or an SUV for that trip and save the Dawn for the evening.

The price only makes sense when the roof comes down and all four seats are full. With two people and the top up, a Wraith does the same job for less money. Fill the back seat, wait for the light to drop, and the extra $400 a day goes where you can see it.