Dawn

There is a road between Alghero and Bosa that many consider Italy's finest to drive with the roof down: some forty kilometres suspended between cliff face and sea, griffon vultures wheeling above the carriageway and a sunset that sets the water alight. The Dawn is the car in which that ribbon of asphalt stops being a route and becomes a memory: roof stowed, V12 as the soundtrack, the scent of wild helichrysum drifting into the cabin.

But the Dawn is not only about western sunsets: it is breakfast in the morning breeze at Porto Rotondo, the late drive home along the coast with a sky full of stars where the roof should be. If the idea seduces you, our guide to the seven convertibles perfect for the coast explains why an open car counts double in Sardinia; the alternatives are gathered among the convertibles for hire in Sardinia.

The fabric roof opens in around twenty seconds, even on the move at low speed, in a gesture Rolls-Royce calls the "silent ballet": no creak, no haste. Closed, it insulates like a coupé; open, it lets you converse at a normal volume even at cruising speed, thanks to aerodynamics designed to caress the cabin rather than invade it.

The 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12 works on tiptoe: 571 hp and a 0–62 mph time of 4.9 seconds that arrives with the softness of a long ocean swell. Rear-wheel drive and the 8-speed automatic complete a gait of noble unhurriedness: the Dawn does not ask you to hurry — it asks you to stay out an hour longer.

What sets it apart from almost every other high-end convertible is its generosity: four genuine seats, not two armchairs and a parcel shelf. Adults travel comfortably in the back, which makes it perfect for two couples heading to dinner on the coast, or for a family on holiday.

Open, it reveals its wooden rear deck — an explicit nod to the nautical world that finds its natural context in Sardinia: moorings, quaysides, yacht cockpits. Guests on the Coral Riviera can request delivery through Rolls-Royce rental in Alghero, at the hotel or directly at the marina.