In advance of its début at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show, Rolls-Royce has introduced its new two door, drop head coupé to the blogosphere. Leftlanenews, MotorAuthority, and others have pounced on this bit of British media beef only to find that it's a bit old.

Rolls-Royce has been teasing the public with the notion of producing a squinty-eyed, suicide-ported, Corniche descendant since the original 100EX concept was introduced back in 2004. Where the real suspense lay (especially with the Rolls faithful) was what was to be done with the grille.

Various pictures over the past few years showed the convertible with the inset grille (which will see production) and the traditional stand-out, Hellenic temple that the world has known for a century. The decision to go with the former grille setup will be one that makes or breaks the model - as history has shown.

The ill-fated Camargue of the 1970s was the last (and only) postwar model to (unsuccessfully) mess with Rolls tradition.

For more pics, tap the link > MotorAuthority