At Rs 3.5 cr a car, the only thing you hear is the gasps

Hush: Rolls-Royce makes a quiet re-entry to the Indian luxury market.

Strain your ears, and you may just hear it. Rolls-Royce, positioned ever so clearly as the world's most luxuriously noiseless car, is back in India after a long hiatus.

Indian royalty has always had a thing for the brand; a visit to some of the country's old royal palaces will reveal telltale signs of something just short of a Rolls Royce obsession. And the company has always been keen on India. In 1911, Rolls-Royce set up an Indian Repair Depot in Fort, Mumbai "" the very year that King George V was crowned the Emperor of India.

Many Rolls-Royce cars had been shipped in time for the Durbar, and with India's Maharajas vying with each other to be seen in the same automobiles as the British royalty, Rolls-Royce was set for a grand innings.

And sure enough, in the subsequent decades, India became one of the most important markets for the maker of cars that bore the spirit (evident in the names of sub-brands) of the originators' sense of quiet composure and serene sophistication. Rolls-Royce even established an India Depot in London to handle the business from the subcontinent.

Well, 95 years later, Mumbai is once again part of the Rolls-Royce global sales network, thanks to its 71st showroom that was inaugurated this Wednesday.

Now, with Navnit Motors' showroom for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in Worli, Mumbai joins other Asian cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo "" where Rolls-Royce has showrooms.

Are the cars turning heads on the streets?

Absolutely. Even before the showroom was open, Navnit Motors "" dealers for BMW in Mumbai and Bangalore "" had already sold seven Rolls-Royce Phantoms in the country, each for Rs 3.5 crore or more.

Of course, Rolls-Royce is best known for its custom-made cars (again, many royal tales revolve around idiosyncratic customisations), and no customer is expected to ride in something straight out of the showroom.

The Phantom in itself is an interesting sub-brand (Silver Spirits in assorted models have been seen on Mumbai roads, or locked up in Walkeshwar garages, for years and years).

Built as a "21st century Rolls-Royce", the Phantom boasts state-of-the-art engineering... without compromising on any of the brand's hand-crafted charm "" done lovingly at Goodwood in the UK for that authentic feel to the interiors.

True pampering cannot come from mass production. As Colin Kelly, regional director, Asia Pacific, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, puts it, "There's nothing else like it in the world."

And the chauffeurs should feel no less special. The 12-cylinder motor develops a prodigious amount of power: 453 brake horsepower and 75 kgm of torque that can waft this behemoth to 100 kilometers per hour from standstill in a spiffy 5.9 seconds. And all you'd hear, presumably, is the ticktock of the clock (well, not anymore, it seems).

Other than the standard Phantom "" if ever there was one "" Rolls-Royce has introduced an extended wheelbase version for extra room. The company is also preparing for the launch of a Phantom-based convertible.

And if Rolls-Royce gives a production go-ahead to the latest 101EX concept "" a sporty, two-door luxury coupe "" the Mumbai showroom could become a star attraction in the city for buyers and gawkers alike. Just like a century ago.