In the midst of a recession with markets still reeling from a summer of $4 gas, every automaker is concentrating its efforts on smaller, more fuel efficient cars. Even Rolls Royce is introducing an entry-level car.

Well, okay, maybe that's overstating it. The base price of the car will reportedly be over a quarter of a million dollars.

But the Rolls Royce 200EX is the smallest vehicle Rolls has produced in many years. Lead designer Ian Cameron told London's Telegraph the car is "noticeably less formal than previous models. Its size, style and expression broaden the appeal of the car, making it more appropriate for a wider range of circumstances."

In keeping with the new global frugality, the next Rolls uses a few parts from the more pedestrian cars. Jalopnik reports, "The new baby Rolls is based off of the newly released fifth-generation BMW 7-Series but will carry slightly larger dimensions all around."

Motor Trend adds, "Under the hood will be an all-new direct injection V-12 engine, unique to Rolls-Royce and made exclusively for Rolls-Royce by BMW. It's said to have twin-turbos, enabling it to deliver 550hp and relatively good gas mileage. The RR4 may also get the forthcoming ZF eight speed automatic transmission, which is said to deliver a six percent improvement in fuel economy compared with a six speed auto."

Yes, they went with the V12 for fuel-efficiency. These are lean times.

Autoblog notes, however, that "Inside you'll find all the top-rate, high-dollar trinkets that makes Rolls-Royce the standard of the luxury motoring world, including frosted lamps, chrome door handles, violin key switchgear and an ergonomic roller-ball controller to manipulate the car's systems." Some sacrifices, we guess, are simply too much to ask.

The 200EX will make its formal debut in concept form at next months' Geneva Motor Show, with the official production car (expect it to be renamed by then to something ethereal-sounding with the word "silver" in it) to appear at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, when the company will begin taking orders from newly frugal Rolls buyers.

While we don't expect a cash-back rebate on the baby Rolls for President's Day, we have seen some surprising discounts lately. Research the best car deals with U.S. News' car rankings and reviews.