| New Model Preview | 2008 Geneva Motor Show | Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé |

Everything about the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé is big, including its £298,000 price tag, but the Goodwood-based company says the Coupé is its most driver-focused model yet.

Based on the same platform as the Drophead Coupé, the new Coupé is also a development of the Phantom saloon's aluminium spaceframe. Rolls is quick to point out that the Coupé is not just a Drophead with hardtop, but a separate model altogether.

However, there are shared elements between the two-door models, such as the rear-hinged doors that leave an uninterrupted windscreen pillar. The pillars of the Coupé have a brushed aluminium finish - like the Drophead's - and the bonnet is finished in the same way.

Under the bonnet of the Coupé lies the same 6.75-litre V12 engine with 453bhp and 531lb.ft of torque. That's sufficient to see the Rolls Coupé from 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds and on to 155mph. Just as well Rolls has fitted a fuel tank that's 25% larger than the Drophead's.

The Coupé also comes with a 'picnic boot', where the boot lid splits in half and the lower half drops to form a seat for two adults. The boot can hold 395-litres, so there's plenty of room for champagne and caviar.

The order book for the Phantom Coupé is open now and deliveries of the £298,000 Rolls start in the summer.

Alisdair Suttie - 18 Feb 2008