| First Drive | Wetherby, England | Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé |

Sometimes even Rolls-Royce owners want to drive their own cars. That's why Rolls thought it would be a good idea to make a 'driver's car' in the shape of this, the Phantom Coupé. Unveiled at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show after the convertible Drophead was launched, the Coupé's aim is to be no less luxurious and dictatorial than any other Roller, but provide a tangible quota of extra driving enjoyment for chauffeur-less buyers. It weighs 2,590kg though, so can it work?

In the Metal

The Phantom Coupé is not svelte. That's not to say it's in any way ugly or ungainly, but its long nosed, cab-back styling is at odds with what you expect from a two-door coupé. Open the rear-hinged doors and things get yet more baffling; from behind the wheel the Coupé will dwarf even a pro basketballer. That's probably an optical illusion presented by virtue of being sat so far back in the wheelbase of the car (closer to the rear wheels than the front), but it's not a cockpit that encases its driver.

But it is special. Rather than actually run through all the superlatives you expect to hear of a Rolls-Royce, it's probably easiest just to confirm they're all perfectly justifiable. Every surface is either cushion-soft leather or high gloss wood; the chrome toggle switchgear is milled to perfection; the carpets are an inch thick; the way it's all put together timelessly smart; the fit and finish flawless.

What you get for your Money

Apart from the whole handmade interior and unrivalled craftsmanship thing (with a bit of BMW iDrive thrown in for good measure), you get a 6.75-litre V12 producing 453bhp and 538lb.ft of torque, as well as about 148 dead cows and a couple of chopped up trees. Equipment? Don't be silly. It's a proper luxury car, as in proper, so you'll want for nothing. Well, apart from maybe a little more rear legroom - it's not as suitable for lounging back there as its lengthy proportions promise it will be.

The £297,000 asking price buys a car whose solitary role is being, well, the finest car in the world; so essentially, if something is conducive to your comfort it's in there. But despite what we've just said about the aura of sumptuousness in the cabin, if you look at the individual parts, it's arguably a bit of a mess. The switchgear comes in an array of shapes and sizes, all wonderfully weighted and precision cut, but laid out in a fairly unspectacular way. The iDrive in particular, which has 'all the irrelevant bits' stripped out of it, apparently, is unintuitive to the point that you eventually give up on it entirely. Pull the chrome nubbin by the screen and it will satisfyingly spin into the dashboard to reveal an analogue clock in its place. Much better.

Driving it

The Coupé sits on a tweaked version of the saloon's platform to make it more driver focused, getting thicker anti-roll bars, a steering rack modified for more feel along with a thicker rim, and a 'sport' mode for the gearbox that makes it cling on to ratios for longer. Yet it's 40kg heavier than the saloon, and while its ride could never be described as lumpy, it seems to roll more than its four-door counterpart too. It doesn't take long to get used to its vast proportions, and once you do you'll find it changes direction with alacrity, but there's an SUV-like quality about the way it rides and handles.

Bizarrely, however, this driver concluded that the Coupé has possibly the most uncomfortable driver's seat ever committed to a car. Ooh, how ironic. The problem is its vast lumbar support and the fact it slopes backwards, offering no shoulder support at all. Try to remedy that by tilting the chair forward, and the base of the backrest digs in even more; it's like driving with someone's knee nestled in the small of your back, and that remains no matter what you do with its seemingly infinite range of electric adjustment.

Other than that, the Coupé provides some of the most relaxed, genteel tarmac gliding possible in a four-wheeled vehicle powered by internal combustion. Truly, the way the Roller damps both the sound and vibration of a massive V12 out of the cabin entirely is nothing short of an engineering miracle. Press the starter button, enjoy the sound of all twelve cylinders firing up, and then marvel at that sound simply dropping out of the cabin.

Nonetheless, you may quite reasonably expect that 453bhp will thunder you along with ferociousness. It doesn't. It's effortless rather than exhilarating; the quoted 5.6-second 0-62mph sprint is not unbelievable, but the Roller never actually feels that quick, probably deliberately so because it would be at odds with its overall air of serenity. And if you return 15mpg you'll be lucky.

Worth Noting

The circa-£300k price of the Phantom Coupé is really only the starting point of the buying experience. For those with neither the time nor imagination to get something a bit more personal, Rolls-Royce offers nine standard paint colours. But for those with a bit more enthusiasm, the Rolls-Royce bespoke programme is there, offering 44,000 exterior hues and a limitless selection of trims and interior accoutrements.

Summary

That BMW-owned Rolls-Royce has preserved the essence of the brand is not in doubt - the Phantom Coupé is spectacular and makes its driver feel absolutely imperious. But it's not perfect. To drive it is to be completely isolated from the world outside, but if we're being picky, it's not quite as explosive or as smooth gliding as it possibly could be.

But a Roller is rarely bought based on rational consumer decision-making; it's bought because it can be, because its owner wants to make a statement. And the Phantom Coupé does so with real class and massive presence. There's nothing quite like it. If you can, do.