I have discussed the Rolls-Royce bespoke programme before. But John Griffiths writing for the FT has gleamed some interesting details about the bespoke service in his road test of the dazzling Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé - Steel fist in a velvet glove.

Mr Griffiths writes a very warm and glowing review of his experience road testing this beautiful convertible. “It is a pussycat to drive: amiable, cosseting, only demanding the driver pay serious attention if the mighty, steel-fist-in-a-velvet-glove performance of its 6.7 litre V12 is released to the full. At that point, it unfurls the spinnaker, so to speak, and really sets up a wash: 62mph comes up from standstill in 5.9 seconds and the surge is relentless towards a top speed of 149mph.”

As you might expect from the FT, the question of money is never far away. There is perhaps nobody better qualified than the manager of the bespoke division, Mr Clive Woolmer, to answer this question. “Individualism is a fundamental part of Rolls-Royce,” says Woolmer.

It is not too uncommon for customers to hand over a cheque for £1 million for their unique Rolls-Royce. Making the price of a “standard” Phantom Drophead Coupé of £307,000 seem like a steal.

I found this great video review of a white Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I. According to the reviewer, “Heaven is in the details” and the Silver Cloud is testament to this.

iChauffeur have a similar Old English White Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II wedding car. The video above demonstrates just how a white Rolls-Royce can always find employment!

According to Wikipedia, “The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud was the main car manufactured by Rolls-Royce from April 1955 until March 1966. It replaced the Silver Dawn and was, in turn, replaced by the Silver Shadow. The design was a major change from the pre-war models and the highly derivative Silver Dawn. The main design work was by J. P. Blatchley.

What a superb design, the Silver Cloud II was very popular in the States. It also inspired the classic advertisement from David Ogilvy, “At 60 mph the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock”.

The Silver Cloud II featured a new aluminium V8 engine, an engine that although highly refined over the years was still being fitted to Rolls-Royces manufactured in the 1990s! The new “baby Rolls” aka RR4 will also have a new engine. I wonder if they will still be using it in 30 years time?

The Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé has helped Rolls-Royce achieve their best ever year. 2007 sales were up 25 per cent, compared to 2006, with Rolls-Royce selling 1010 cars. This is the first time sales reached four figures and the fourth successive sales increase since BMW took the helm in 2003.

75 per cent of sales were for the four door models - the Phantom and the Phantom Extended wheelbase, but it was the stunning Phantom Drophead Coupé, which was launched in the summer which really helped the volume increase.

“Everybody at Rolls-Royce is delighted with this tremendous result which marks our fifth anniversary in the best possible way,” said Ian Robertson, Chairman and Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. “It confirms Rolls-Royce as the most desirable brand in the super luxury market and is a credit to the passion and dedication of our teams at Goodwood and around the world. The customer reaction to the Drophead Coupé has been astonishing, exceeding all our expectations.”

2008 looks like being another great year for the Goodwood based company. They plan to launch a two-door coupé model based on the Phantom. Looking further forward to 2010, the “baby Rolls-Royce” (codename RR4) will start competing against the Bentley Continental range.

Plans are being made to commission a statue of Sir Henry Royce in Knutsford, Cheshire. Rolls-Royce Motors support the idea for a lasting tribute to the great engineer to be constructed in Regents Street.

In 1962 a memorial window was dedicated to Sir Henry Royce in Westminster Abbey, the only time an engineer has been honoured at the Abbey.

The proposed statue in Knutsford will celebrate Henry Royce’s move to Brae Cottage, Legh Road, Knutsford, in 1898. The engineer often worked on his inventions in the cellar until the early hours.

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The Rolls-Royce clientele are demographically classified as high-net worth individuals. With an average bank balance of $30 million, the typical Rolls-Royce customer is from a very exclusive club. A club where quite simply money talks. Even at these rarified heights of wealth the Rolls-Royce customer may not always get what they want, as Bojan Pancevski writes in the Telegraph.

The idea of customising a Rolls-Royce is nothing new - the Spirit of Ecstasy was fashioned to help stop inappropriate mascots being appended to the front of Rolls-Royces. Some owners have even had Spitfire engines fitted to their “Rollers”. When John Lennon had his Phantom Rolls-Royce painted in psychedelic colours, one particularly outraged elderly lady beat the car with her umbrella, shouting, “You swine, you swine! How dare you do this to a Rolls-Royce.”

The fact is you don’t just buy a Rolls-Royce, you commission one.

Customising a Rolls-Royce is part of the whole Rolls-Royce experience. Early Rolls-Royces were just a chassis from which the Rolls-Royce customer could commission a coach builder to furnish the body. Companies such as Mulliner and Park Ward would build designs for these new motorised coaches. Each one unique and totally bespoke. With the new BMW lead Rolls-Royce selecting Mutec to be the only officially licensed company permitted to customise Rolls-Royce cars. They have signed a non-disclosure agreement and plan to open a showroom for their clientele in the near future. Along with bullet proofing and armour plating they also fashion purely cosmetic customisations.

However not all ideas are approved, no matter how lucrative. A gold plated Rolls-Royce Phantom is simply not in keeping with the Rolls-Royce marque - even if you are a multi gold disc winning rapper. A gold Phantom would show ‘poor taste’, not in keeping with the Rolls-Royce ethos. You can get Lincoln or Bentley to do a hot pink car - but not on a Rolls-Royce thank you very much.

The nouveau riche mainly from Russia, the Middle East and the Far East have been knocking on Mutecs door since they got the Rolls-Royce approval. American rapper, Nelly has had a mink fur interior installed to his Phantom Rolls-Royce while about 100 other customers have had everything from footbaths for Muslims or extra long wheelbases to accommodate leggy Russian girlfriends. It seems that for 2008 a customised Rolls-Royce is the thing to have for anyone with deep enough pockets.