The Phantom Drophead Coupe cabin was designed to reflect the materials and designs used in, and the pure romance of, racing sailboats of the Thirties. The thin-section rim on the nautically flavored steering wheel is a carryover from the old days, and one that we don't particularly care for. A big car like this deserves a big, thick steering wheel. The seats are huge, thick and supremely comfortable, front or rear, and they are upholstered in very simple large rectangular sections of world-class leather. In case you get caught in the rain, it will be fast and easy to wipe all of the water off the leather very quickly, since there are no nooks, crannies, seams or tufting. The door panels on the extremely thick doors are likewise very simply decorated.

The interior design scheme is a mix of Rolls-Royce tradition like the chrome, wood and leather, the organ-pull controls for the vents, and the column shifter with its unusual R-N-D-P layout, blended with 21st-century requirements like Bluetooth telephones, auxiliary audio inputs, 6-disc CD changers, and navigation screens (hidden behind the analog clock at the top center of the dashboard).

The instrumentation is very simple, with a centered speedometer, a combination fuel and temperature gauge, and a meter on the left that resembles a tachometer, but is a power reserve meter that reads in percentage used and remaining. Quirkily wonderful.

The detailing on this car is remarkable. Every piece of chrome trim, every seam, every joint is perfect, as it should be for a handmade $400,000 car. The chrome looks deep enough to swim in, and there is lots of it, including large pieces on the edges of the coach doors. The leather is the best available, selected from large, unblemished hides. The music system plays through nine channels and 15 speakers arrayed around the cockpit, and it's very, very good at ear level.

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