China home to most expensive Rolls-Royce ever built

14 December 2006 11:24 GMT / By Jonathan Goddard

There’s yet more evidence of China’s superpower status with the news today that it’s now home to the most expensive Rolls-Royce ever built.

An anonymous (not for long, surely) property developer in Beijing has snapped up the $2.2 million super-luxury car, which boasts state-of-the art gadgets including an LCD entertainment system. It also has two rows of rear seats, facing each other.

“It was the most expensive car we've ever done”, said Roller chairman Ian Robertson, coincidentally in Hong Kong for the unveiling of a fleet of 14 - yes, that’s 14 - specially made Phantoms at the city's Peninsula Hotel. Each one is the extended wheelbase version, and comes complete with a cooler for chilled hand towels, larger luggage space and its very own bespoke paintjob.

China has overtaken Japan as Rolls-Royce's biggest Asian market, with sales growth this year of 60% driven by the country's new entrepreneurs splashing out on the trappings of wealth.