The company has massively expanded its Chichester facility, with an extra 60,000sq ft of factory floor space and a second production line, effectively doubling its production capacity to cope with strong demand.

The new production line, installed over the summer, has undergone its first trial runs using prototypes of the new RR4 model. With larger workshops for leather, paint and tailoring, the company said it intended to hire 180 new skilled employees between now and the end of 2009, when the latest vehicle will hit full production.

Despite the global economy slamming on the brakes, the company, purchased by BMW in 1998, announced a leap in sales of its existing Phantom range, with around 500 cars sold between January and September 2007, and around 700 in the same period in 2008.

They have also seen the number of bespoke orders jump since the Goodwood factory was built in 2003, with requests for specifically-tailored cars up from around 20 per cent to about 80 per cent. The company is now motoring ahead with plans to bring in the smaller profile, 'driver-orientated' model by 2010, which it expects to perform best in US and European markets. Asian markets prefer chauffeur-driven vehicles.

CEO Tom Purves told BusinessWeek: 'I think it is pushing things to say it's a more everyday car. It's a Rolls-Royce. But one of our designers said that the Phantom is like a smoking jacket or a tuxedo, and the RR4 is like an elegantly cut sports jacket or blazer.

'I think it would be naive to think our customers are not affected by these economic conditions, but they may be a little more insulated, which is a reason our sales are holding up well. We know it's quite a difficult situation in the world at the moment but we remain quite optimistic about market opportunities.'

The plant has around 700 full time staff at present, rising to around 900 with apprentices and part-time workers. Mr Purves said the company could offer opportunities to those made redundant in other areas, and appealed to skilled workers across the Solent to put themselves forward for a job.