After five years' planning, the best-kept - and most expensive - secret in the motoring industry rolled gracefully into the media spotlight yesterday.

At 3.30pm, German car giant BMW unveiled the Phantom, until this week known only by its code-name RR01, the first Rolls-Royce produced in West Sussex.

But pictures are about as close as most people are going to get to the car which comes with a price tag of about £240,000.

For that money you get luxury extras such as hidey-holes to stow umbrellas and stagecoach-style rear doors which open with handles in the middle of the car rather than the back.

And, of course, there is the timeless design which has made Rolls-Royce a by-word for motoring excellence.

Handcrafted at the £65 million new plant at Goodwood near Chichester, the Phantom is built on classic Rolls lines but with a modern interpretation.

The distinctive grille survives, as does the famous Spirit of Ecstasy mascot which has adorned Rolls-Royce cars since 1911. For added security it is electronically retractable and can be lowered out of sight when the Phantom is parked.

Longer and taller than its predecessors, the Phantom has a unique run-flat tyre system which allows the car to go for 100 miles at 50mph after a puncture.

Capable of accelerating from 0-60mph in 5.7 seconds, it is powered by a 6.75-litre V12 engine.

The car was shown to the media yesterday and will be unveiled to the public on Monday at the Detroit Motor Show in the United States.

But the 350-strong Chichester workforce, most of whom were recruited from the area, got a sneak preview at an exclusive New Year's Eve bash for about 1,000 staff and their families.

Just a few minutes into the new year, the wraps came off the first new luxury model.

Rolls-Royce spokesman Fred Fruth said: "The car was unveiled at 12.10am and handed to a customer. I can't say who because he wishes to remain anonymous but he is a Rolls-Royce collector and we fulfilled a five-year promise to him to hand over the first new model built at Chichester."

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars chairman and chief executive Tony Gott said: "For nearly 100 years, Rolls-Royce has been the icon of motor engineering and design.

"The name has entered the language as an expression of perfection. The new Rolls-Royce Phantom is, we believe, entirely in keeping with that long and illustrious heritage, yet is totally contemporary in its design and technology.

"Its name evokes the personality of the Phantom I and II models of the Thirties and reflects timeless values of quality, distinction and authority, combining the best of the past with the best modern design, engineering and technology to take Rolls-Royce firmly into the 21st Century."

The engines and bodies of the new car are delivered complete to Goodwood, where the cars are painted in a state-of-the-art paint shop and assembled. Wood and leather trim are manufactured there from scratch.

BMW plans to produce 1,000 cars a year at the factory.

Tony Leach, chairman of the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club central southern section, who lives in Fishbourne near Chichester said: "We are delighted the cars are being built at Goodwood.

"Rolls-Royce are special cars. Yes, they are expensive but they are exclusive."