Hamann Rolls-Royce Phantom news - How not to Rolls - 2009

There are few classier ways to travel than in the Rolls-Royce Phantom. Unless, that is, you hand your Phantom over to German tuning firm Hamann for a spot of 'personalisation'.

We saw Hamann's modified BMW 7-Series earlier this week, but the Phantom - available in either hard-top or Drophead guise - makes that look veritably tasteful by comparison.

Let's start with the power. Evidently deciding that 453bhp from the 6.75-litre V12 was grossly insufficient, Hamann has bumped power up to 535bhp, with torque rising from 531lb ft to 622lb ft. The Phantom should hit 60mph in around five seconds flat, while top speed is now a truly uncouth 190mph.

But it's the visual, er, enhancements that really say, "Class? Taste? Understatement? Never heard of them..." The Hamann Phantom gets 23-inch split-rim alloys - the standard car sports far more modest 21-inchers - and (ready for this?) a sports steering wheel.

Yes, that's a sports steering wheel. In a Phantom. What next? Walnut veneer in your Atom 500? A diesel Porsche? Oh, hang on...