Silver Shadow II is the last real Rolls-Royce. Bentley Continental R is the best looking car Rolls-Royce has ever made. I have both. The former was made in 1978 and the latter in 1998. In those twenty years the world has gone from no computers to computer dependence, manufacturing has shifted from west to east and terrorists are more threatening than countries. Whilst the world changed, did design at Rolls-Royce keep pace?

Shadow was launched in the '60s and the older it gets the more elegant it looks. Whereas Shadow has flat surfaces, edges and stainless embellishments, Continental R has curves, sweeps and haunches. This car looks fast even at standstill. The four doors of Shadow with ample space in the back and an enormous boot make it a practical car for any journey. With two doors, Continental R is less convenient. When squirming in behind the steering wheel, remember to bend your head. You will only make the mistake once. Entry to the rear is behind sliding front seats. If Continental R feels compact and looks squat you will be surprised when driving into the garage that she is in fact about six inches wider (across the extremities of the mirrors) than Shadow and three inches longer. By being lower, Continental R looks smaller and is easier to clean.

The leather interiors of both cars are superb. The dashboard of Continental R sweeps down between the seats and can continue backwards with another roll-top divider. We have exchanged this rear partition for a simpler division until my daughter learns not to kick chunks out of the leather. Shadow II is all practicality and an improvement on its predecessor of 1976 which also had the extended down sweeping front divider. All the information a driver requires is presented on the Shadow II dash. Continental R has more and the extra is unnecessary. The rev counter for example is interesting but with automatic gears is irrelevant. A cluster of temperature gauges decorate the central dash and have to be ignored unless smoke or steam should suddenly appear. Two features of Shadow which to me are ergonomics at their best are the column mounted gear lever and the foot operated dip switch. This is a last of line car built by a team oblivious to what their competitors were doing; they only concentrated on improving their own model. Pity they neglected the wipers. Such foibles make character.

Start up the Shadow and depending on the fuel in the two carburettors she will either fire instantly or rotate a number of turns. Continental R has fuel injection and computer chips controlling everything so she starts perfectly always, hot or cold. Settle yourself into your seat. Shadow's control lever is another foible and you can spend some frustrating miles tilting and sliding until you feel comfortable. Shoot anyone who alters your setting. Bentley has a lever which looks like a seat. It is obvious which way to move the lever. Don't move it back too far because it won't go. Not surprising with restricted leg room at the back. So where has the car's extra length gone? It is not in the boot.

Now click Shadow II into D for drive. The change up from first gear to second jerks. From second to top (there are only three gears) is painless. Continental R's gears are all smooth. There are about four of them but there isn't time to count. She can out-run anything else on the road and the only restraint is your self respect. Sometimes the road runs up hill straight and whilst everyone else slows down to sixty this feline comes off her haunches, the speedo needle swings to the right and you are doing no more than holding your right foot to the floor until you run out of road; illegal and irresistible.

Meanwhile, back down the road, Shadow II stays in line behaving herself because she has to. Once a fast car and now no slower, everything else has got faster including the lorries. Still a 120 mph car, she can keep pace with modern traffic and that's all you need. Having got the seat in the perfect position with your elbows on the armrests, this is the car for a very long journey. With Harvey Bailey suspension and lower profile tyres on alloy wheels, the suspension is firmer than Continental R. Not uncomfortable but controllable. Information through the seat. You know what the tyres are doing and unless you lapse you won't misjudge and skid. Continental R has a softer ride and when the bumps are to one side only this seems to catch her out and she shakes so you have to grip the chunky, saddle stitched steering wheel.

Relax with the music. Continental R is as good as the Quad electrostatics in my lounge. There are speakers everywhere of all sizes. You can play six CDs and slot in tapes. Shadow II has a newer system that takes ten CDs but not tapes and has a more sensitive radio tuner than Continental R's Alpine. Shadow only has four door mounted speakers and even though they have been upgraded from the originals they can't equal the layout in Continental R. Which car do I prefer? It is difficult to answer. Which car would I not be without? That's easier - Shadow II. For a really long journey, the seating position in the Shadow is ideal. The boot space is as good as a van. Deprived of temptation in the slower car, I remain relaxed.

Where does the fleet go from here? Not with the faster Audi like Bentleys. Excellent cars that they are, Phantom beats them all. BMW have made a car faster than Continental R, lighter than Continental GT and it is the smoothest, quietest car ever built. Maybe it isn't a real Rolls-Royce and maybe we will forget its origins and perceive a link that runs from Derby to Crewe to Goodwood so, badging apart, this is now the best car in the world. It is so agile. Despite the size, you can throw it about like Paddy Hopkirk's Mini. The trouble is, those clever people in Goodwood have seen me coming and made a two door, soft top version. You might criticise the styling of Phantom but you will drool over 100EX as the prototype is called. If ever a big car can look better than Continental R, this is it. It fits me perfectly and with Phantom's powerful engine and gears, rumoured to be six, I could overtake a Continental R anytime I want to surrender my driving licence. Put me back on my bicycle.

© Andrew Hague 16-12-05