Sales of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars are one guide to what is happening in the rarefied upper levels of the economy.

World-wide, they rose by more than a quarter in the first half of this year. Intriguingly, UK sales were up by more than half, American sales by a third, Japan was holding steady, and only the Continent showed a down-turn.

For the end of the century Rolls-Royce is developing an all-new saloon range. However, it has just been showing its updated 1997 model-year cars, which in some cases have the benefit of light pressure turbocharging for the first time.

The light pressure turbocharger on the Rolls-Royce Silver Spur and the Bentley Brooklands has enhanced the performance without making the cars unwieldy.

In a long wheelbase Silver Spur, the driver is certainly conscious of a very long bonnet stretching ahead, with a kind of dihedral effect over the bonnet top and slightly raised wings. But the car feels agile enough, it turns into corners smoothly, and the 25 per cent power boost shows in the better acceleration and improved mid-range response.

Many customers go the extra financial mile for a long wheelbase version. In fact, the SWB Silver Spirit is being moved to special order status. Its replacement brings back the postwar model name of Silver Dawn, and features the normally aspirated 6.75-litre V8 engine in a long wheelbase chassis.

The Spur perseveres with many familiar Rolls-Royce features, from the massively engineered door hinges and stops, through pull-out controls for the chrome-rimmed fascia vents, to a column-mounted selector for the automatic transmission, rather than Bentley's shift on the floor. But there is also a massive 18-options list for the new alarm system.

One feature which sums up Rolls-Royce is the woodwork. It is not just a matter of slapping on polished wood, but of creating two or three inlays on the same door capping, varnishing them to the highest standards, and also making sure that the walnut fascia matches all the way across.

Building around 1600 cars per year means that the factory can treat its "unquestionably wealthy" customers individually. It is doing remarkably good business through its Mulliner Park Ward division, building one-off bespoke cars.

Nearly 1000 customers visit the Crewe factory every year, and those who have cars on the production line are encouraged to chat to the people building, trimming or fitting them out.

There must be few more satisfying things than being able to say at the golf club, in the boardroom or at an international conference that you dropped in recently to see how your new Rolls-Royce was progressing.