Rolls-Royce surpassed the magical 1,000 barrier in terms of sales throughout 2009, with demand for the Ghost model proving especially high.

Over 150 versions of the Rolls-Royce Ghost alone were delivered to customers during December, with Lunar Blue, Ensign Red and Darkest Tungsten among the colour choices available.

Meanwhile, there was also strong demand witnessed for the Rolls-Royce Phantom, with the four-door versions of the model making up over a third of the overall total of 1,002 vehicles sold.

Tom Purves, Rolls-Royce chief executive officer, was especially pleased with the results after the motoring industry as a whole especially struggled during the first half of 2009.

He said: "This is a tremendous result and a particularly strong performance considering the challenging economic environment that all manufacturers faced in 2009.

"Rolls-Royce has maintained its position at the pinnacle of the super luxury automotive market and much of this success is due to our highly skilled and dedicated workforce."

The Rolls-Royce Ghost has a top speed of 155 miles per hour, with its V12 engine able to accelerate from still to 60 miles per hour in 4.7 seconds.

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Written by Peter Grant