In our second in a series on high-end UK manufacturing, we visit the artisans producing rich clients’ bespoke luxury cars

• ‘Our town is making jeans again’: meet the firm reviving jobs and skills in Wales

They are the plaything of kings, presidents and A-listers, with Rolls-Royce enthusiasts ranging from the Sultan of Brunei to Rowan Atkinson, from King Charles III to Kermit the frog.

And at the carmaker’s factory in Goodwood, West Sussex, special requests from customers get more indulgent every year. An interior lined with 3,000 iridescent feathers, or a built-in champagne cooler, or a car built in homage to its owners’ dog, have all become part of the job.

Latest model is launching in New York to target rich US buyers – and is more than 5.2 metres long and 2 metres wide

It has no rear window, will not fit into a UK parking space and – starting at £130,000 – ($172,000) is aimed squarely at rich tech industry buyers driving the wide open roads of America.

Jaguar’s electric car, the Type 01, was launched in New York on Tuesday night and marks the culmination of a two-year rebrand that has been one of the most scrutinised in automotive history.