In Chichester terms, this is a high-volume compact model. In the less rarefied remainder of the planet, it’s a stout and sexy little tank that is nonetheless built as much for speed as it is for luxury. Best of all, you won’t necessarily need to be a rapper, professional athlete, or Grey Poupon-wielding tweedy to garage it. Just maybe a backup singer to a famous singer, pro benchwarmer, or eccentric Heinz Spicy fanatic.

This, friends, is the much hinted at 2010 Silver Shadow, still referred to generically as New Generation Saloon, or NGS, in the halls of Rolls-Royce. It is set to be similar in size to (though slightly taller than) a regular-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz S-class or Maybach 57, and it is being engineered and planned in parallel with the new-for-2009 “F01” BMW 7-series. The all-important sedan, and the range of like-sized body styles it should foster, will take the factory in the U.K. to two full work shifts and total annual volume eventually approaching 3500 cars (up from a 2006 total of nearly 800 cars).

In recent Rolls-Royce show car terms, last year’s slightly overlooked 101EX coupe comes close for proportional references, although with four doors it won’t seem so long and lanky. A key design priority for the little-big car was to make it beautiful, and not simply sober and sturdy. Much has been taken from the recent Phantom Drophead Coupe for visual detailing, while the past comes to bear with distinctive front and rear side contours influenced by the Silver Cloud II built between 1959 and 1962. The coach-style rear-hinged doors deemed so lovely on the 101EX and Phantom Drophead Coupe will not find their way onto this four-door.

Engines will include the next-generation eight- and twelve-cylinder units being finalized for the next 7-series, with an emphasis placed on adapting the V-8 for Rolls customers so that it comports itself with the splendiferous waftability of the twelve-cylinder. Horsepower for the updated direct-injection 4.8-liter eight-cylinder will begin at 380, while the new 6.0-liter twelve will move up to 460 horsepower. Sounds like plenty for this solid saloon car. Also possibilities are the latest version of the Europe-only 4.5-liter diesel V-8 being readied for the new 7-series, as well as a new hybrid system that will be ready when the 7-series launches in 2008.

Other innovations being undertaken for the ’09 7-series and shared with the Silver Shadow include a new modular aluminum chassis that will incorporate a more dynamics-focused four-wheel air suspension referred to internally as DAS, for Dynamic Air Suspension. A version of xDrive all-wheel drive is also said to be in the cards for this Roller. The four wheels will be more out to the corners than on the 7-series sister car, creating a more stretched feel with shorter overhangs front and rear. It is unclear at this point whether the new car will get its own switchgear to correspond more closely with the Phantom range, or whether some judicious sharing will happen with the 7-series. We hope for the former, as this is one of the key hands-on selling points of a Rolls-Royce. Base price on a new Silver Shadow with V-8 for the United States is meant to slum it down to $250,000. What will be the price tag on the subsequent 2012 Corniche cloth-top convertible version? Think around $325,000.