Rolls Royce history

The meeting led to an agreement that Rolls would exclusively sell as many cars as Royce could produce. The marque launched in 1904 following a verbal agreement made back in May although a formal agreement was not signed between the two until December. C.S. Rolls & Co were the sole agents for a series of two, three, four and six cylinder cars that broke the mould for engineering and craftsmanship. By 1907 Royce had created the first Silver Ghost, a car of legendary smoothness that completed a 14,371-mile virtually non-stop run that led a journalist to call it 'the best car in the world'.

Charles Rolls

Charles Rolls trained as a mechanical engineer at Cambridge.  The first undergraduate to own a car, he soon began racing and to fund his passion set up a car dealership, selling mostly foreign cars.
By 1903 he was looking for a supplier of reliable English cars which led to his introduction to Henry Royce.  Rolls was also an accomplished pilot, he was the first aviator to complete a double crossing of the English Channel.
Tragically, he was killed when his aircraft crashed at an air show in July 1910.

Henry Royce

Henry Royce had a passion for engineering and set up his first business at the age of 21. Known for his attention to detail and pursuit of perfection, he registered his first patent (the bayonet lamp socket) in 1887 and went on to produce dynamos, electrical motors and world-renowned cranes.
Dissatisfied with his first car in 1902 - a Decauville - Royce characteristically decided he could improve on it and turned his attention to build the best motor cars in the world.
By the end of 1903 Royce had designed and built his first engine and the first of three prototypes took to the road in 1904.

Silver Ghost

First introduced in 1907, the 40/50 HP, later to become known as the Silver Ghost, remained in production until 1925.
It was powered by a six-cylinder engine in two blocks of three and originally displaced 7,036cc but in 1909 this was increased to 7,428cc.
Best-known body styles included the Barker Tourer, Hooper Landaulet, the London-Edinburgh type and Barker enclosed cabriolet.
The first cars were built in Royce's Cooke Street factory in Manchester but following the success of the Silver Ghost, the company moved to a custom-built factory, designed by Royce, in Nightingale Road, Derby.

In 1929 Rolls-Royce developed the 'R' engine to power Britain's entry in the Intercontinental Schneider Trophy seaplane contest. Royce reputedly sketched its design in the sand at West Wittering with his walking stick. The RR-powered aircraft went on to not only win the contest but also establish a new world air speed record in the process. It was this engine that would ultimately be developed into the legendary Merlin, which powered allied aircraft such as the Spitfire, Hurricane, Lancaster and numerous other planes.

Rolls-Royce 20 HP

 The aptly named Rolls-Royce 20 HP, also known as the 'baby' Rolls-Royce, was launched in 1922. Aimed toward owner-drivers it became popular with the burgeoning professional middle classes of doctors, solicitors and businessmen. Its engine was a straight six-cylinder with a capacity of 3,127 cc and had a maximum speed of 62 mph.

Phantom I

In 1925 the Silver Ghost was replaced by the "New Phantom", which was later known as Phantom I. The last batch of Silver Ghosts was built in 1927 as armoured car chassis for the Russian Trade Delegation "ARCOS".  The Phantom was built both in the UK and in a new factory in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Sir Malcolm Campbell broke the land speed record in 1933 in Bluebird, with a speed of 272.46 mph at Daytona Beach on 22 February 1933. This record was broken in 1937 by George Eyston with a speed of 312.2 mph in Thunderbolt, which was powered by two Rolls-Royce 'R' engines.
Miss England II was one of a succession of Rolls-Royce 'R' engine-powered speedboats. Moments after breaking the world record with a speed of 119 mph Sir Henry Seagrove was involved in a fatal collision with a stump of wood in the water.

Miss England II was one of a succession of Rolls-Royce 'R' engine-powered speedboats. Moments after breaking the world record with a speed of 119 mph Sir Henry Seagrove was involved in a fatal collision with a stump of wood in the water.

The Phantom II

The Phantom II had a much-improved chassis, which made it the ideal choice for those who thought nothing of finishing work on a Friday and heading down to the South of France for the weekend. Better-known body styles were the Barker close-coupled touring saloon; Park Ward Continental coupe and Barker torpedo tourer. The Park Ward Continental would do 92.3 mph and 0-60 in 19.4 seconds.

Phantom III

The Phantom III was Rolls-Royce's first V12 engined car - a 60 degree unit of 7,340cc. Better known body styles are: Park Ward limousine and sedanca de ville; Hooper sedanca de ville. Performance for Park Ward limousine: 91.84mph and 0-60 in 16.8 seconds.

1940 
With peace restored, Rolls-Royce had totally changed in nature. It went from being what had been described as a "brilliant sprat in the ocean of technology" into a world contender in aeropropulsion. This was demonstrated with the Gloster Meteor which, powered by R-R Derwent V engines, established a new world air speed record of 606 mph.

Silver Wraiths

All the Silver Wraiths had coachbuilt bodies. They continued in production until 1959 using the 4887cc engine to cope with increasingly heavy bodies such as H.J. Mulliner sedanca de ville and Hooper touring limousine.

Silver Dawn

The Silver Dawn was the first Rolls-Royce to be sold with a standard steel body and all were exported. A few were fitted with coachbuilt bodies and these are very collectable. The six-cylinder in-line engine of 4,257cc was enlarged to 4.5-litre in 1951 and then to 4.9-litres in 1954.

Phantom IV

In 1950, HRH Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh broke a long-standing royal tradition and took delivery of the first Phantom IV. Designed exclusively for Royalty and Heads of State, the Phantom IV is one of the rarest Rolls-Royces in the world, with only 18 ever being produced.

Silver Cloud

1955 saw the introduction of the Silver Cloud. Capable of a top speed of 106 mph, it featured the same 4,887cc engine as the Dawn and a completely new and handsome standard steel body, which was designed by J.P. Blatchley.

As the decade drew to an end the Phantom V replaced the Phantom IV. Powered by a V8 engine and featuring a coachbuilt body, it sold in significantly greater numbers than its predecessor.

The 1960s

The Yellow Rolls-Royce

In 1965, a yellow Barker-bodied Phantom II shared the limelight alongside Omar Sharif, Ingrid Bergman and Rex Harrison in The Yellow Rolls-Royce.  In the same year John Lennon took delivery of a Phantom V. It left the factory with a plain white finish, which Lennon had repainted in matt black. Becoming bored with this new finish he had it repainted with a psychedelic design, and this Rolls-Royce is now one of the most valuable pieces of pop memorabilia.

Silver Shadow I

Introduced in 1965, the Silver Shadow I was the first Rolls-Royce to feature a monocoque chassis. It had a top speed limited to 118 mph and was capable of producing 220BHP at 4,500 rpm.

 The 1970s

Cornich

The stylish two-door coachbuilt Corniche was based on the Silver Shadow, but built by hand by Mulliner Park Ward. The Corniche was available as either a hardtop or a convertible. During its lifetime a total of 1,306 were manufactured.

Camargue

Like the Corniche, the Camargue was coachbuilt on a Silver Shadow platform by Mulliner Park Ward, but was styled by the Italian design house Pininfarina. The two-door coupé was the first Rolls-Royce designed to metric dimensions and had advanced features such as automatic split-level air conditioning.

 The Silver Shadow II was an all-improved version of the previous model with changes in external appearance, particularly wrap-around black bumpers and an air dam below the front and with better handling characteristics.

 The 1980s

Silver Spirit

The Silver Spirit took the Silver Shadow floor pan as its starting point, but clothed it in a body that was both more modern and more elegant.

Silver Spur

The Silver Spur added four inches to the Spirit wheelbase. 25 Silver Spur Centenary models were built in 1985, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the motor car in Great Britain. The Silver Spur was also built in limousine form, stretched by up to 42 inches.

The 1990s

Silver Seraph

The last Rolls-Royce model built at Crewe, the Silver Seraph was effectively the first all-new Rolls-Royce since the launch of the Silver Shadow more than 30 years earlier. Developed with help from BMW, it was powered by a 5.4-litre BMW V12 engine.

Corniche

The Corniche was first Rolls-Royce of the new millennium and shared many styling cues with the Silver Seraph, but used the familiar V8. Thanks to its greater torque, the V8 was felt better suited to the wafting Corniche.

The Present

The Rolls-Royce headquarters and assembly plant lies in the Sussex Downs at Goodwood. Shaped by the vision of world-renowned architect, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the facility inpires everyone who works there and sits sympathetically within the natural beauty of its setting.

The launch of the Phantom in 2003 marked the start of a new era for Rolls-Royce, redefining the marque for the 21st century. Phantom, and Phantom Extended Wheelbase, set new benchmarks for the luxury car market and continue to set the pace. Joining Phantom in 2007, the less formal Drophead Coupé re-established Rolls-Royce as the manufacturer of the ultimate open air, romantic motoring icon.
The most driver-focused Rolls-Royce ever produced, the sleek and seductive Phantom Coupé, completed the family in 2008.

Ghos

The launch of Ghost marks the next stage in the evolution of the marque. To develop and build the most technologically advanced Rolls-Royce ever requires significant investment in the workforce and the assembly plant at Goodwood.

Source:rolls-roycemotorcars.com