Rolls Royce: History

Rolls Royce Journey by LEX-57 the lex engine on Scribd

Calendar 2020: Rolls Royce clicked by Moto G 5 Plus eyes.

Rolls Royce Era (1904 - 1969)

The flowchart has been created by me to explain which models were abolished and which were brought in place of it.

It is not the complete chart it shows the era of Rolls Royce from 1904 to 1968.

Click on the chart to enlarge it.

1936: Rolls Royce Phantom III replaces Phantom II

The Rolls-Royce Phantom III was introduced in 1936, it replaced the Phantom II and it was the only V12 Rolls-Royce until the 1998 introduction of the Silver Seraph. Although chassis production ceased in 1939, cars were still being bodied and delivered in 1940 and 1941. 

1936: Rolls Royce Phantom III

1936: 20/25 replaced by Rolls Royce 25/30

• The Rolls-Royce 25/30 built between 1936 and 1938 is an updated version of the 20/25 (launched in 1929) with larger engine to provide more power, as often, over-large bodies had been fitted to the earlier model leading to complaints about its performance.
• Only the chassis and mechanical parts were made by Rolls-Royce. The body was made and fitted by a coachbuilder selected by the owner. Some of the most famous coachbuilders who produced bodies for Rolls Royce cars are Park Ward, Thrupp & Maberly, Mulliner and Hooper.

1936: 20/25 replaced by Rolls Royce 25/30 by LEX-57 the lex engine

1929: 20/25 replacing the RR 20 hp.

Cars by RR (Rolls Royce 20/25) by LEX-57 the lex engine

The Rolls-Royce 20/25 was built between 1929 and 1936. It succeeded Rolls-Royce 20 hp as a "small car". It was intended to appeal to owner drivers, but many were sold to customers with chauffeurs.

1929: Rolls Royce Phantom-II

1929: Phantom-II the last 40/50 model by LEX-57 the lex engine

• The Rolls-Royce Phantom II was the third and last of 40/50 models. It replaced the New Phantom in 1929. After its entry into the market, the New Phantom was named as Phantom-I.  
• It used an improved version of the Phantom I engine in an all-new chassis. A "Continental" version, with a short wheelbase and stiffer springs, was offered. 
• Continental Model. The car body designer Ivan Evernden built a one-off short-wheelbase Phantom, which was designated as 26EX. This car had a tuned engine, and some other improvement. The sales department initially showed nointerest in 26EX but, when Evernden returned to the office from the 1930 Biarritz Grand Concours d' Elegance, (where 26EX had won the Grand Prix d' Honneur), he came to know that the sales department already announced the new "Phantom II Continental Saloon" to be ready for market. Two US-market series, AJS and AMS, were built at Derby.

1922 and 1925: Twenty and Pahantom-I

Cars by RR (1922 and 1925) by LEX-57 the lex engine

1922

• The Rolls-Royce Twenty was built between 1922 and 1929.

1925

• Phantom was produced by Rolls-Royce as a replacement for the original Silver Ghost and second 40/50 hp model. It was introduced as the New Phantom in 1925 and had a larger engine than the Silver Ghost.
• To differentiate between the 40/50 hp models, Rolls-Royce named the new model "New Phantom" and renamed the old model "Silver Ghost", which was the name given to their demonstration example, with Registration No. AX201.
• Further, when the New Phantom was replaced by another 40/50 hp model in 1929, the replacement was named Phantom II and the New Phantom was renamed Phantom I.
• Unlike the Silver Ghost, with side valves, it used pushrod-operated overhead valves. The Phantom was built in Derby in England and in Springfield, Massachusetts in the United States. The US factory produced Phantom I model from 1926 to 1931.
• There were several differences in specification between the English and American Phantoms.

1906: Ghost in Silver Dress

Cars by Rolls Royce: Ghost in Silver Dress by LEX-57 the lex engine

• In 1906, the chasis of 40/50 hp was produced first at Royce'sManchester works. In 1908, production moved to Derby. Between1921 and 1926, the production was shifted to Springfield, Massachusetts.The name Silver Ghost was given to the car bearing chassis no. 60551(registered as AX 201). After that other 40/50 hp cars were called by the name. 
• In 1906, Rolls-Royce produced four chassis for exhibition at the Olympia car show (a four-cylinder 20 hp, a six-cylinder 30 hp, and two examples of a new car designated the 40/50 hp).  
• The 40/50 hp was very new, therefore the show cars were not fully finished, and examples were not provided to the press for testing until March 1907. 
• In 1907, Claude Johnson, the Commercial Managing Director of Rolls-Royce, ordered a car to be used as a demonstrator by the company. It was the 12th 40/50 hp car, bearing chassis no. 60551 and registered AX 201 and was painted in aluminium paint with silver-plated fittings. The car was named the “Silver Ghost” to emphasise its ghost-like quietness, and a sign bearing this name adorned the bulkhead. AX201 was sold in 1908 to a private customer who used it for his annual vacation to Italy and recovered by the company in 1948. Since then, it has been used as a publicity car and travelled worldwide. 
• In 1989, the car was restored by SC Gordon Coach builders Luton, and P&A Wood, London, UK. It is now owned by Bentley Motors. 
• During World War I, development of the Silver Ghost was suspended, but the chassis and engine were supplied for use in a range of Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars. 
• Despite improvements brought in the performance of the 40/50 hp, by the early 1920s, it got strong competition. Its previous superiority vanished. The decline in sales made the company decide to launch its replacement in 1925as the New Phantom. After this, older 40/50 hp models were called Silver Ghosts to avoid confusion.

1905: Small Introduction of V-8 Engine

• Produced in 1905, V-8 was intended to compete with the then popular electric cars used in towns, during beginning of the 20^th century. 
• Claude Johnson, the business partner of C. S. Rolls suggested introducing an internal-combustion-engined in order to overtake the electric car market.The car had to be silent, free of vibration and smoke free. Less emphasis was given on power. The engine would also have to be mounted under the car to give the appearance of a town brougham(a car body style, in which an outside seat was arranged in front for the chauffeur and an enclosed engine was designed in the form of a 90-degree, side-valve,V-8. 
• Though V-8 engine was produced in small numbers, the introduction of the V-8  cars was a decade earlier than the first mass production of a V8 engine by Cadillac. 
• Two body styles were proposed, 
• a Landaulet par Excellence to attack the town electric market and 
• the Legalimit. 

• Only one example of the V-8 was sold, a Legalimit (chassis number 40518) to Sir Alfred Harmsworth. This was later taken back by the factory.

1905: Small Introduction of V-8 Engine by LEX-57 the lex engine