Rolls Royce: History

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

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

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

Rolls Royce: Cars by RR (1904)

Rolls Royce 10 hp, 15 hp, 20 hp and 30 hpwere produced in 1904 by Royce's company, Royce Ltd., at its factory in Manchester. 10 hp was the first car to be produced and to have a badge of Rolls-Royce after an agreement between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. These were sold exclusively by Rolls' motor dealership,C.S. Rolls & Co. 10 hp was priced at GBP395. The 15 hp was priced at GBP500.

CARS BY ROLLS ROYCE by LEX-57 the lex engine

Rolls Royce: the Journey

Rolls Royce Journey by LEX-57 the lex engine

Its about the journey of the famous automobile brand Rolls Royce. From its birth to its fame, it has seen many ups and downs in its life span of more than 100 years.

1884

Henry Royce started an electrical and mechanical business.

1904

• Royce made his first car, a two-cylinder Royce 10, in his Manchester factory and introduced to Charles Rolls that year, who was proprietor of an early motor car dealership, C. S. Rolls & Co. in Fulham. 
• In the same year a partnership began between Rolls and Royce.
• Rolls preferred three or four cylinder cars. But he was impressed with the Royce 10 (being a two cylinder car). He agreed to take all the cars Royce could make. There would be four models (10 hp, 15 hp, 20 hp and 30 hp)
• It was agreed that all models would have a badge of Rolls-Royce, and be sold exclusively by Rolls.
• In December the first Rolls-Royce car, the Rolls-Royce 10 hp, was unveiled at the Paris Salon in.

1906

• 15th March 1906, Rolls-Royce Limited formed as a result of partnership. New premises were required for production of cars. After considering an offer from Derby's council of cheap electricity, the decision was taken to acquire a site on the southern edge of that city.
• The 40/50 hp was developed as the company's first all-new model. This chassis was used for Rolls Royce Armoured Car. 
• 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.
• But the 40/50 hp was so new that the show cars were not fully finished, and examples were not provided to the press for testing until March 1907. 
• 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.

1908

• In March 1908, Claude Johnson, Commercial Managing Director also described as the hyphen in Rolls-Royce, persuaded that Rolls-Royce should concentrate exclusively on the new model. Hence, all the earlier models were duly discontinued.
• The factory began with a formal opening on 9th July 1908 by Sir John Montagu.

1914

• Aero engine manufacturing was started by Rolls-Royce.

1921 

• The company opened a second factory in Springfield, Massachusetts in the United States (to help meet demand), where a further 1,701 "Springfield Silver Ghosts" were built. The factory was closed in 1931.

1922

• Rolls Royce introduced the smaller and cheaper Twenty in 1922, effectively ending the one-model policy followed since 1908.

1925

• Despite several improvements in 40/50, by the early 1920s the performance of the Silver Ghost's competitors had improved to the extent that its previous superiority had been eroded. 
• Sales of 40/50 declined from 742 in 1913 to 430 in 1922. 
• Therefore the company decided to launch its replacement which was introduced in 1925 as the New Phantom, after the launch of which the older 40/50 models were referred to as the Silver Ghost to avoid confusion.

1931

• Rolls Royce acquired car maker Bantley, which splintered in the wake of the Great Depression. From World War II until 2002 standard Bentley and Rolls-Royce cars were often identical apart from the radiator grille and minor details.
• Bentley was purchased by Volkswagen AG in 1998.

1933

• The colour of the Rolls-Royce radiator monogram was changed from red to black.

1946

• Rolls-Royce and Bentley car production moved to Crewe, where they began to assemble complete cars (the new standard steel models) for the first time. Before 1946, they had built only the chassis, leaving the bodies to specialist coachbuilders.

1971

• Due to costs of developing the advanced RB211 jet engine, the financial status of the company splintered. 
• Hence, the company went was nationalised as Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited.

1973

• The car division of the company was separated as Rolls-Royce Motors.

1987

• The company Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited was privatised as Rolls-Royce Plc.