The beginning of a legend

The Rolls-Royce name commemorates two of the most influential people to emerge at the beginning of the UK motor industry who shared a common vision to bring quality and perfection to the growing and somewhat haphazard world of the motor car.

Charles Stewart Rolls

Frederick Henry Royce

Henry Royce and Charles Rolls came from very different backgrounds, but in the late 1800s both were caught up in the excitement and novelty of motoring. Most of the few cars on British roads were imported from Europe and driving was as much a matter of unreliability and adventure as it was of travelling.

Frederick Henry Royce

Frederick Henry Royce was born on 27 March, 1863, the son of an impoverished miller from Alwalton, near Peterborough. From the age of nine he was forced to seek work, following his father`s death. His first job was as a newspaper boy for W.H. Smith and Sons in London and then as a telegraph messenger.

At the age of 14 he became an apprentice with the Great Northern Railway works at Peterborough. There he learned the basics of engineering, while at his lodgings he was able to use hand and bench tools and lathe work in a well equipped workshop owned by his landlord, a Mr Yarrow.

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Financial hardship meant that, at the age of 17, Royce was once again looking for work and in 1880, he joined a firm of machine tool makers in Leeds, where he worked a 54 hour week for 11 shillings (55pence) and also found the time to study the emerging science of electrical engineering.

With his self-taught knowledge of electricity he progressed through one of the first electric light companies to become, at the age of 19, technical advisor to the Lancashire Maxim and Western Electric Company. Three years later he and a friend, Ernest Claremont, set up their own business as electrical engineers in Cooke Street, Manchester.

Royce had £20 capital and Claremont £50 for the business venture but their prosperity grew after Royce designed a small electric bell which sold for one shilling and six pence. The pair expanded into dynamos, electric light fittings and electric cranes. F.H. Royce and Company went from strength to strength with a reputation for quality and reliability, which followed one of Royce’s maxims "The quality remains after the price is forgotten."

In 1893 with his financial future looking brighter, Royce married Minnie Punt, daughter of a London printer, and built a house at Knutsford. In 1903 Royce bought himself a 10hp French Decauville car for the journey between his home and the factory.

While the Decauville was one of the more sophisticated cars on sale at the time, Royce was clearly irritated by the noise and vibration, and started to spend more and more time experimenting on carburation, ignition and general refinement, before announcing that he was going to build a batch of three cars to his own design.

These "light cars" designed by Royce and built by him and two apprentices, were produced in part of the Cooke Street factory in the Spring of 1904. The first car started easily, ran smoothly and quickly and was very reliable - qualities which always impressed everyone who saw or rode in it.



Charles Stewart Rolls

While Royce was working hard to improve himself and raise himself from poverty through his engineering abilities, Charles Stewart Rolls was living at the other end of the social spectrum. Rolls was born into the British aristocracy in 1877, being the third son of Lord and Lady Llangattock.

Like most young men in similar families, Rolls was not troubled by the need to actually work for a living. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge University and seemingly was destined for a life of ease and luxury. However he had a natural flair for engineering and gained a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Sciences.

While at Cambridge he became interested in cars and with his father went to France to experience what was then seen as "the Continental pastime of motoring". On his return he imported a Peugeot car in 1896 and with the 19-year-old Rolls at the wheel, it became something of a sensation, as the first car ever seen at Cambridge, regularly flouting the 4 mph speed limit!

When he drove the Peugeot to the family home in Monmouth, Wales, the journey took Rolls two days with many hours spent at the roadside working to keep it going. By the time Rolls graduated from Cambridge he was probably the most skilful driver in Britain.

In 1900 Rolls dominated the Automobile Club’s 1,000 Miles Trial in his 12hp Panhard. Such was his outstanding performance in all sections, including hill-climbing and speed contests that a special gold medal was struck in his honour.

Rolls combined his ability and enthusiasm for driving with business acumen by establishing his own business, C.S. Rolls and Co, which quickly became a leading motor car distributor. He persuaded Claude Johnson, who had been the Royal Automobile Club Secretary, and a major figure in British motoring, to join the firm as a partner.

While the business flourished by selling imported cars, Rolls harboured two ambitions. Firstly he wanted his name to be directly associated with cars and secondly he wanted to find a British car which was as good, if not better, than the ones he was selling.

Rolls meets Royce

It was the second of the three experimental cars made by Royce, which was the catalyst to the first meeting of the two men. Henry Edmunds, a director of Royce Ltd, told Charles Rolls about the two-cylinder car and persuaded him to travel to Manchester to see the car and its creator.

On 4 May 1904, Rolls, Edmunds and Royce met at the Midland Hotel. Rolls was initially sceptical about the abilities of a two-cylinder powered car to be as refined as he believed would be necessary to appeal to his customers. However after a drive he became totally supportive and said later that Royce "was the man I have been looking for years".

Rolls was anxious to have exclusive rights to sell Royce cars and an agreement was drawn up for C.S. Rolls and Co. to take all the motor cars made by Royce Ltd. The agreement, which was finally signed on 23 December 1904 included a clause stipulating that the cars should be called "Rolls-Royce". At Rolls request, work started in earnest to build a range of cars to be exhibited at the Paris Salon in early December 1904. A 10hp Royce car, a 10hp Rolls-Royce car, a 15hp and a 20hp incomplete car and a 30hp 6-cylinder engine were all produced and exhibited.

In anticipation of the formal agreement between Rolls and Royce the 10hp car carried the Rolls-Royce radiator and name. The Rolls-Royce company was formed in March 1906 and the following year Royce produced the Silver Ghost, which was to set the standard for all models that followed.

As was standard practice, Rolls-Royce cars were produced in chassis form for specialist coachbuilders to add the individual body style ordered by customers. Rolls-Royce cars maintained this tradition until 1946.

Charles Rolls, tragically, did not enjoy the full success that his partnership with Royce became. As well as motor racing, he also had a passion for flying, being a pioneer in the air as well as on the ground. He died in a flying accident at Bournemouth on 12 July 1910, being the first Englishman to be killed in an aircraft.

Henry Royce (he dropped his first name of Frederick) continued to create outstanding cars and the Rolls-Royce business flourished, outgrowing its original Manchester premises to expand with a new factory at first Derby (1908), then at Crewe (1938 for aero engines, and 1945 for car production) until the all new Rolls-Royce manufacturing plant and head office was opened at Goodwood, West Sussex in 2003.

In 1931 Rolls-Royce acquired their rival, Bentley, which remained within the organisation until the end of 2002, with Bentley versions of Rolls-Royce models providing a second model line.

Royce was created a Baronet for his services to motoring and aero engines in 1930. He lived in West Wittering, less than 10 miles from Goodwood, from 1917 until he died, at the age of 70, on 22 April 1933.

Rolls-Royce expanded into the development and production of aero engines (see below) and in 1971, the aero engine division required government funding to enable it to continue development work. This resulted in the flotation of the car business as a separate company in 1973。

Subsequently the resulting Rolls-Royce motor car company at Crewe became part of Vickers plc, with the aero engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce plc keeping the rights to the marque.

The new Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited at Goodwood

In 1998 the existing production facilities at Crewe plus the Bentley name were sold by Vickers plc to Volkswagen, whereas the BMW AG acquired the rights to the Rolls-Royce marque for automotive business from Rolls-Royce plc for the continued development and production of Rolls-Royce motor cars at an entirely new plant from January 2003 onwards.

For the new generation of Rolls-Royce motor cars, an engineering and design team was established in central London during 1999 to create the car, which was to become the new Phantom.

Simultaneously an extensive search of locations was undertaken to find an appropriate site for the future head office and manufacturing plant within the UK.

The decision was made that a site on the Goodwood Estate, near Chichester in West Sussex would become the new home of Rolls-Royce motor cars, the sixth in the company’s history, after Manchester, Derby, Crewe, London and Springfield.

In January 2003 the all new Phantom was launched to the world by the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited, now being a stand alone company of the BMW Group, produced from its new plant at Goodwood, on schedule, as planned five years previously.

Milestones of Motoring

During the past 90 years Rolls-Royce motor cars have graced the world’s motoring scene and it is estimated that more than 60 per cent of all motor cars produced by the company during this period are still in use, somewhere in the world.

The Rolls-Royce 40/50hp "Silver Ghost", 1907- 1925

The Silver Ghost was introduced in 1907 and remained in production until 1925 with 7,870 examples being built. The model was considered by Royce himself to be the best car he had ever made and it became known as "the best car in the world."

About 1,700 Silver Ghost models were made in Springfield, USA, where Rolls-Royce established a factory in 1921 to cope with demand and to minimise transportation costs and import duties. Production in the USA stopped in 1931 for cost reasons.

The Silver Ghost firmly established the reputation of the marque for refinement, reliability and quality with the Autocar magazine of 1907 reporting: "the motor beneath the bonnet might be a silent sewing machine…there is no realisation of driving propulsion; the feeling as the passenger sits either at the front or back of the vehicle is one of being wafted through the landscape."

Waftability became the description within the company of the unique combination of effortless power and refinement for which all Rolls-Royce cars have become famous throughout the past 90 years.

The Rolls-Royce 20hp, 1922-1929

To meet the demand for smaller cars in the UK, Royce created the Twenty, 20hp - or "the baby Rolls-Royce" as it became known. The car sacrificed none of the Rolls-Royce standards of silence, comfort and ease of control but its excellent performance for its smaller size with a top speed of 62 mph made it very popular with owner-drivers and 2,940 were produced.

In 1929 the 20/25 was introduced, a natural progression from the 20hp, but with an increased cylinder bore, making it considerably faster with a top speed of over 75 mph. A total of 3,827 were produced by the end of production in 1936. The 25/30hp was introduced in 1936 with a 4,257cc, 6-cylinder engine of which 1,201 were built.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom Series

The Phantom Series spanned the period from 1925 until 1968 with the Phantom I being produced between 1925 and 1929. The new Phantom was a development of the Silver Ghost fitted with an overhead valve engine, giving it superior performance. The chassis provided coachbuilders both in Britain and America with the basis of some of the most beautiful body styles ever seen. A total of 3,502 Phantom I cars were produced.

The Phantom II continued the coachbuilding traditions seen on the Phantom I but with an improved suspension system and a Continental model with a shorter chassis was also manufactured. Between 1929 and 1935 1,680 models were produced.

The Phantom III, between 1936 and 1939 was powered by a 7,340cc V-12 engine and was capable of more than100 mph. It was the first Rolls-Royce model to be fitted with independent front suspension. A total of 727 were produced.

The Phantom IV was produced for Royalty and Heads of State only with just 18 examples being manufactured, between 1950 and 1956.

The Phantom V was based on the Silver Cloud II but with a lengthened chassis. The overall length provided enormous scope for coachbuilders and the weight distribution was such that its handling was very similar to that of a smaller model. Between 1959 and 1968, 832 cars were produced.

The Phantom VI was a seven seat, four-door limousine, handbuilt at Mulliner Park Ward. The Phantom VI Special Landaulette was built to special order only in strictly limited production. Total production of the Phantom VI between 1968 and 1991 reached 374 motor cars.

The Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn, 1949-1955

The Silver Dawn represented a return to post-war production, and a new departure for the company as the first model to have a pressed steel body, rather than independent coachwork. The car was initially produced mainly for export but was later made available for the British market. In total 761 models were produced.

The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I, II and III, 1955-1966

The Silver Cloud, in three series, from 1955 to 1966 produced 7,868 models in a more streamlined body style. It is seen by many as the archetypal post war Rolls-Royce motor car. The first series was the last of the 6-cylinder engined cars. With its long coachwork, combined with many engineering improvements the car became the best-selling Rolls-Royce. Silver Cloud II was introduced in 1959 with a new aluminium 6,230 cc V-8 engine and in 1962 Silver Cloud III was launched with a lower bonnet line and coachwork featuring four headlamps.

The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, 1965-1980

The Silver Shadow introduced many changes both in construction, engineering features and appearance. For the first time it incorporated unitary construction, all-round independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, automatic suspension levelling and full power braking. A total of 20,604 were manufactured. The Silver Shadow II, from 1977 until 1980 featured a revised steering system and body styling and a further 8,425 models were produced.

The Rolls-Royce Corniche, 1971-1987

The Corniche was hand-built at Mulliner Park Ward, London and was originally available as a two door saloon and as a convertible with a total production of 4347 motor cars. The two door saloon was discontinued in 1981. When the new Corniche was launched as part of the Silver Seraph range (see below), Park Ward again undertook the coachwork for the long wheelbase and convertible models.

During the 1980s the company introduced the Silver Spirit, a four door saloon, powered by the light alloy V-8 engine; the Silver Spirit II was launched in 1990 with a long wheelbase counterpart, known as the Silver Spur.

The Rolls-Royce Silver Spur Centenary,1985

The 100,000th Rolls-Royce motor car, calculated by aggregating all Rolls-Royce models produced together with post 1931 Bentleys, was commemorated by the production of a limited edition of 25 Silver Spur models. Each one had several "silver" extras in keeping with the tradition established by the 1907 Silver Ghost.

The Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, 1998-2002

Launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1998, the Silver Seraph became the last major new model built at Crewe (1,570 motor cars), along with its long wheelbase version Park Ward (129) and the Corniche convertible (374). Being already a major development partner by then, BMW supplied the Crewe factory with its V12 engines, air conditioning and airbag components as well as seats and numerous electronics.

"The Spirit of Ecstasy"

The Spirit of Ecstasy statuette is probably the best known motor car mascot in the world, and has adorned the radiators of Rolls-Royce motor cars since 1911.

It was at that time that the company had become concerned that some owners had taken to mounting rather odd and frivolous ornaments on top of the radiator, not at all in keeping with the style and ethos of a Rolls-Royce!

As ever seeking perfection in all aspects of its motor cars, the directors of Rolls-Royce, turned to Charles Robinson Sykes, a prominent artist who had produced a series of paintings of Silver Ghost models, owned by Lord John Montagu of Beaulieu to produce a radiator mascot which captured the spirit of the marque.

The company explained that the authorised figurine would be "in the model of a little lady, the spirit of the Rolls-Royce - namely, speed with silence, absence of vibration, the mysterious harnessing of great energy, a beautiful living organism of superb grace like a sailing yacht.

"Such is the spirit of the Rolls-Royce and such is the combination of virtues which Mr Charles Sykes has expressed so admirably in the graceful little lady who is designed as a figurehead of the Rolls-Royce."

Rolls-Royce agreed that Sykes would be the sole supplier of the mascot and production was initially organised from the Sykes family home in Brompton Road, West London. The identity of the model for the figurine has been one of continuing controversy and rumour and it was suggested that she was, in fact, Eleanor Thornton, the personal assistant to Lord Montagu at the time.

Rolls-Royce engines in the Air

As well as producing world-famous motor cars, Henry Royce also developed some of the finest aero-engines of the first part of the 20th century. In 1914 the British Government approached him to build up the country’s aero-engine capacity. The first engine was called the Eagle, followed by the Hawk, Vulcan and Condor.

These engines transformed the perceptions of aero-engines, having servicing intervals of more than double that of all their competitors, yet providing huge power with reliability.

In 1919, Alcock and Brown made the first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic by air in a Vickers Vimy aircraft, powered by two Rolls-Royce engines. The "R" engine was developed to compete in the Schneider Trophy seaplane race and in 1931 a Rolls-Royce powered plane set a new world air speed record of more than 400 mph. It was from this engine that the world-famous Merlin V-12 engine was developed by Rolls-Royce.

The Merlin became so successful that it altered the structure of the Rolls-Royce company, with production taking over the Derby, Crewe and Glasgow factories and car production transferring to Crewe in 1945. In total more than 160,000 Rolls-Royce Merlin engines were produced in Britain and the United States.

In 1971 the Aero Division of Rolls-Royce required government support and the organisation was divided into two separate parts, Rolls-Royce plc for the aero engine business and Rolls-Royce Motors Ltd which continued to produce Rolls-Royce motor cars.


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