Rolls-Royce

The Rolls-Royce 10 hp was the first car to be produced as a result of an agreement of 23 December 1904 between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce, and badged as a Rolls-Royce.The 10hp was produced by Royce's company, Royce Ltd., at its factory in Trafford Park, Manchester, and was sold exclusively by Rolls' motor dealership, C.S.Rolls & Co., at a price of GBP395. The 10hp was exhibited at the Paris Salon in December 1904, along with 15hp and 20hp cars and engine for the 30hp models.

1904 - 1906

The Rolls-Royce 15 hp was one of four cars to be produced as a result of an agreement of 23 December 1904 between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Badged as a Rolls-Royce,the 15hp was produced by Royce's company, Royce Ltd., at its factory in Trafford Park, Manchester. It was sold exclusively by Rolls' motor dealership, C.S.Rolls & Co., at a price of GBP500.^[4][1] The 15hp was exhibited at the Paris Salon in December 1904, along with the 10hp, 20hp and engine for the 30hp models, but as the new three cylinder engine was not ready the chassis was incomplete.

1905

The Rolls-Royce V-8 was a car produced by Rolls-Royce in 1905 intended to compete with the then popular electric cars used in towns.

Claude Johnson, business partner of C. S. Rolls suggested there would be a market for an internal combustion engined car that could take on the electric car market. To do this it would have to be silent, free of vibration and smoke free. The engine would also have to be mounted under the car to give the appearance of a town brougham and so needed to be very shallow. To do this Henry Royce designed a completely new engine in the form of a 90 degree, side valve, 3,535 cc (215.7 cu in), V-8. To reduce fumes the then common drip lubrication was replaced by a pressure system. The power also seems to have been limited to maximise smooth running.

V-8

Two body styles were proposed, a Landaulet par Excellence to attack the town electric market and the Legalimit which was governed so as not to allow the then United Kingdom speed limit of 20 mph (32 km/h) to be exceeded. The Legalimit had the engine conventionally mounted at the front but under a very low bonnet. Only one example of the V-8 was sold, a Legalimit (chassis number 40518) to Sir Alfred Hamsworth. This was later taken back by the factory. All three cars then seem to have been used as works cars or for customer visits. Rolls ordered three more chassis for delivery in 1906 but there is no evidence these were ever made.^[1]

Although the car cannot be judged as being a success, lessons were learned from the engine design that were later used on the six cylinder models that made the Rolls-Royce name.

The V-8 is the only car model made by Rolls-Royce of which no example survives.

The V-8 with Landaulet par Excellence body

The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost refers both to a car model and to one specific car from that series.

Originally named the "40/50 h.p." the chassis was originally produced at Royce's Manchester works moving to Derby in July 1908 and between 1921 and 1926 at Springfield, Massachusetts factories. Chassis no. 60551, registered AX 201, was the car that was originally given the name "Silver Ghost." Other 40/50 hp cars were also given names but the Silver Ghost title was taken up by the press and soon all 40/50s were called by the name, a fact not officially recognised by Rolls-Royce until 1925 when the Phantom range was launched.

The Silver Ghost was the origin of Rolls-Royce's claim of making the "Best car in the world" – a phrase coined not by themselves, but by the prestigious publication Autocar in 1907.

Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost

The Rolls-Royce Twenty built between 1922 and 1929 was Rolls-Royce's "small car" for the 1920s and was produced alongside the 40/50 Silver Ghost and Phantom. It was intended to appeal to owner drivers but many were sold to customers with chauffeurs.

A new in-line 6 cylinder overhead valve engine was designed for the car of 3127 cc with a bore of 76 mm and stroke of 114 mm. Unlike the Silver Ghost engine, the cylinders were cast in one block and the cylinder head was detachable. Both coil and magneto ignition were fitted. The early cars had 3 speed gearboxes with the change lever in the centre of the car but this changed in 1925 to a four speed unit with traditional right hand change. A torque tube was used to transmit the power to the rear axle.

1922-1929

Rolls-Royce Twenty 1924

Rolls-Royce Twenty Landaulette 1925

The Phantom was Rolls-Royce's replacement for the original Silver Ghost. Like the famed Ghost, the Phantom was constructed both in the United Kingdom and United States, with the US model trailing the UK by one year on introduction and two in replacement.

One major improvement over the Silver Ghost was the new pushrod-OHV straight-6 engine. Constructed as three groups of two cylinders with detachable heads (state of the art at the time), the large engine produced excellent power to pull the large heavy car. The engine used a 4¼ in (107.9 mm) bore and long 5½ in (139.7 mm) stroke for a total of 7.7 L (7668 cc/467 in³) of displacement. Aluminum was substituted for cast iron in the cylinder heads in 1928.

Rolls-Royce Phantom I

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

The in-line 6 cylinder overhead valve engine was similar to that used in the 20HP but was enlarged to 3699 cc by increasing the bore from 76 mm to 82 mm with the stroke remaining at 114 mm. A single Rolls-Royce carburettor was used and both coil and magneto ignition were fitted. The four speed gearbox was mounted in unit with the engine and a traditional right hand change used. Synchromesh was fitted to third and top gears from 1932.

Rolls-Royce 20/25

The Phantom II replaced the New Phantom in Rolls-Royce's offerings in 1929.

It shared the 7.7 L (7668 cc/467 in³) pushrod-OHV straight-6 engine from its predecessor, being the last large six-cylinder Rolls. The engine was unitary with a 4-speed manual transmission. Synchromesh was added on gears 3 and 4 in 1932 and on gear 2 in 1935.

Semi-elliptical springs suspended the front and, in a change from its predecessor, the rear. 4-wheel servo-assisted brakes were also specified.

Rolls-Royce Phantom II Sedanca Cabriolet 1929

The Rolls-Royce 25/30 built between 1936 and 1938 is an updated version of the 20/25 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.

The in-line 6 cylinder, overhead valve, engine is similar to that used in the 20/25 but increased in capacity to 4257 cc by increasing the bore from 3.25 inches (82.6 mm) to 3.5 inches (88.9 mm) with the stroke remaining at 4.5 inches (114.3 mm). The compression ratio is 6:1. A single proprietary Stromberg downdraught carburettor replaced the Rolls-Royce one and magneto ignition was no longer fitted but a standby coil was provided.^[1] The four speed gearbox is mounted in unit with the engine and a traditional right hand change used. Synchromesh is fitted to third and top gears.

Rolls-Royce 25/30

The Rolls-Royce Phantom III was the final large pre-war Rolls-Royce. Introduced in 1936, it replaced the Phantom II. This would be the only V12 Rolls-Royce until the 1998 introduction of the Silver Seraph.

There were 727 V-12 Phantom III chassis constructed from 1936 to 1939, with an impressive survival rate for these cars.

Rolls-Royce PhantomIII

The Rolls-Royce Wraith was built by Rolls-Royce at their Derby factory from 1938 to 1939 and supplied to independent coachbuilders as a running chassis.

The in-line six cylinder, overhead valve, 4257 cc engine was based on that of the 25/30 but featured a cross-flow cylinder head. The four speed gearbox had synchromesh on second, third and fourth speeds and retained the traditional right hand change.

Rolls-Royce Wraith

The Silver Wraith was the first post-war Rolls-Royce model and was made at the Crewe factory from 1946 to 1959.

The first cars had a 127 inch (3226 mm) wheelbase chassis based on the one from the pre-war Wraith with coil sprung independent front suspension and semi-elliptic rear with a live axle. The engine was also based on the Wraith, but had a new cylinder head with overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves and initially a capacity of 4257 cc. From 1951 this was increased to 4566 cc and in 1954 to 4887 cc on the long wheelbase models. The braking system was a hybrid hydromechanical system with hydraulic front brakes and mechanical rears using the mechanical servo from the pre-war cars, patented by Hispano-Suiza and built by Rolls-Royce under licence.

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith

The Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn is a car that was produced by Rolls-Royce at their Crewe works between 1949 and 1955. It was the first Rolls-Royce car to be offered with a factory built body which it shared, along with its chassis, with the Bentley Mark VI until 1952 and then the Bentley R Type until production finished in 1955. The car was first introduced as an export only model. The left hand drive models had a column gear shift. Only with the R Type based model was it officially available on the home market, from October 1953.

A mere 760 were produced between 1949 and 1955. Earlier models up to circa May 1954 had a different fascia (dashboard)from the Bentley Mk.VI and 'R' Type, and were fitted with a single exhaust system. Later models from the SRH chassis series had the Bentley style fascia and the twin exhaust system, as fitted to the Bentley 'R' Type. On the Standard Steel cars throughout the production history, all the body panels forward of the bulkhead/firewall were slightly different to those fitted to the Bentley.

Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn

The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud was the core model of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars range from April 1955 until March 1966. It replaced the Silver Dawn and was, in turn, replaced by the Silver Shadow.

As part of a range rationalisation it is very similar, apart from the radiator, to the Bentley S1.

The design was a major change from the pre-war models and the highly derivative Silver Dawn.

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud

The chassis was a simple steel box section, welded together and very rigid. Construction was still split into chassis and pressed steel and aluminium coachwork (unibody construction did not arrive until the Silver Shadow). The car was 5.38 m (212 in) long, 1.90 m (75 in) wide, and massed 1.95 tonnes. The engine was a 155 hp / 4000 rpm 4.9 L six-cylinder unit with inlet over exhaust valves, twin SU carburettors, the transmission a four-speed automatic. Brakes were hydraulic and assisted by the Rolls-Royce mechanical servo with 11 in (279.4 mm) drums and suspension was independent coils at the front and semi-elliptic springs at the rear. Power steering became an option in 1956 along with air conditioning.

Silver Cloud I

The Silver Cloud II was introduced in 1959. Little changed externally but it now had a 6.2 L V8 engine, which pushed the weight to 2.11 tonnes. Performance was greatly improved and top speed was raised to 183 km/h (114 mph), but the main improvements were in acceleration and torque. Power steering became standard. Electrically operated windows were now available as an option

Silver Cloud II

The Silver Cloud III arrived in 1963. External dimensions were slightly tweaked, the interior remodelled, the weight reduced by a little over 100 kg (220 lb) and improvements to the engine boosted speed and performance slightly. The headlights were changed to a four-headlamp layout remarkably similar to that of the later Silver Shadow, a model which the company had been brainstorming since the late-1950s. Official Rolls-Royce documents indeed state the four-headlamp layout was introduced to prepare customers for the radically new, then-forthcoming Shadow.

Silver Cloud III

The Phantom V was an ultra-exclusive Rolls-Royce model from the 1960s. A total of 516 were made. The engine was a 90 degree V8 with a capacity of 6,230 cc and twin SU carburetors with a 4-speed automatic transmission. The car had drum brakes and a wheelbase of 3,683 mm. The Phantom V was in production from 1959 until 1968, based on the Silver Cloud II sharing its V8 engine and the automatic gearbox of General Motors Hydramatic design. From 1963 onward the 7% more powerful Silver Cloud III engine was fitted and new front wings incorporating quad headlamps were feature of later models too.

John Lennon's Phantom V came from the factory with a regular white paint finish but he commissioned a psychedelic paintjob for it. It is one of the most valuable pieces of pop-memorabilia.

Rolls-Royce Phantom V