1906

Silver Ghost (Rolls Royce 40/50 hp)

In 1906, the chasis of 40/50 hp was produced first at Royce's Manchester works. In 1908, production moved to Derby. Between 1921 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 RollsRoyce, 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.

AX201 at Cat and Fiddle Hill during the Scottish Reliability Trial 1907

In 1989, the car was restored by SC Gordon Coachbuilders 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 1925 as the New Phantom. After this, older 40/50 hp models were called Silver Ghosts to avoid confusion.