History of Rolls Royce

The Beginning
Rolls-Royce Limited was created over a famous lunch brokered by Henry Edmunds at the Midland Hotel in Manchester on 4 May 1904. Edmunds brought together Henry Royce, a successful engineer and Charles Rolls, the owner of one of the first car dealerships. The rest is history.
The meeting led to an agreement that Rolls would exclusively sell as many cars as Royce could produce. The marque launched in 1904 following a verbal agreement made back in May although a formal agreement was not signed between the two until December. C.S. Rolls & Co were the sole agents for a series of two, three, four and six cylinder cars that broke the mould for engineering and craftsmanship. By 1907 Royce had created the first Silver Ghost, a car of legendary smoothness that completed a 14,371-mile virtually nonstop run that led a journalist to call it 'the best car in the world'.

Charles Rolls

Charles Rolls trained as a mechanical engineer at Cambridge. The first undergraduate to own a car, he soon began racing and to fund his passion set up a car dealership, selling mostly foreign cars. By 1903 he was looking for a supplier of reliable English cars which led to his introduction to Henry Royce. Rolls was also an accomplished pilot, he was the first aviator to complete a double crossing of the English Channel. Tragically, he was killed when his aircraft crashed at an air show in July 1910. 1

Sir Henry Royce

Henry Royce had a passion for engineering and set up his first business at the age of 21. Known for his attention to detail and pursuit of perfection, he registered his first patent (the bayonet lamp socket) in 1887 and went on to produce dynamos, electrical motors and world-renowned cranes. Dissatisfied with his first car in 1902 - a Decauville - Royce characteristically decided he could improve on it and turned his attention to build the best motor cars in the world. By the end of 1903 Royce had designed and built his first engine and the first of three prototypes took to the road in 1904.

Silver Ghost

First introduced in 1907, the 40/50 HP, later to become known as the Silver Ghost, remained in production until 1925. It was powered by a six-cylinder engine in two blocks of three and originally displaced 7,036cc but in 1909 this was increased to 7,428cc.

Best-known body styles included the Barker Tourer, Hooper Landaulet, the LondonEdinburgh type and Barker enclosed cabriolet. The first cars were built in Royce's Cooke Street factory in Manchester but following the success of the Silver Ghost, the company moved to a custom-built factory, designed by Royce, in Nightingale Road, Derby.

As the twenties roared in Rolls-Royce resumed car production and introduced several key models. In 1921 the company opened its first factory in the United States. Throughout the decade both the car and aero divisions flourished, with Rolls-Royce's 'R' engine winning the prestigious Schneider Trophy. Trophy

In 1929 Rolls-Royce developed the 'R' engine to power Britain's entry in the Intercontinental Schneider Trophy seaplane contest. Royce reputedly sketched its design in the sand at West Wittering with his walking stick. The RR-powered aircraft went on to not only win the contest but also establish a new world air speed record in the process. It was this engine that would ultimately be developed into the legendary Merlin, which powered allied aircraft such as the Spitfire, Hurricane, Lancaster and numerous other planes. The Rolls-Royce headquarters and assembly plant lies in the Sussex Downs at Goodwood. Shaped by the vision of world-renowned architect, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the facility inpires everyone who works there and sits sympathetically within the natural beauty of its setting.

Phantom family

The launch of the Phantom in 2003 marked the start of a new era for Rolls-Royce, redefining the marque for the 21st century. Phantom, and Phantom Extended Wheelbase, set new benchmarks for the luxury car market and continue to set the pace. Joining Phantom in 2007, the less formal Drophead Coup re-established Rolls-Royce as the manufacturer of the ultimate open air, romantic motoring icon. The most driver-focused Rolls-Royce ever produced, the sleek and seductive Phantom Coup, completed the family in 2008.

Ghost

The launch of Ghost marks the next stage in the evolution of the marque. To develop and build the most technologically advanced Rolls-Royce ever requires significant investment in the workforce and the assembly plant at Goodwood

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