September 30th 2011 - General News
THE STORY BEHIND ROLLS ROYCE
<< BACK TO ALL NEWS Rolls Royce: The History of the king of the road
If you haven't heard of Rolls-Royce, then you must be living in another planet. Rolls-Royce is probably the most well- known car manufacturing company in the world. The name Rolls-Royce came from the two British pioneers - Charles Rolls and Sir Henry Royce.
Sir Henry Royce had a strong passion for engineering who set up his own business at the age of 21. He produced dynamos, electrical motors and cranes. Royce attempted to produce his first car called the Decauville in 1902. Totally dissatisfied with the model, Royce turned his efforts to produce, what is described, the best motor cars in the world. By 1903, Royce designed and built his first engines and by 1904, three of the prototypes were on the road.
Charles Rolls was a trained engineer at Cambridge. He had a life-long passion for racing cars and started a car dealership mostly selling foreign cars. After setting up his car dealership business, Rolls was looking for someone who can supply reliable English cars.
But it wasn't until one day in May 1904 that Sir Henry Royce and Charles Rolls were at a high profile lunch in Midlands Hotel. A mutual friend, Henry Edmunds, brought together the two pioneers. It made perfect sense: Rolls wanted a supplier of English cars and Royce had what Rolls wanted –reliable English cars. This was the beginning of a beautiful relationship of Rolls Royce Limited.
One of the main objectives of creating this company was to provide ‘a tangible transport alternative to the horse and trains'. At the time when Rolls-Royce Limited was launched, the horse and carriage was the main source of transport.
The first car was Rolls Royce 10 hp (hp stands for 10 horse power) was introduced. The first ever 10 hp was sold back in 1904 for £359 – now the 10 HP is now worth over £250,000. Today, the first ever Rolls-Royce 10 hp is still fit for the road.
But arguably the most famous Rolls-Royce car was the Silver Ghost (introduced in 1906) and approximately only 6,000 were produced. This Roll-Royce car inherited the name ghost because of the sheer quietness of the engine. The popularity of the Silver Ghost spread to America, which led to an opening of a car factory in Massachusetts. However this was short-lived as the factory closed in after ten years. The reason was that Americans preferred British-made cars.
The trademark of all Rolls-Royce models is the infamous hand-made radiator, a trademark that is very much alive in Rolls-Royce motors today. However it was not is registered as a trademark until 1974. To produce the radiator grille, it takes one worker 24 hours to produce it by hand – and takes an additional five hours to polish it!
Even in the present day, the body work and engines are completely hand-crafted. For example, the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI takes roughly 800 hours of manpower to build the bodywork of the ultra-exclusive car.
Over sixty years in the car manufacturing business, Rolls-Royce suffered its first blow as they the company was financially crippled by the development of RB211 Jet engine. Years later the company started to produce cars, once they were taken over by BWM, Vickers and Volkswagen.
Today BMW is the sole and proud owner of Rolls-Royce. The business is stronger than ever as untold amount of the infamous British cars are made and shipped around the world. More recently, the Phantoms are highly popular amongst the rich and famous, such as Simon Cowell and David Beckham. However a large number of sales are generated from wedding and chauffer companies worldwide, wanting to hire out the most desirable and prestigious vehicles to have grace this planet.
Written by: Tracey Dawkins
If you haven't heard of Rolls-Royce, then you must be living in another planet. Rolls-Royce is probably the most well- known car manufacturing company in the world. The name Rolls-Royce came from the two British pioneers - Charles Rolls and Sir Henry Royce.
Sir Henry Royce had a strong passion for engineering who set up his own business at the age of 21. He produced dynamos, electrical motors and cranes. Royce attempted to produce his first car called the Decauville in 1902. Totally dissatisfied with the model, Royce turned his efforts to produce, what is described, the best motor cars in the world. By 1903, Royce designed and built his first engines and by 1904, three of the prototypes were on the road.
Charles Rolls was a trained engineer at Cambridge. He had a life-long passion for racing cars and started a car dealership mostly selling foreign cars. After setting up his car dealership business, Rolls was looking for someone who can supply reliable English cars.
But it wasn't until one day in May 1904 that Sir Henry Royce and Charles Rolls were at a high profile lunch in Midlands Hotel. A mutual friend, Henry Edmunds, brought together the two pioneers. It made perfect sense: Rolls wanted a supplier of English cars and Royce had what Rolls wanted –reliable English cars. This was the beginning of a beautiful relationship of Rolls Royce Limited.
One of the main objectives of creating this company was to provide ‘a tangible transport alternative to the horse and trains'. At the time when Rolls-Royce Limited was launched, the horse and carriage was the main source of transport.
The first car was Rolls Royce 10 hp (hp stands for 10 horse power) was introduced. The first ever 10 hp was sold back in 1904 for £359 – now the 10 HP is now worth over £250,000. Today, the first ever Rolls-Royce 10 hp is still fit for the road.
But arguably the most famous Rolls-Royce car was the Silver Ghost (introduced in 1906) and approximately only 6,000 were produced. This Roll-Royce car inherited the name ghost because of the sheer quietness of the engine. The popularity of the Silver Ghost spread to America, which led to an opening of a car factory in Massachusetts. However this was short-lived as the factory closed in after ten years. The reason was that Americans preferred British-made cars.
The trademark of all Rolls-Royce models is the infamous hand-made radiator, a trademark that is very much alive in Rolls-Royce motors today. However it was not is registered as a trademark until 1974. To produce the radiator grille, it takes one worker 24 hours to produce it by hand – and takes an additional five hours to polish it!
Even in the present day, the body work and engines are completely hand-crafted. For example, the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI takes roughly 800 hours of manpower to build the bodywork of the ultra-exclusive car.
Over sixty years in the car manufacturing business, Rolls-Royce suffered its first blow as they the company was financially crippled by the development of RB211 Jet engine. Years later the company started to produce cars, once they were taken over by BWM, Vickers and Volkswagen.
Today BMW is the sole and proud owner of Rolls-Royce. The business is stronger than ever as untold amount of the infamous British cars are made and shipped around the world. More recently, the Phantoms are highly popular amongst the rich and famous, such as Simon Cowell and David Beckham. However a large number of sales are generated from wedding and chauffer companies worldwide, wanting to hire out the most desirable and prestigious vehicles to have grace this planet.
Written by: Tracey Dawkins
