Rich Man, Poor Man:
Rolls and Royce were in fact two people before the history of Rolls-Royce as a company ever began.
Frederick Royce was British. He plied his trade as a electrical equipment manufacturer and built the first Royce cars in 1904. Charles Rolls, the son of a baron and a longtime car enthusiast from way back in 1894, was attracted to Royce's vehicle.
Rolls owned a dealership in London, where he first caught sight of a Royce. He was so impressed with the engineering that he suggested to Royce a partnership. Royce would built the cars, and Rolls would sell them.
Racing for Recognition:
At that time, in order to promote your vehicles, you'd need to race them and Rolls entered the first Rolls-Royces in a number of races.
Fame then arrived in 1907 with the introduction of a 6-cylinder engine inside a silver-painted four-passenger chassis named "The Silver Ghost." Amazingly, this car was driven 15,000 continuous miles with little wear, cementing the R-R reputation for reliability. That was quite an achievement considering the difficulty in finding 15,000 miles of good quality roads.
The end came suddenly as Rolls' passion for excitement ended in 1910. His biplane (based on the Wright brothers' flyer) crashed and killed him almost instantly.
War and Peace and War Again:
The Silver Ghost chassis was built in Derby. The body was toughened with armour so it could serve as a combat car in Flanders, Africa, Egypt, and supporting Lawrence of Arabia during WWI. Following the war, people had money to spend on these reliable Rollers. Cars were built in the US, Springfield, Mass., from 1920-1924, and a smaller 20-hp "Baby Roller". At that time the big Roll's were still popular, namely the Phantoms I, II, and III. Rolls Royce then expanded to support the war effort by building the Merlin airplane engines in a facility in Crewe.
Post-War Rollers:
After the end of the war, Rolls went back to building cars and immediately brought out the Silver Wraith. The car had sweeping coachwork from famed designers like Mulliner, Park Ward, and others. The 1950s saw the introduction of the LWB Phantom IV and the rounded shape of the Silver Cloud on the roads.
In the 1960's a first for Rolls was a V8 engine, installed in the Silver Coud II and the updated Silver Cloud III. The American Market had the Phantom V and Europe was to have the VI, all again sold in the 1960's. The all-new, slab-sided, V8 Silver Shadow debuted in 1965.
Those Slippery Seventies:
Just like the exotic supercar manufacturers, Rolls hit a rough patch in the 1970s and with the expensive build process for the aircraft engines, the company sought assistance from the British labour government, who took over the airplane engine division.
This resulted in Rolls-Royce Motors at Crewe separating from Rolls-Royce Limited at Derby. Like a pheonix rising from the flames, Rolls rallied with the Corniche, the Camargue, the Silver Shadow II, and the Silver Wraith II, all of which hit the market by 1979.
Big Hair and Big Cars:
The 1980's saw Rolls Royce exploit the Me Decade with the Silver Spirit and Silver Spur. These cars were massive, squared-off, ultra-luxury automobiles that oozed wealth. The Silver Spirits II and III and Silver Spurs II and III all appeared in the 1980s and 1990s. Finally in 1998, the all-new Silver Seraph was launched, with a V12 engine under its long nose.
Happy 100th Birthday! (And Many More):
Like all major motor manufacturer's there comes a time to celebrate a milestone and Rolls-Royce celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2004, and the centenary of its most famous car, the Silver Ghost, in 2007.
In 2003, after ending its partnership with Bentley (now owned by VW), the company created an all-new Phantom, available as a sedan, coupe, or convertible. This Rolls looked like a traditional Rolls, elegant, huge and powerful sending a message to the market that the leading luxury car maker is back.
A limited-edition Phantom Silver was issued in 2004 to mark the company's uninterrupted 100-year run. The future? Well as for now, a "Baby Roller" in the tradition of the 20HP of the 1920s is to be launched in 2010.