HISTORY OF ROLLS ROYCE

The History of Rolls Royce started in 1904 when Frederick Henry Royce produced his first automobile, the 10 hp two cilinder Royce. With the help of the acristrocrate Sir Charles Rolls – who was a great admirer of the autodidact Royce - the first real Rolls Royces were manufactured in 1907 with the appearence of the 40/50 hp, also known as the famous Silver Ghost. By far, the Silver Ghost was the best car in the world, renowned for its quality and reliablity. These multi million dollar automobiles currently still drive exceedings mileages of 1.000.000 miles.
Before World War II Rolls Royce produced – due to the economic crisis of the twenties - smaller cars like the 20/25 hp, 25/30 hp and the Silver Wraith. The more expensive successors of the Silver Ghost were the Phantom I from 1921, the Phantom II from 1929 and the 12 cilinder Phantom III from 1935. After the World War II Rolls Royce produced the Silver Wraith (1946) and the Silver Dawn (1949-1955) with inline 6 cilinder 4,9 liter 160 hp engines.
In April 1955 Rolls Royce introduced the Silver Cloud model. Until 1965 three series were built. The Rolls Royce Silver Cloud I has a six cilinder 4,9 litre engine which gives the car a top-speed of 100 mph, and an acceleration of 0-60 mph in 13 seconds. The Silver Cloud II and III both had V8 6,2 litre engines. Automatic gearboxes and power steering were no longer optional but standard equipment. The Silver Cloud III was built from 1962 until 1965. It was the last model with seperate chassis and body. In total 2044 short- and 253 long-wheelbase Silver Cloud III cars were built.