The Life of an Icon
We were recently given the opportunity to drive three of the very best models that Rolls-Royce had to offer. But rather than review the car we decided to take a look at its roots and find out how the company came to be. Malcolm Xavier Crasta tells the tale

The story begins with a certain someone called Henry Royce. It was in 1904 that Henry Rolls made his first car, a two cylinder vehicle called Royce 10, in his Manchester factory. Then on 4th May of the same year he was introduced to Charles Rolls at the Midlands Hotel. Rolls, at the time the proprietor of an early motor car dealership C.S.Rolls & Co. in Fulham, took a certain liking to the Royce 10. Soon thereafter, on the 23rd of December the same year, an agreement was signed whereby Rolls would take all the cars that Royce could make and have them sold exclusively by him. There were four cars initially, the first of which debuted at the Paris Salon also in December 1904, and it was agreed that they would all be badged Rolls-Royce. But it was not until 15th March 1906 that Rolls-Royce Limited was formed and the factory was shifted to its new premises in Derby and started production in early 1908. In the meantime Royce had been developing an improved model with more power. Initially designated the 40/50hp, this was the company’s first all-new model. In March 1908 it was decided that Rolls-Royce would concentrate all its efforts on this model and successively all the previous models were discontinued. The car was later called the Silver Ghost and was solely responsible for the company’s initial reputation. Over 7,700 models of the Silver Ghost were built and a second factory has to be opened in the United States to meet the demand (The US versions were called the ‘Springfield Ghosts’). In 1925 Rolls-Royce replaced the Silver Ghost with what was to be its most iconic model – The Phantom.

The sale of the icon
After the war, in 1931, Rolls-Royce acquired its rival brand Bentley and from then onwards until 2002 the two companies had mostly identical cars. In 1946 the company moved production to Crewe and then to Mulliner Park Ward in London in 1959. It was here that Rolls-Royce started to first build bodies for its cars, which were earlier built by specialist coach builders. In 1965 Rolls-Royce introduced another of its hallmark cars – the Silver Shadow. It was the first Rolls-Royce with a monocoque chassis and was equipped with a 6.23 L V8 engine which was later expanded to 6.75 L. In 1973 the Rolls-Royce automobile division was demerged from Rolls-Royce Limited and was named Rolls-Royce motors. Later, in 1980, Rolls-Royce Motors was acquired by Vickers but it was not long before it was put on sale again, in 1998, and this is where things got really complicated. At the time the leading contender seemed to be BMW, who already supplied engines and other components for Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars. But their final offer of £340mn was outbid by Volkswagen, who offered £430mn. However, VW had bought rights to the “Spirit of Ecstasy” mascot and the shape of the radiator grille, but it lacked rights to the Rolls-Royce name in order to build the cars. Likewise, BMW lacked rights to the grille and mascot. BMW then bought an option on the trademarks, arguably the most valuable property of the deal, and licensed the name and “RR” logo for £40mn. Finally BMW and VW arrived at a solution. From 1998 to 2002 BMW would continue to supply engines for the cars and would allow use of the names. But effective 1st January 2003, only BMW would have the right to name cars “Rolls-Royce”, and VW’s would only be able to build Bentleys. The last Rolls-Royce to ever roll out of the Crew factory was a Corniche in 2002.

Modern legends
It was only once BMW took over that we saw the three works of art that are the Phantom, the Coupe and the Drophead. Despite being built by BMW it seems that none of the core essences’ of the Rolls-Royce brand were lost. Their powerful, upright stance and dynamic, rising profile and also the unique rear coach doors on the phantom and front coach doors on the Coupe and the Drophead are unmistakably Rolls-Royce. The interior of each is clean and contemporary, the simplicity of the design belying the technology beneath. Any controls not needed for everyday driving are kept out of sight until required. Drive either of them and the ease and effortlessness of the controls is breathtaking. They are lightning fast but never ever do they feel rushed, they just pick up speed with such grace that you will never find in another vehicle. In essence they feel just like a Rolls-Royce should.

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