BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO ROLLS-ROYCE
BECAUSE KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
From greatest hits to lowest moments, everything you ever wanted to know... and a fair bit you didn’t
WORDS SAM BURNETT, ROWAN HORNCASTLE, GREG POTTS
IMAGES: MANUFACTURER
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Who’s Rolls-Royce and when did it start making cars?
It all started quietly in 1904, as engineer Henry Royce met a potential new business partner. He’d run a crane company then branched out into new-fangled cars. The other fellow was Charles Rolls, a minor aristocrat and motoring enthusiast who started one of the UK’s first car dealers in 1903.
The first Rolls-Royce was unveiled at the Paris Salon in December 1904, and Rolls-Royce Limited was established in 1906. Charles Rolls became the first person to die in a plane crash in the UK in 1910 – he was only 32. Royce carried on the company, expanding into plane engines in World War One and snapping up rival outfit Bentley in 1931 after it foundered in the Great Depression. R-R itself went into liquidation in 1971 – the government bought it all and split the various divisions that by now made jet engines for aeroplanes, diesel motors for trains and of course those fancy cars.
Rolls-Royce Motors was born in 1973, sold in 1980 to engineering firm Vickers, then to VW in 1998. R-R became Bentley Motors – the plane engine folks held the badge and naming rights and gave them to BMW as they had business together. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars as we know it now has actually only existed since 2003...
Rolls-Royce’s greatest hits
01
Rolls-Royce 10hp
After meeting in May 1904 to discuss a potential business deal, Charles Rolls and Henry Royce were all ready to unveil their car by Christmas. The 10 hp became the first car to be given the Rolls-Royce badge. Built in Manchester and sold exclusively in London, it was priced at £395.