Rolls Royce History

Henry Royce began his company in 1884 and manufactured his first car in 1904 in Manchester, England. Charles Rolls owned a car dealership called C.S. Rolls & Co. in Fulham, England. The two men agreed that the luxurious Royce automobile should only be sold by the Rolls' dealership and they were to be called, Rolls-Royce. In 1906, Charles Rolls and Henry Royce merged their individual companies into Rolls-Royce Limited.

The newly formed Rolls-Royce Limited company set up shop in Derby and began the legacy of magnificent automobiles for the elite and wealthy. The Silver Ghost was the first car produced by the company and came with a 6-cylinder engine. All earlier models were discontinued and focus was placed on the Silver Ghost, which established the company's reputation for quality and attention to detail.

Due to popular demand, a United States factory was opened in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1921. The chassis manufactured in this plant was the foundation of the Britain's first armoured car and was used in both world wars. In 1914, after the war broke out, Rolls-Royce decided to make V8 engines for the war effort, and also designed a new 200hp engine. The company's first aero engine was called the Eagle and was 12-cylinders. The Hawk engine was 6-cylinders, the Falcon engine was 190hp, and the Condor was 675hp. Almost half of the aircraft engines were made by Rolls-Royce for use during World War I. Aero engine manufacturing soon became the largest part of the business.

In 1931, Rolls-Royce purchased Bentley, a fellow British automaker and competitor who was unable to recover from the Depression. The radiator monogram went from red to black in 1933, as clients preferred the color black as a mark of respect. During the 40s, Rolls-Royce opened another factory in Crewe. This factory manufactured the last Rolls-Royce automobile to use a separate coachbuilder to create the bodies.

The Rolls Royce Phantom IV was introduced in 1950, and included a powerful 8-cylinder engine. Only 18 Phantom IVs were produced, and all of them were made exclusively for government figures and royalty. This made them the most obscure Rolls-Royce ever. In the early 70s, Rolls-Royce ran into financial difficulty, caused by the development of a new engine. The company was taken into nationalization by the British government and the company was split in two. Rolls-Royce Motors exclusively made automobiles, and Rolls-Royce Limited retained the aircraft and marine engine side of the business.

The 1980s brought changes to the company and the design. Vickers PLC bought Rolls-Royce Motors and the styling of the car was changed in order to attract younger costumers. Vickers did not keep the company long, selling it eventually to Volkswagen Group. The "RR" logo however, went to BMW. Volkswagen Group had rights to the "Spirit of Ecstasy" mascot as well as distinct shape of the radiator grill, but could not use the Rolls-Royce name to build the cars. Conversely, BMW did not have rights to the grill and mascot. Volkswagen and BMW reached the decision to allow BMW to make the engines for the cars and Volkswagen could use the Rolls-Royce name and logo.