They are not the fastest, or the best handling, or the most technologically advanced cars in the world. Yet, almost every modern-day king and queen has been chauffeured in them. Movie stars are driven around Hollywood in them. Music and sports stars have flaunted them like the status symbols they are. They are what many luxury car aficionados consider the best motorcar ever produced: the Rolls-Royce.

The History

The aristocratic Charles S. Rolls was born in 1877 and was a noted adventurer. While he was also an accomplished entrepreneur who imported French-built automobiles, he longed for a British car to market.

Henry Royce, born in 1863, was a well-established engineer. Reacting to his dissatisfaction with the poor performance and reliability of his own automobile, a French Decauville, Royce eventually embarked on building cars of his own design.

On May 4, 1904 Henry Royce and Charles Rolls met to discuss joining forces. Rolls arranged to take Royce’s car back to London where he showed it to his business partner, Claude Johnson. The pair agreed that the mechanically minded Royce had the engineering talent to take on the motorized world. Claude Johnson later became affectionately known as the “hyphen” in Rolls-Royce for his behind the scenes organizational work.

In early December 1904, the first Rolls-Royce car went on display at the Paris Salon in France. It was very well received by the public and, two days before Christmas, an historic agreement was signed for C. S. Rolls and Co. to have exclusive rights to sell Royce’s cars in Britain, on the understanding that they should henceforth be known by a new name: Rolls-Royce.

Unfortunately for Rolls, an aviation fan, he would never see the success of the venture, dying in a flying accident in 1910. Persevering despite the loss of his partner and friend, Royce had firm views on the need for quality. He noted that, "The quality remains long after the price is forgotten." This quote came to characterize the philosophy that guided the company and, though Royce died in April 1933, his spirit of perfection endured.

The first popular Rolls-Royce model, the 40/50 hp, was introduced in 1906. With its massive 7.0-liter six-cylinder engine, it quickly won buyers eager to own a fast, reliable and luxurious car. The Silver Ghost, as it later became known, was Rolls-Royce’s only model until 1922, the year the company introduced the smaller Twenty with a 3.1-liter overhead valve engine.

Rolls-Royce acquired the renowned Bentley marque in 1931 and four years later debuted the magnificent V-12-powered Phantom III, the last model that Henry Royce was involved with before his death. Consequently, the Phantom III was also the last model to be designed regardless of cost.

As with all builders of luxury motorcars of this era, the Rolls-Royce factory produced only the car’s “rolling” chassis. It was then up to each buyer to contract with a coachbuilder to construct a body for the car. This practice continued for all Rolls-Royce and Bentley models until production was suspended in 1939 at the start of World War II. When production resumed in 1946, Rolls-Royce was forced to consider building cheaper cars to remain profitable. As a result, their first postwar model, the Silver Wraith, was the last to be fitted exclusively with custom bodywork.

Rolls-Royce Today

The more recent history of the company has been varied. Slow sales and other factors forced Rolls-Royce to file for bankruptcy in 1971. Business quickly recovered thanks to the popularity of the regal Silver Shadow and sporting Corniche models, and industrial giant Vickers purchased Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd. in 1980.

In 1998, Volkswagen AG purchased Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Ltd., gaining control of both the “Bentley” name and the Rolls-Royce factory in Crewe, England. But Volkswagen failed to secure the rights to the “Rolls-Royce” name, which was ultimately sold to Volkswagen’s rival—and opposing bidder—BMW. On January 1, 2003, after approximately 70 years under the same corporate umbrella, separate firms once again owned Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Today Volkswagen continues to develop the Bentley brand while BMW seized the opportunity to introduce the first Rolls-Royce engineered by BMW. The latest model, the Phantom, is powered by a 6.75-liter V-12 engine and is built at a new factory located in West Sussex, England adjacent to the famous Goodwood racing circuit.

On Display

In celebration of the Rolls-Royce centenary, the non-profit 501(c)(3) Petersen Automotive Museum will present the exhibition Rolls-Royce: A Century of Elegance, which will trace the history of Rolls-Royce, explore how it came to be regarded as “the best car in the world,” and examine why the world’s wealthiest and most powerful people embrace it as their car of choice. With about twenty historic Rolls-Royce cars on display, you'll see some of the greatest cars ever to carry the famed "Spirit of Ecstasy" hood ornament, including a 1907 Silver Ghost Tourer and a 1937 Phantom III Sports Limousine. More include a 1957 Silver Cloud I Drophead Coupe and even the new 2004 Phantom that will carry Rolls-Royce into the future. The exhibition runs from June 20, 2003 to January 25, 2004.

Chuck Schifsky
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