Rolls-Royce: 108 years of history

The 1906 Silver Ghost. With a 7 liter inline 6 producing 48 horsepower, it was named ''The best car in the world'' by Autocar in 1907. The car earned the name Silver Ghost because it was remarkably silent... And because it was silver.

The Rolls-Royce Twenty, produced from 1922 to 1929. Sold a a ''small'' Rolls-Royce, it was aimed at owners who wanted to drive themselves. It used a 3.1 liter engine pumping out 20 HP, and had a top speed of 93 km/h.

In 1925, Rolls-Royce launches the Phantom. Its 7.6 liter inline 6 developped ''sufficient power'' according to the manufacturer... Two thirds of the production came from Derby, in England, while the rest were built in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Between 1929 and 1936, Rolls-Royce produced the 20/25, successor to the Twenty. Since the body was created by coachwork, this car saw many configurations : 4 doors, limousine, coupe, convertible...

A 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II. Using the same engine as the Phantom, but in a completely new chassis, this car was a success. The Continental model, with a shorter wheelbase and stiffer suspensions, was introduced in 1930.

This Phantom II was rebodied by Thrupp & Maberly, and was sold to the Maharadjah of Rakjot. It is known as the Star Of India.

The last big Rolls-Royce built before WWII, the Phantom III is also the only model to feature an english-built V12. With a Barker & Co 4-door body, the Phantom III weighed almost 3500 kg. In 1938, Autocar magazine clocked one at over 140 km/h, and did 0-100 in 16.8 seconds. On a long drive, the car returned a fuel consumption of 28 liters/ 100 km...

The Phantom III became an icon in the Goldfinger movie (1964), where it was used as a limousine by Auric Goldfinger. The car's size and rigidity was convenient to smuggle gold across Europe.

During WWII, Rolls-Royce had to stop producing car to concentrate all its ressources on war effort. During this period, they mostly built the Merlin engine, a supercharged 27 liter V12 engine producing between 1000 and 2000 HP, depending on applications. This powerplant was used in a lot of planes, but the most successful of them was...

The Supermarine Spitfire. Equiped with a Merlin engine, a Spitfire once reached a speed of 975 km/h during a dive. This plane still holds the speed record for a piston-engined aircraft.

Built after the war, the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn was the first car to came out of the factory with a body already installed. In 1952, it was also one of the first Rolls-Royce to offer an automatic transmission.

The Phantom IV is the most exclusive of all the Rolls-Royce. Only 18 were ever produced, and each one was sold to royalty or high-ranking individuals. This one belongs to Queen Elizabeth II since 1950.

One of the most famous Phantom V is a 1965, and it belonged to John Lennon. When it left the factory, it was painted white, however John became bored with it and had it painted like a Romani carriage.

The 1965 Silver Shadow was the first Rolls-Royce to be built on a monocoque chassis. It was originally named Silver Mist, but they realized that mist in german meant manure...

Unveiled in 1980, the Silver Spirit is the first Rolls-Royce to feature an anti-theft system... for the hood ornament! The infamous Spirit of Ecstasy would retract into the radiator's grille if it was tampered with.

The Silver Seraph was presented on March 3, 1998, at the Geneva Motor Show. Using a BMW V12 engine, it was produced at the Crewe factory until 2002.

BMW, having just bought Rolls-Royce, decided to completely overhaul the brand. The first car to came out of this restructuration, the Phantom, is a commercial success. With an almost limitless number of versions and special editions, it is still produced today.

The Phantom is also sold as a coupe and a convertible. This last one is named Drophead.

In 2010, the Ghost is launched. Marketed as an entry model, the car starts at $225,000 dollars. It is based on the BMW 7-Serie platform.

The latest Rolls-Royce, the Wraith, is a coupe version of the Ghost. Using a 623 HP, twin-turbo V12 engine mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission, it is currently the fastest Rolls-Royce ever produced.