01/04/2020

A lot has been written about the history of Rolls-Royce, about its origins, about how the brand from the very beginning strove to make the best car in the world. Today we will make a quick review of the best known history, but we will go into the curiosities of the brand, which are not few.

Rolls Royce Origins

Frederick Henry Royce (OBE), was born in 1863 in a family of 5 brothers. When he was 9 years old, after his father’s death, he started to deliver newspapers and telegrams to take money home, until in 1878 he was accepted as an apprentice in the Great Northern Railway. Six years later, in 1884, and after going through a couple of companies, he created a partnership with Ernest Claremont for the manufacture of household appliances, which would evolve into the manufacture of heavy electrical machinery and in 1899 would be renamed Royce Ltd.

At the beginning of the 20th century, and partly driven by the growing competition in the sector, Royce sees the new world of the automobile as a business opportunity. After purchasing and testing several French vehicles, he decided to improve them and build his own vehicle, one that would meet his quality requirements. So in 1904, Royce 10 was born.

Of the three Royces built, one was sold to Harry Edmunds, who showed it to Charles Rolls, and facilitated the meeting between Rolls and Royce. As they say, the rest is history… At the Paris Motor Show, in December 1904, the Rolls-Royce 10HP, two-cylinder, was presented. Models of 3, 4 and 6 cylinders (15HP, 20HP and 30HP) were also made available.

In 1906 a new, a more powerful model was developed, called 40/50, and thanks to the silver paint on one of the first units, it became popularly known as the Silver Ghost.