Henry Royce probably did not start up out to produce the " Best Car in the World " when he project the Rolls - Royce Silver Ghost . What he want was to replace his rough - linear six - cylinder " Thirty " with something more honest , something smooth and quieter .
He bring home the bacon so altogether that the new car , bring in at the Olympia Motor Show and later named Silver Ghost , became the longest - melt down single model next to the Model T Ford ( and , much later , the VW Beetle and the British Mini ) – and certainly the most notable luxury car in chronicle . The Silver Ghost remains to this day the most worthy model among antique ( pre-1930 ) cars .
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Rolls - Royce , ground in Manchester in 1904 , was the amalgam of socialite entrepreneur Charles S. Rolls , who ’d been selling Panhards and want something better , and the aforementioned Mr. Royce , whose previous experience had been with galvanic cranes .
former yield involved a salmagundi of cars in unlike size with two , three , four , and six cylinders , about as successful as bystander expected from this improbable duette . But those who thought the speculation would fail did not consider on Royce ’s acumen , nor his single - disposed determination to build a better car than anybody else .
The Silver Ghost was renowned for its unruffled , quiet running , achieved with a monumental , seven - main - bearing crankshaft and stiff crankcase . Its cylinders were cast in two cylinder block of three , inclusive of heads , which eliminated head gasket and the opportunity of their blowing . The spec included full - pressure lubrication , an electric organization that really worked , and a precisioncarburetormade with the quality of a Swiss watch . Its dependability , at a sentence when " horseless go-cart " were anything but dependable , was fabled .
This was leaven when a Silver Ghost emerge from a 15,000 - naut mi trial in 1907 , honour by the Royal Automobile Club , with highest mark . Four eld afterward , on the London - Edinburgh - London run , a Ghost ran the entire distance in top gear with a fuel consumption of 24.32 mile per purple gallon ( 19 mpg U.S. ) , an astonishing performance for the time in such a heavy railcar .
Although the seven - litre side - valve engine ’s compaction ratio was only 3,2:1 , it acquire 48 brakehorsepowerat 1,500 rpm , and would deliver 50 - mph cruise speeds , which was more than an enthusiastic equipment driver could do on almost any public road of the day .
When a Ghost owner wanted to really permit it out , he ’d pay a visit to Brooklands , the immense banked oval in Surrey , built just after the first Ghosts . Brooklands ' motto was " the ripe crew and no crowding , " which was for sure appropriate here : the Silver Ghost anatomy alone cost £ 985 , close to $ 5,000 at the time , five or 10 meter what the fair master could expect to make in a yr . rightfully this was a car for the family and not the masses .
Henry Royce ’s success come at a key time , when the immediate payment - short company desperately needed a winner . So well get was it that the firm moved to more spacious quarters in Derby in 1908 , at the same time deciding to grow only this poser – and so it did for the next 17 age .
On the next pageboy , learn about the 1909 to the 1919 Rolls - Royce Silver Ghost .
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1909-1926 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
The first mechanically skillful alteration to the Rolls - Royce Silver Ghost do in 1909 , when an increase in stroke brought shift to 7.4 litre and the original four - speedtransmissionwas replaced by a three - speed social unit . By 1911 , when Rolls - Royce prepared a machine for the London - Edinburgh runnel , compression was 3.5:1 and carburetion increases had broughthorsepowerto 58 . The Ghost revert to a four - speed transmission in 1913 , when cantilever rear suspension was adopted .
That was the twelvemonth when Rolls - Royce was able-bodied to claim an honest 80 miles per hour for the clear , open - bodied Ghosts built for the Austrian Alpine Trials , where they finish forwards of all other contender . accidentally , the beautiful London - Edinburgh tourist survive , and recently changed mitt at a Florida auction for $ 1,3000,000 – a bargain compared to two other , less grand examples which betray for $ 2,005,000 and $ 2,600,000 .
special product cover during the Great War , when many new and some old Ghosts were match with armoured bodywork for running battles against the Turks in the Middle East , under such commanders as Allenby and Lawrence of Arabia . Others were used as faculty cars and ambulances . rising prices saw the chassis price lift to £ 2,100 ( $ 10,165 ) after the war , although this now let in a string - drive self - appetizer and four - wheel brakes with a servosystem assist . Brake horsepower of the 1919 and late models originate to 70 .
In 1920 , Rolls - Royce of America , Incorporated , was establish at Springfield , Massachusetts , in a plant purchase from the American Wire Wheel Company . The target was to build cars for the American market while nullify high import tariff , and the subsidiary company enjoy good success until the Depression shut it down in 1931 . Silver Ghosts were build at Springfield beginning in 1921 .
retain their English right - hand crusade , they offered the 7.4 - liter railway locomotive place at 80 bhp . In 1925 , Springfield finally switched to left - bridge player drive , by which time the cars were developing 85 bhp at 2,300 revolutions per minute and could do 70 - plus mph with the gamey - speed ( 3.25:1 ) rear axle proportion . Two huge wheelbases , of 144 and 150 1/2inches , were available , and bodies were supplied by the cream of American coach builders , principally Brewster . Of the 2,944 Springfield Rolls - Royces built over 11 years , 1,703 were Silver Ghosts .
Paul Woudenberg , in his Illustrated Rolls - Royce and Bentley Buyer ’s Guide ( 1984 ) , writes that the American Rolls had " no glare weakness and , given regular maintenance and lubrication , has near unlimited liveliness . The American Ghost has been given much attention in the Flying Lady , publication of the Rolls - Royce Owners Club , especially in the geezerhood after 1952 , and owner will find back government issue of this clip ( still usable ) a worthful guide in maintenance and troubleshooting . "
He add together that while the domestic reading lacked the four - wheelbrakesof the later British cars , it did feature valve covers , an of import improvement over the divulge valve of the English modeling . The domestics can be recognized at a glance by their drumfish headlamps , tubular bumpers , and American componentry such as electrics , as well as left - hand drive after 1925 .
at long last , since Brewster progress the vast bulk of American bodies ( and was itself buy by Rolls - Royce of America in 1923 ) , the Springfield cars hold a far more undifferentiated production line of bodywork .
The Silver Ghost was supercede in Britain by the Phantom I in 1925 , after a long and distinguished calling . UK output since 1906 amounted to 6,173 physical body , making 7,876 in all .
On our final Thomas Nelson Page , you will find the specification for the 1907 - 1926 Rolls - Royce Silver Ghost .
1907-1926 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Specifications
The 1907 - 1926 Rolls - Royce Silver Ghost was hail by some as the " Best Car in the World . " Though some might dispute this claim , there is no inquiry that the Silver Ghost was a in truth classical automobile . On this page , you will find the specifications for the 1907 - 1926 Rolls - Royce Silver Ghost .
Engine : I-6 , cast in 2 block , intact beadwork , side valves , 7,036 cc ( 4 1/2 × 4 1/2 - in bore × stroke ) , 7 primary bearings , dual ignition system with magneto and trembler coil , 3.2:1 compression ratio , 48 bhp @ 1,500 rpm
Transmission:4 - f number , cone grip multi - dry - plate clutch
Suspension , front : Semi - oval leaf springs
suspension system , rear : Semi - oval folio leaping with accessory transverse folio natural spring
bracken : External contracting on the driveshaft
Wheelbase ( in.):135 - 1/2 and 143 - 1/2
Weight ( lbs):2,050 - 2,200 ( chassis only )
Top speed ( mph ): 60
Production : UK 6,173 US 1,703 ( 1907 - 26 )
