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THE 1940s THE ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER DAWN

September 16, 2024 No Comments

MODELS OF THE MARQUE: THE 1940s THE ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER DAWN

The latest in the ‘Models of the Marque’ series showcases the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn. Launched in 1949, it marked a profound change for Rolls-Royce, reflecting the realities of the post-war market.

“For the first 40 years of its existence, Rolls-Royce built only rolling chassis, onto which independent coachbuilders installed bodywork specified by the client. It wasn’t until the late 1940s that the marque produced its first complete motor car – the Silver Dawn. Launched in 1949, it marked a profound change for Rolls-Royce, reflecting the realities of the post-war market while giving the marque more control than it had ever enjoyed over the exterior design of its products. It was also the second model to be built on a single, variable underlying structure, foreshadowing the Architecture of Luxury upon which all Rolls-Royce motor cars of the modern era are built.”
Andrew Ball, Head of Corporate Relations and Heritage, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Although Rolls-Royce suspended motor car production between 1939 and 1945 to focus on building aero engines, design work on a new model continued in the background.

During the 1930s, Rolls-Royce offered three models, each of which included numerous parts that were unique to it and could not be shared between them. This significantly increased the manufacturing costs per car, which quickly became unsustainable during the austerity of the post-war years.

Rolls-Royce therefore faced the problem of reducing production costs without compromising quality or performance. The solution was new models that could share common parts, a new engine that could be offered in straight-four, six or eight-cylinder variants, and a single chassis that could be configured in variable dimensions. The latter can be seen as a precursor of the proprietary aluminium spaceframe, known as the Architecture of Luxury, that underpins every motor car built at the Home of Rolls-Royce in Goodwood today.

These ideas came together in a development programme for what would be known as the ‘Rationalised Range’. In 1946, Rolls-Royce launched the first such model: the Silver Wraith. This was a direct replacement for Phantom III, introduced in 1936. Like its predecessor, and indeed all the pre-war models, Silver Wraith was a rolling chassis designed to be fitted with third-party, coach-built bodywork.

Rolls-Royce knew that to be commercially successful in these more challenging times, it needed a model that was less expensive and could be produced in greater numbers than was possible with traditional coachbuilding. So, for the first time in its history, Rolls-Royce decided to produce a complete motor car, with coachwork assembled in-house. In the same way that Silver Wraith replaced Phantom III, this new model would assume the mantle of the small-horsepower cars the marque had built in previous decades.

The second model in the ‘Rationalised Range’, the Silver Dawn, was launched in 1949, initially only as an export car mainly for the North American and Australian markets; it became available to UK clients in 1952. Of the 761 Silver Dawns produced, most were supplied with the ‘Standard Steel’ four-door saloon bodies produced in-house. But in deference to clients’ requirements, Rolls-Royce also offered the Silver Dawn as a rolling chassis, with some 64 coach-built examples completed in a production run that lasted until 1955.

As further proof of the Rationalised Range approach, by 1952, clients could specify both the smaller, complete Silver Dawn and larger Silver Wraith rolling chassis with automatic gear selection. Indeed, Silver Dawn would be among the very last Rolls-Royce models to be offered with a manual transmission. It would be more than half a century before the advent of the satellite-aided, eight-speed ZF automatic transmission fitted to all of today’s V12 Rolls-Royce motor cars – but the die had been cast.

Towards the end of its lifespan, Silver Dawn’s rear section was reworked by the then newly hired John Blatchley, who had learned his craft with renowned London coachbuilder Gurney Nutting before joining Rolls-Royce. His deft eye for detail not only allowed for greater luggage capacity, but also enhanced the motor car’s looks considerably; perhaps not surprisingly, he would go on to become the marque’s Chief Styling Engineer. In 2015, the nameplate was revived with Dawn, which was the best-selling drophead in Rolls-Royce’s history by the time production ended in 2023.

The ‘youngest’ Silver Dawn is now almost 70 years old. Yet even now, it offers an exhilarating experience for the driver and a restful ride for passengers over long distances in modern traffic conditions. It was and is, in every sense, entirely a Rolls-Royce.

PJE

A rare example of a coachbuilt Silver Cloud will form the centrepiece of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ annual presence at the world-famous Goodwood Revival, which takes place from 6-8 September.

“Goodwood Revival is a wonderfully eccentric, nostalgic and glamorous celebration of the cars, fashions and culture of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. During this period, Rolls-Royce produced some of the most memorable models in its long history, including the Silver Cloud III we are displaying in the March Motor Works this year. It’s a rare and beautiful example of the coachbuilder’s art from a time when Rolls-Royce offered its clients a Coachbuild option alongside its standard models – a service that’s enjoyed its own revival at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood in the modern era. We’re delighted to be part of this remarkable event once again, particularly in our 120th anniversary year.”
Andrew Ball, Head of Corporate Relations & Heritage, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

For its 120th anniversary year, the marque has designed the March Motor Works, located at the infield end of the main circuit tunnel, as a faithful replica of Berkeley Square and the Rolls‑Royce showroom on nearby Conduit Street in London’s Mayfair in 1964.

On display will be a magnificently maintained Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III; this sleek, elegant motor car is understood to be one of only around 100 examples of a fixed-head coupé (FHC) design ever built on the Silver Cloud III chassis by the legendary coachbuilder Mulliner Park Ward. It is finished in a handsome Brewster Green, with a Claret Red leather-trimmed interior. Under the bonnet is a hand-built, 6.2-litre, naturally aspirated V8 engine, delivering around 210bhp to the rear wheels via a four-speed automatic transmission.

The Silver Cloud III is historically important as the last predominantly owner-driven Rolls‑Royce to be offered as a rolling chassis, upon which clients could commission fully bespoke bodywork from Mulliner Park Ward or other specialist coachbuilders, as well as a complete motor car.  (To be strictly accurate, Phantom VI remained in production as a separate chassis, albeit in small numbers, until 1993, with coachwork predominantly supplied by Mulliner Park Ward, which was by then a Rolls-Royce subsidiary. However, these were all limousines designed to be driven by a chauffeur.)

Berkeley Square and its environs were home to several luxury car showrooms at that time, including Jack Barclay. Charles Rolls was born a stone’s throw away in Hill Street, Mayfair, and would go on to establish his showroom in nearby Conduit Street, shortly after forming the partnership with Henry Royce in 1904: the March Motor Works showcases the premises as they would have appeared 60 years later.

PJE

RARE SILVER CLOUD FORMS THE CENTREPIECE OF ROLLS-ROYCE’S PRESENCE AT GOODWOOD REVIVAL 2024

September 9, 2024 No Comments

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveils Spectre Semaphore, a Bespoke one-of-one commission that will make its global debut at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, on 16 August, during the 2024 Monterey Car Week in California. This highly Bespoke expression of Rolls-Royce Spectre captures the bold new codes of luxury being established by the marque’s confident, youthful client base.

 

The exterior coachwork is finished in Bespoke Semaphore Yellow – the colour from which this commission takes its name. This solid hue is further elevated with a unique artwork on the bonnet, inspired by the informal elegance of coastal California. Named ‘Marbled Paint Spill’, the graphic is an abstract tribute to the Golden State and its diverse environment. From the sunshine of Southern California to the eastern silver mountain tops, the Bespoke artisans have brought this inspiration to reality.

To create this motif, Rolls-Royce craftspeople applied silver lacquer and multiple layers of clearcoat for a seamless finish. The bonnet alone is the product of over 160 hours of design, development and production. The bright yellow colourway extends into the motor car’s interior. A combination of Bespoke Lemon Yellow and Citrine Yellow is used across the seats, Starlight doors and above the instrument panel. It blends into the contrasting Grace White and Slate Grey hues with Lemon Yellow stitching. The marque’s designers also leveraged the digital Bespoke potential offered by the SPIRIT operating system by complementing the dials to the motor car’s yellow colourway.

Spectre Semaphore maximises the interior suite’s contemporary design with a clean, high-polish Bespoke painted wood set. Coloured to match the grey material accents, the Cashmere Grey paint is infused with silver mica flakes, which creates a vivacious sparkle under direct light. Only one Rolls-Royce Spectre Semaphore will be built. It will be displayed on 16 August at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, as part of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ presence at Monterey Car Week 2024.

CO2 EMISSIONS & CONSUMPTION. Spectre: WLTP: Power consumption: 2.6-2.8 mi/kWh / 23.6-22.2 kWh/100km. Electric range 329 mi / 530 km. NEDC: CO2 emissions 0 g/km.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars unveils Spectre Semaphore

August 9, 2024 No Comments

MODELS OF THE MARQUE: THE 1930s THE ROLLS-ROYCE PHANTOM III

August 2, 2024 No Comments

The fourth in the ‘Models of the Marque’ series showcases the Rolls-Royce Phantom III. Launched in 1936, it was the first model to be powered by a V12 engine, setting the template for every Rolls-Royce up to and including the modern era. It was also Sir Henry Royce’s last major design before his passing in 1933.

  • A brief history of the Rolls-Royce Phantom III launched in 1936
  • The first Rolls-Royce motor car powered by a V12 engine
  • Sir Henry Royce’s last major design before his passing in 1933
  • Naming of the marque’s first all-electric model, Spectre, was inspired by ten experimental Phantom IIIs built from 1934 to 1937
  • Fourth in a series celebrating landmark models from the marque’s history
  • Year-long retrospective marks the 120th anniversary of the first meeting between Henry Royce and The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls in 1904

“Launched in 1936, Phantom III has a special place in the pantheon of great Rolls-Royce motor cars. It was the first to be powered by a V12 engine, setting the template for every Rolls-Royce up to and including the modern era, while also incorporating suspension and chassis technology that secured the marque’s enduring reputation for both peerless comfort and outstanding performance. There is a certain poignancy to this motor car, too. Production ceased in 1939 and, despite its technical advances and immense potential, never resumed, leaving a question of what might have been. It was also Sir Henry Royce’s last major design, which his death in 1933 meant he never saw completed. But, visionary that he was, he had established fundamental technical and design tenets that still hold true today.”
Andrew Ball, Head of Corporate Relations & Heritage, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

As early as 1930, Sir Henry Royce realised that his large-horsepower, in-line six-cylinder Rolls-Royce engines were reaching their technical limits. In simple terms, there wasn’t much more power or torque he could feasibly extract from them. He realised that Rolls-Royce risked losing ground to its American rivals, who were already busily producing luxury cars with much more powerful engines in V8, V12, and even V16 configurations.

Royce had a wealth of experience in designing V12 aero engines, and Rolls-Royce was equally adept at making them. It was therefore a logical and natural progression for Royce to create a V12 engine for the successor to Phantom II, which had appeared in 1929.

Royce’s new engine represented significant technical progress. The new V12 was shorter than Phantom II’s in-line six-cylinder unit, with a capacity of 7.3 litres compared to its predecessor’s 7.6 litres. These more compact dimensions allowed a shorter bonnet and larger passenger compartment, giving coachbuilders more scope than earlier Rolls-Royce rolling chassis. Most importantly, however, the new engine delivered the increased power Royce was seeking. In its initial form, it produced 165 H.P., compared to the 120 of Phantom II, rising to 180 in later motor cars.

The chassis, too, was a major leap forward in design. In another first for the marque, Royce equipped Phantom III with independent front suspension, an innovation that considerably increased both ride comfort and steering control. Characteristically, his design team also incorporated a great number of smaller engineering advances that owners and passengers would probably never notice but greatly reduced the transmission of noise, vibration and harshness caused by poor road surfaces. Taken together, these developments made the Phantom III one of the quietest and smoothest-riding cars of the 1930s. When fitted with Royce’s preferred lightweight coachwork, it was capable of reaching 100 miles per hour.

Royce saw experimental versions of the engine completed, but his death in April 1933 came a year before the first test cars were ready. Ten of these experimental Phantom III motor cars were built between 1934 and 1937 under the codename Spectre, a storied name that lives on today in the marque’s first all-electric model.

The first production Phantom III chassis, sporting a saloon-with-division body built by H. J. Mulliner, was delivered in August 1936. In all, 710 examples were produced, before Rolls-Royce ceased its motor car production in 1939; the last Phantom III was purchased in June 1940.

The directors of Rolls-Royce knew that, once peace returned, they would be operating in a very different world – and that there would be no place in it for a motor car like Phantom III. Perhaps even more so than in 1918, the marque would have to focus its energies on models that were more in keeping with the time, while continuing to build upon the standards of quality and refinement expected of a Rolls-Royce. So, despite its technical brilliance, superlative performance and immense potential for further development, its brief but transformative life was over. Yet its influence would be felt in every Rolls-Royce motor car right up to and including the V12-powered models still being built at Goodwood today. An enduring testament to both the excellence of Phantom III’s design and engineering, and the visionary talents of its creator.

Source: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars PressClub

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has appointed Automobile Bavaria as its official dealer in Romania

August 2, 2024 No Comments

The new dealership will operate under the name Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bucharest. Automobile Bavaria becomes first authorized Rolls-Royce dealer in Romania since the foundation of the brand 120 years ago.

 

As an authorized dealer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bucharest will have the capability to offer the complete range of products and services directly. Clients in Romania will enjoy enhanced access to the Rolls-Royce portfolio and services, supported by the exceptional commitment and support for which Automobile Bavaria is renowned.

Rolls-Royce is set to open a showroom worth nearly 1 million euros in the north of Bucharest. This marks also the first time the British luxury car manufacturer will establish an authorized dealership in Romania. BMW’s brand is distributed in Romania through Automobile Bavaria, which also manages the official Rolls-Royce service center in Bucharest.

Consequently, Romania is poised to become the third country in the Balkans, alongside the Czech Republic and Turkey, to inaugurate an official Rolls-Royce showroom, located within the Automobile Bavaria complex in Băneasa. Automobile Bavaria has been inaugurated as a Rolls-Royce service partner in 2010. The new dealer Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bucharest forms part of Schmidt Premium Cars, as does Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Munich.

 

The announcement was made during a press conference held at the British ambassador’s residence in Bucharest. The event was attended by Giles Portman, the British Ambassador to Bucharest, Michael Schmidt Owner of Automobile Bavaria, Frank Tiemann – Head of Corporate Communication for Central/Eastern Europe and Central Asia Rolls at Royce Motor Cars, Leonhard Georg Pfeffer, CEO Automobile Bavaria, Cristian Bednar -Brand Manager at Rolls-Royce Authorised Service Workshop Bucharest and Ciprian Bercea – Marketing & Digitalization Director at Automobile Bavaria, along with members of the Romanian press.

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The third instalment of the ‘Models of the Marque’ series celebrates the Rolls-Royce 20 H.P. – the ‘Twenty’. Launched in 1922, this transformative motor car was the first Rolls-Royce expressly designed for owner-driven motoring.

  • A brief history of the Rolls-Royce 20 H.P. – known as the ‘Twenty’ – launched in 1922
  • A transformative motor car for the marque, it was the first Rolls-Royce ever designed expressly to be owner-driven rather than chauffeured
  • Third in a series celebrating landmark models from each decade of the marque’s history, from its foundational years in the 1900s to the contemporary Goodwood era
  • Year-long retrospective marks the 120th anniversary of the first meeting between Henry Royce and The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls in 1904


“The legendary 20 H.P., known simply as the ‘Twenty’, was launched on 6 October 1922. Designed by Henry Royce, it ranks among the most important and transformational models ever produced by the marque. Its technology was highly advanced for the time and set the mechanical template for generations of Rolls-Royce motor cars that followed it. Smaller, lighter and less complex than its predecessors, it was also the first Rolls-Royce specifically intended for owners to drive themselves, rather than chauffeured use, reflecting the changed world in which Rolls-Royce found itself operating after 1918. More than a century later, its influence can still be seen in contemporary automotive engineering and design, including the models we build at Goodwood today – a remarkable motor car with an extraordinary legacy.”
Andrew Ball, Head of Corporate Relations and Heritage, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

A CHANGED WORLD
Even before the Armistice was signed in 1918, Henry Royce was preparing for what he knew would be a very different post-war world. He reasoned that, given the likely difficulty of recruiting, retaining or affording a mechanic or chauffeur as they had done previously, some customers would no longer be able or willing to run the marque’s most popular pre-1914 model, the 40/50 H.P. ‘Silver Ghost’. He needed to create a motor car that was simpler to maintain – and, even more importantly, that the owner could more easily drive themselves. At the same time, Royce knew these discerning clients would expect and accept nothing less than the Rolls-Royce standards of excellence they were accustomed to – and neither would he.

THE ‘TWENTY’
On 6 October 1922, Rolls-Royce unveiled its new ‘small horsepower’ motor car, the 20 H.P., the first Rolls-Royce ever designed expressly to be owner-driven rather than chauffeured. It was immediately obvious that the ‘Twenty’, as it quickly became known, represented a huge technical leap forward. Its straight-six cylinder, 3.1-litre engine was less than half the size of the Silver Ghost’s 7.5-litre unit: however, the new model also weighed around 30% less. This meant the performance gap between them was far less than the raw numbers might suggest. Indeed, with its light controls and more advanced steering, braking and suspension systems, the ‘Twenty’ made the Silver Ghost seem rather outdated, although the larger model remained significantly ahead of its direct competitors.

The ‘Twenty’ quickly became a firm favourite both with established Rolls-Royce owners and those new customers for whom, as Royce had predicted, purchase price and ongoing running costs were more important considerations than they had been a few years earlier.

In letters to the motoring press, one happy owner praised it as ‘a charming piece of mechanism’ while another declared, ‘I have never handled anything as sweet-running’. A company advertisement quoted an expert assessment of the car as ‘everything a motorist can want… motoring with a high degree of refinement and its simplicity of construction will delight the driver’. After taking delivery of his car, a contented customer wrote to the company from his home in France declaring: ‘I drove my 20 H.P. here from Liverpool and am very satisfied with the running of the engine, not having to change gear between Liverpool and Versailles’.

WEIGHTY ISSUES
Like all Rolls-Royce models of the era, the ‘Twenty’ was produced as a ‘rolling chassis’, on which owners commissioned bespoke bodywork from an independent coachbuilder. Royce had always intended that it should primarily be an owner-driver car and hoped coachbuilders and customers alike would embrace this by keeping their creations as svelte and lightweight as possible.

However, he was unable to change the habits of a lifetime among some customers. Many owners persisted in specifying their preferred style of solid, formal coachwork that was both heavier and produced greater wind resistance. To Royce’s understandable irritation, these massive, overbuilt bodies inevitably compromised performance.

Ever the pragmatist, Royce knew there was only one way to improve the weight-to-performance ratio. In 1929, the ‘Twenty’ was replaced by the 20/25 H.P., powered by an enlarged capacity engine, followed in 1935 by the 25/30 H.P. with a 4.25-litre powerplant. The ‘small horsepower’ era finally came to an end with the Wraith of 1938. These later iterations, all direct developments of the ‘Twenty’, add further lustre to its record and reputation.

A LASTING INFLUENCE
The ‘Twenty’ had a profound influence on Rolls-Royce long after production ceased in 1929, by which time no fewer than 2,940 examples had been built. In particular, the straight six-cylinder engine – with detachable cylinder head and overhead valves – would provide the template for Rolls-Royce engines for years to come. Open the bonnet of any six-cylinder Rolls-Royce right up to the Silver Cloud model (1955-9) and their shared heritage is clear to see, albeit with many internal improvements. And when the by-then venerable Silver Ghost was replaced with the new Phantom in 1925, its engine also adopted the essential ‘Twenty’ pattern.

‘MODELS OF THE MARQUE’: THE 1920s – ROLLS-ROYCE 20 H.P. THE ‘TWENTY’

July 4, 2024 No Comments