It’s now been 110 years since one of the Great British car companies most representative of luxury driving came into being; Rolls-Royce.
To celebrate the occasion, Rolls-Royce has been putting on a few displays to showcase some of its achievements over more than a century of work. Its cars were present at both Goodwood motor circuit in West Sussex and The Midland Hotel in Manchester.
On May 4th 1904, Charles Rolls and Henry Royce met for the first time and agreed to form the automotive company that would become synonymous with prestige cars. Since then, the company has produced the likes of the Ghost, Wraith and Phantom.
At Goodwood, the Phantom Coupe, Wraith and Ghost were on show as part of the Supercar Sunday Breakfast Club meeting. This location is only a short distance from Rolls-Royce’s Head Office and Manufacturing Plants.
A team of Rolls-Royce employees hosted the 1,000 cars that were on display at the circuit. The day also saw largest event in history for the Breakfast Club with 14,000 visitors turning out for it.
Meanwhile, in Manchester, the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club set up a display to honor the first meeting of Mr Rolls and Mr Royce. At The Midland Hotel, which was the place where the moment of automotive history took place. A total of 30 heritage cars were on display at the hotel, including a 2014 Rolls-Royce Phantom. It also featured the car that was owned by the late Queen Juliana of the Netherlands.
It is said that Mr Rolls had been “impressed” by the car that Mr Royce had created on Cook Street in Manchester. Chairman of the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club Duncan Feetham explained that Mr Royce had wanted to produce a better car than that which was made in France as he found them to be unreliable.
Mr Royce drove his car, which was built in a Cook Street Factory, back to his home in Knutsford in Cheshire without encountering any difficulties. Following this, a meeting was set up with Mr Rolls who was known to one of Mr Royce’s colleagues.
Despite the fact that Mr Rolls typically only liked four or six cylinder cars, he was impressed by how smooth Mr Royce’s two cylinder ten horsepower car was.
Mr Rolls is believed to have walked away from the meeting with Mr Royce saying “I have met the greatest engineer in the world”.
Following this, the radiator shape that is synonymous with Rolls-Royce cars and the company’s name and logo with the two entwined Rs was developed. Mr Rolls had hoped to be involved in the production of a car that would become a household name and that would bear his own surname.
Chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Torsten Muller-Otvos said: “The company created by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce had a simple philosophy – the pursuit of excellence – and one that the whole team at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars strives for every day,
“I have no doubt that the company’s forefathers would be proud to see the exceptional cars made at the Home of Rolls‑Royce at Goodwood, still bearing the linked RR letters.”
These days, Rolls-Royce is owned by the prestige German brand of BMW.
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