Rolls Royce- A Classy Classic

By age 19, Fredrick Henry Royce had already created his own manufacturing company with the help of a friend, and went on to become successful in many different ways. It was in 1903 that Royce had enough money to buy his first car, which was a secondhand French Decauville. However, he was very dissatisfied with the quality and performance of the vehicle, which led him to create his own car prototype, using the car he purchased as a starting point. His interest in engineering started around age 14, but Royce had plenty of ideas and standards that needed to be met, despite his young age.

Three cars were built in total in the first attempt, giving one to each of his friends to drive. Everyone was thoroughly impressed with the quality of the cars that they were driving, and word of mouth eventually got around. Charles Rolls found out about this car, and arranged to meet Royce to see about a business deal. They met at a hotel in Manchester, and struck a deal to create great cars. The deal? Rolls would gain rights to sell all the cars that Royce could produce. As such, the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Company was born in 1904. Within 3 years of that deal, the Silver Ghost was created, which was an engineering feat like no other.

This popular car created a new need for the industry. Everyone wanted a Rolls-Royce, or at least everyone who could afford one. Therefore, a new factory was built for manufacturing these great cars, but Charles Rolls died soon after this factory was built. Royce worked through semi-retirement from home in West Sussex, offering aero engine design in addition to car production. After World War I, the infamous Phantom I and II were introduced, which made a big splash in the automobile industry. The company came to the US in 1921, and the company was successful beyond Royce’s wildest dreams.

In 1998, Volkswagen purchased Bentley and Rolls-Royce from Vickers PLC, but then sold Rolls-Royce to BMW Group, which built a new factory and designed one of the most infamous cars in automobile history- the Phantom, launched in 2003. Today, the company is still going strong, and the Phantom is one of the most popular models available. However, for those who can afford it, there are a great variety of other models to choose from, as well.