Glenister 1936
1910 Rolls Royce Balloon Roadster front
In 1907 the Commercial Managing Director, Mr Claude Johnson (often described as the hyphen in "Rolls-Royce"), ordered a car to be used as a demonstrator by the company. With chassis no. 60551 and registered AX 201, it was the 12th 40/50 hp to be made, and was painted in aluminium paint with silver-plated fittings. The car was named the "Silver Ghost" to emphasise its ghost-like quietness, and a plaque bearing this name adorned the bulkhead. An open-top body by coachbuilder Barker was fitted, and the car readied for the Scottish reliability trials of 1907 and, immediately afterwards, another 15,000-mile (24,000 km) test which included driving between London and Glasgow 27 times.
The aim was to raise public awareness of the new company and to show the reliability and quietness of their new car. This was a risky idea: cars of this time were notoriously unreliable, and roads of the day could be horrendous. Nevertheless, the car set off on trials, and with press aboard, broke record upon record. Even after 7,000 miles (11,000 km), the cost to service the car was a negligible £2 2s 7d (£2.13). The reputation of the 40/50, and Rolls-Royce, was established.
AX201 was sold in 1908 to a private customer who used it for his annual vacation to Italy and recovered by the company in 1948.
In 1906 the London Motor Show saw Charles Stewart Rolls displaying the Silver Ghost. This model was the beginning of a fleet of prestigious cars, including the White Knave and the Silver Rogue, that won many honours and brought status to the British motor industry.
In 1906, Rolls-Royce produced four chassis to be shown at the Olympia car show, two existing models, a four cylinder 20hp and a six cylinder 30hp, and two examples of a new car designated the 40/50 hp. The 40/50 hp was so new that the show cars were not fully finished and examples were not provided to the press for testing until March 1907.
Charles Rolls was born with a fascination for electricity, an insatiable wanderlust that was nurtured by his father and an undying love for speed and transportation – two interests most agreeably combined in the sport of hot air ballooning, to which the great man was devoted. Like all balloonists, after descending from each flight, Rolls faced the challenge of finding a way to transport himself and his balloon home again. His solution was to have his own Roadster fitted to serve as a balloon tender to carry him to and from each chosen launch site.
In 1910 Charles Rolls was killed in a flying accident. Henry Royce nearly died the following year after a breakdown. But he recovered and his engines were utilised in the front lines of the First World War, as well as powering war planes.
The Roadster at first had a new side-valve, six-cylinder, 7036 cc engine (7428 cc from 1910) with the cylinders cast in two units of three cylinders each as opposed to the triple two cylinder units on the earlier six. A three speed transmission was fitted at first with four speed units used from 1913. The seven-bearing crankshaft had full pressure lubrication and the centre main bearing was made specially large to remove vibration, essentially splitting the engine into two three cylinder units. Two spark plugs were fitted to each cylinder with, from 1921, a choice of magneto or coil ignition. The earliest cars had used a trembler coil to produce the spark with a magneto as an optional extra which soon became standard - the instruction was to start the engine on the trembler/battery and then switch to magneto. Continuous development allowed power output to be increased from 48 bhp (36 kW) at 1,250 rpm to 80 bhp (60 kW) at 2,250 rpm. Electric lighting became an option in 1914 and was standardised in 1919.
1910 Rolls Royce Balloon Roadster front
In 1907 the Commercial Managing Director, Mr Claude Johnson (often described as the hyphen in "Rolls-Royce"), ordered a car to be used as a demonstrator by the company. With chassis no. 60551 and registered AX 201, it was the 12th 40/50 hp to be made, and was painted in aluminium paint with silver-plated fittings. The car was named the "Silver Ghost" to emphasise its ghost-like quietness, and a plaque bearing this name adorned the bulkhead. An open-top body by coachbuilder Barker was fitted, and the car readied for the Scottish reliability trials of 1907 and, immediately afterwards, another 15,000-mile (24,000 km) test which included driving between London and Glasgow 27 times.
The aim was to raise public awareness of the new company and to show the reliability and quietness of their new car. This was a risky idea: cars of this time were notoriously unreliable, and roads of the day could be horrendous. Nevertheless, the car set off on trials, and with press aboard, broke record upon record. Even after 7,000 miles (11,000 km), the cost to service the car was a negligible £2 2s 7d (£2.13). The reputation of the 40/50, and Rolls-Royce, was established.
AX201 was sold in 1908 to a private customer who used it for his annual vacation to Italy and recovered by the company in 1948.
In 1906 the London Motor Show saw Charles Stewart Rolls displaying the Silver Ghost. This model was the beginning of a fleet of prestigious cars, including the White Knave and the Silver Rogue, that won many honours and brought status to the British motor industry.
In 1906, Rolls-Royce produced four chassis to be shown at the Olympia car show, two existing models, a four cylinder 20hp and a six cylinder 30hp, and two examples of a new car designated the 40/50 hp. The 40/50 hp was so new that the show cars were not fully finished and examples were not provided to the press for testing until March 1907.
Charles Rolls was born with a fascination for electricity, an insatiable wanderlust that was nurtured by his father and an undying love for speed and transportation – two interests most agreeably combined in the sport of hot air ballooning, to which the great man was devoted. Like all balloonists, after descending from each flight, Rolls faced the challenge of finding a way to transport himself and his balloon home again. His solution was to have his own Roadster fitted to serve as a balloon tender to carry him to and from each chosen launch site.
In 1910 Charles Rolls was killed in a flying accident. Henry Royce nearly died the following year after a breakdown. But he recovered and his engines were utilised in the front lines of the First World War, as well as powering war planes.
The Roadster at first had a new side-valve, six-cylinder, 7036 cc engine (7428 cc from 1910) with the cylinders cast in two units of three cylinders each as opposed to the triple two cylinder units on the earlier six. A three speed transmission was fitted at first with four speed units used from 1913. The seven-bearing crankshaft had full pressure lubrication and the centre main bearing was made specially large to remove vibration, essentially splitting the engine into two three cylinder units. Two spark plugs were fitted to each cylinder with, from 1921, a choice of magneto or coil ignition. The earliest cars had used a trembler coil to produce the spark with a magneto as an optional extra which soon became standard - the instruction was to start the engine on the trembler/battery and then switch to magneto. Continuous development allowed power output to be increased from 48 bhp (36 kW) at 1,250 rpm to 80 bhp (60 kW) at 2,250 rpm. Electric lighting became an option in 1914 and was standardised in 1919.