Model History

Auction sales research

Specifications

Body styles and Chassis Data

Exterior Photos Interior Photos

Roi-des-Belges Tourer Chassis Num: 60970   Frederick Henry Royce was the son of a flour miller. He apprenticed with the Great Northern Railroad and designed his first car in 1904. It was an improvement of his two-cylinder Decauville. Charles Stewart Rolls was the third son of Lord Llangttock and a successful businessman, selling horses and carriages to the well to do. Rolls requested a meeting after hearing of Royce's new machine and a partnership ensued, giving Rolls the exclusive right to sell Royce's cars. A product of that partnership, after a few less than successful attempts is the famous Silver Ghost. Rolls Royce Company committed itself to making a single 40/50 hp model. The firm provided only the chassis, with the customers ordering the bodies from a variety of coachbuilders. The 40/50 hp received a massive new crankshaft that made its six-cylinder engine smoother than any other in this period. Because of the exploits of a well-promoted Rolls-Royce tourer, all 6,173 40/50s came to be known as 'Silver Ghosts.' Later trials, races and hill climbs bolstered the model's reputation as 'The Best Car in the World.' The 40/50 soon became the favored car of princes and potentates. Even Lenin owned one, although the British royal family bought only Daimlers. This car, chassis number 60970, was originally sold to John Henry Thomas, a London photographer. It was the first example to carry Roi des Belges bodywork, a body style originally designed for the King of Belgium. In 1919, the car's second body, a Torpedo by Barkers, was exchanged for a Safari body used for the car's adventures in India where it remained until 1946. It was then shipped to England and arrived stateside by noted collector Joe Loeey in 1959, where it was paired with a new Roi des Belges body, in 1961. This is the only surviving short wheelbase sports chassis Silver Ghost in existence.

Auction Sales Information

Event	Group
Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance	Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance	Antique & Vintage
Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance	Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost