1911 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Silver Ghost

Frederick Henry Royce was trained in the British electric power industry as an engineer, and Charles Stewart Rolls (14 years Royce's junior) was educated at Cambridge University. In 1902, Mr. Royce began experimenting with motor cars and soon decided he could build a better product than most other vehicles on the road. Mr. Rolls was fond of bicycle racing and took to motor racing in 1899 with a DeDion-Bouton tricycle. The meeting between Mr. Rolls and Mr. Royce was arranged by Rolls' friend, Henry Edmunds (a pioneer motorist and founder of the Royal Automobile Club) in May of 1904. The two individuals hit it off, and Rolls began selling Royce's entire output. The first Rolls-Royce car was put on display at the Paris Salon in December of 1904. By 1906, Rolls had canceled all of his other franchise arrangements and the two businessmen formed Rolls-Royce Ltd.

In 1906, Henry Royce began designing a six-cylinder engine with a basic design that consisted of two blocks of three cylinders on a common crankcase. The side-valve engine initially displaced 7,036cc (later growing to 7,428cc), and had a seven-bearing crankshaft and pressure lubrication. The center main bearings were much larger in efforts to reduce vibration, essentially dividing the engine into two three-cylinder units. A trembler coil produced spark with a Magento as an optional extra and soon became standard. Two sparks plugs were placed at each cylinder with (from 1921) either a magneto system or coil ignition. The engine initially produced 48 horsepower at 1,250 RPM but continual development brought output to 80 bhp at 2,250 RPM by the time production concluded.

The sturdy chassis was comprised of channel-section side members and tubular cross members suspended on semi-elliptic springs at the front and (initially) a 'platform' leaf-spring arrangement at the rear. Most examples received rigid axles and leaf springs all round. Electric lighting became optional equipment in 1914 and standardized in 1919, the same year that electric starting was added. The early examples had brakes on the rear wheels controlled via a hand lever, with a pedal-operated transmission brake acting on the propellor shaft. In 1913, the footbrake system operated drums ont the rear axle, and by 1923, four-wheel servo-assisted brakes became optional.

Introduced at the Olympia Motor Show in 1906, the 40/50 HP model would enjoy a lengthy production run through 1926 with 7,874 examples built in total. Development was suspended during World War I, but the company continued to produce the chassis and engine for use in Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars.

Perhaps the most famous example was a silver Barker-bodied tourer built for Managing Director Claude Johnson (the 13th chassis built). It was christened 'Silver Ghost,' a name that was later appropriated for the entire 19-year model run of what was officially called the 40/50, from its horsepower rating (40 taxable horsepower and 50 true horsepower). They would become known as 'The Best Car in the World' and would build a reputation based on their reliability, virtually silent operation, smoothness, absence of vibration, performance, and style. They would continue in production for nearly two decades during which time the essence of the car remained mostly unchanged.

Production continued in England through 1925 and in America at Rolls-Royce's Springfield facility from 1921 to 1926. Of the 7,874 examples built, 1,701 were built at the American Springfield factory.

The aforementioned 13th chassis became a demonstration car for Rolls-Royce. It was tested during a 2,000-mile trial under the supervision of the Royal Automobile Club, where during the test it recorded a figure of better than 20 mpg on the road between London and Glasgow. The car was then entered in the Scottish Reliability Trials, where it, unfortunately, had to make an unscheduled stop at 629 miles caused by a faulty petrol tap shaking shut. It ran flawlessly day and night following the trials, resting only on Sundays until 15,000 miles had been covered. This meant that 14,371 miles had been traveled without an involuntary stop, which set a new world record. Under the supervision of the R.A.C., the car was dismantled with all parts reported 'as new.'

Rolls-Royce introduced the Silver Ghost's replacement in 1925 dubbed the New Phantom.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2019