1915 Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP Silver Ghost

Rolls-Royce built four chassis to be shown at the 1906 Olympia Motor Show in London, including two cars designated as model 40/50 HP. Chassis number 60551, better known by registration number AX 201, was the twelfth 40/50 hp built and the car that gave the model its well-known name. Owned by Claude Johnson and wearing Barker coachwork finished in aluminum paint with silver-plated fittings, it was nicknamed the 'Silver Ghost' to emphasize its ghost-like quietness. It took part in the 2000-mile Scottish Reliability Trial, where it won a gold medal. The car was then subjected to further endurance testing, covering 15,000 miles in repeated London-Glasgow journeys. At the conclusion of the test, the car was disassembled and examined for wear. All of the parts were found to be within tolerances.

The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls and Frederick Henry Royce
The Honorable Charles Stewart Rolls was a British gentleman adventurer, racing driver, aviator, and astute businessman; Frederick Henry Royce was an innovator and engineer. Together, they would create a legacy renowned for unsurpassed excellence, attention to detail, and mechanical prowess. Henry Royce's entrance into the world of automobiles began with a De Dion Quadricycle followed by a second-hand 10 horsepower, two-cylinder French Decauville. Primarily used to transport Mr. Royce from his home to his electrical company, Royce Ltd. in Machester, these vehicles were unrefined, unreliable, and lacked quality workmanship. Granted, most vehicles of this era lacked sophistication and dependability. Mr. Royce, recognizing a business opportunity, decided to build his own car using the basic design of the Decauville. Work began in a corner of the Cooke Street works, with its maiden test drive occurring on April 1st of 1904. The test drive went so well, that he continued home, covering the 15 miles without incident. Mr. Royce would build two more cars, incorporating improvements along the way, yet remaining true to the basic design. The second car was given to partner Ernest Claremont and the third example went to the Director of Royce Ltd., Henry Edmunds. Mr. Edmunds boasted of his car to another friend, Claude Johnson, who relayed the news to Mr. Rolls, informing him that the twin-cylinder car may be the best built in England. Mr. Rolls traveled to Manchester to witness the car for himself, and within minutes was convinced that the 10 horsepower Royce was exactly as Mr. Johnson had described.

The dining room of the Midland Hotel, Machester became the birthplace of a new business venture known as Rolls-Royce motorcars. The company would soon adopt the famous radiator shape and the badge of entwined first letters from each man's surname.

Before there was the 40/50 HP (Silver Ghost), the Rolls-Royce company built a variety of models, each with advanced engineering and superior quality. In December of 1904, the company displayed two, three and four-cylinder cars at the Paris Salon. The next model was the six-cylinder 40/50 HP, displayed in 1906 at the Olympia Motor Show. The company boldly advertised it as ' 'the six-cylinder Rolls-Royce, not one of the best, but the best car in the world.'

Specification
From 1907 through 1909, the 40/50 HP was powered by a 7,036cc, six-cylinder engine, before displacement grew to 7,428cc. The engine was comprised of an aluminum crankcase, copper and brass piping, brass and aluminum castings, and intricate control tubes. The side-valve unit had its cylinders cast in two units of three cylinders, a seven-bearing crankshaft, full pressure lubrication, and two spark plugs per cylinder. The transmission was a four-speed unit with an overdrive on the top gear. In 1909, it was replaced by a three-speed gearbox with direct-drive top gear and was used through 1913 and a four-speed unit thereafter.

The chassis has channel-section side members and tubular cross members, with rigid axles, semi-elliptic springs, and a wheelbase size of 135.5-inches, which was replaced in 1913 by a larger 143.5-inch platform. The early cars had a 'platform' leaf spring arrangement at the rear before switching to semi-elliptic units. A 150.5-inch wheelbase version became available in 1923. Stopping power was initially via brakes on the rear wheels operated by a hand lever. Pedal-operated transmission brakes acted on the propellor shaft. In 1913, a footbrake system with drums on the rear axle replaced the previous setup. In 1923, four-wheel servo-assisted brakes became optional.

An electric lighting system became optional in 1914 and standardized in 1919, along with an electric starter.

Promotion
The Rolls-Royce 40/50 HP was rigorously tested with many being public demonstrations. Chief test driver Ernest W Hives traveled from London to Edinburgh in September of 1911 using only the top gear in a Silver Ghost, chassis number 1701. It wore lightweight sports-tourer 'torpedo' coachwork created by Holmes & Co of Derby, used under-slung cantilever rear springs, and its engine had a larger carburetor and increased compression. Rival Napier had just completed a similar demonstration run, prompting Rolls-Royce to rise to the challenge. The Rolls-Royce average 24.32 miles per gallon during the 400-mile journey, and upon completion, was brought to the Brooklands racetrack where it achieved a timed speed of 78.26 mph. Before long, the Rolls-Royce factory received orders for many similar London-to-Edinburgh models. A total of 188 examples were eventually created, with the first being delivered to the coachbuilders in the SPring of 1912 and the last (number 2699) in October of 1913.

Production
Rolls-Royce's supply of motorcars was limited during World War I as the company became entrenched in the production of aircraft engines.

Production of the Silver Ghost in England continued until 1925, with 6,173 being completed at the Manchester and Derby factory. The Rolls-Royce Springfield plant in the United States built an additional 1,703 examples through 1926.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2019