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1924 Rolls-Royce 20 HP

After the First World War, Rolls-Royce built a supplemental version of the Silver Ghost which was codenamed the Goshawk. It was designed to appeal to a wider audience where the owner drove their own car. Introduced in 1922, the Twenty was remarkably successful thanks in part to the prevailing economic conditions of the day. Power was from a six-cylinder monobloc engine that had a little over 3-liters in displacement, a one-piece detachable cylinder head, and overhead valves (a first for a Rolls-Royce engine). Initially, the Twenty was fitted with a three-speed center-change gearbox. From 1925 onwards, it used a four-speed unit, along with all-wheel brakes. It had a 129-inch frame with a semi-elliptic suspension front and rear. They were well suited for lighter touring coachwork, although some owners selected the additional weight of sedancas, landaulettes, and limousines. Total production reached 2,885 (as many as 2,940) examples before its replacement, the 20/25, was launched in 1929.

by Dan Vaughan


Tourer by Barker
Chassis number: GLK21

This 1924 Rolls-Royce 20 HP tourer with original barrel-sided coachwork by Barker was imported into India by the grandfather of the current Maharana of Udaipur, Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar. The 20 HP is recognizable by its horizontally arranged radiator shutters, and it was built on a shorter wheelbase than the Silver Ghost. Through the 1920s the 20 HP's smaller 3-liter, 6-cylinder engine proved an ideal addition to the marque's range. A total of 2,885 Rolls-Royce 20 HPs were built between 1922 and 1929. This Barker tourer (GLK21) was recently named Best of Class in the Vintage Classic category at the Cartier Travel with Style Concours in Mumbai.


Tourer by Smith & Waddington

Until 1922 Rolls-Royce made only one model, the legendary Silver Ghost. The company decided that a smaller car would be produced alongside the Silver Ghost, more suitable for city driving and easier for women to drive. Introduced in 1922, this was called the 20HP or Twenty. These are delightfully easy cars to drive: smooth, quiet, and built to the same high-quality standards as the Silver Ghost. It has a 6-cylinder overhead valve engine of 191 cubic inches with a 3-speed transmission which was changed to 4-spee din 1925. Its wheelbase is 129 inches with 2-wheel brakes which were changed to servo assisted 4-wheel brakes in 1925. In 1929 the displacement was increased to 226 cubic inches and named the 20/25. The displacement was increased again in 1936 to 260 cubic inches, with the wheelbase increased to 132 inches and named the 25/30.

This Twenty was originally sold to Sir Samual Horden of New South Wales, Australia. Later, the original limousine coachwork was damaged and replaced with the current 4 passenger open tourer. In 1985, a Michigan family, vacationing in Australia, purchased it, toured with it, and had it shipped to the United States. The current owners acquired it after it had languished for more than 15 years, covered with dirt and debris with a seized engine. After undertaking extensive restoration work, they have brought it back to the beautiful condition it is in today.


Doctors Coupe by Arthur Mulliner
Chassis number: GA41
Engine number: G614

This 20 Horsepower Rolls-Royce was delivered on February 11th of 1923 to A.C. Nivison, Esq., of Branch Hill Lodge in Hampstead. It had doctor's coupe coachwork by Arthur Mulliner with a complex folding convertible top with a folding frame and removable window pillars. In the back was additional seating for two in the 'dickey seat.'

In 1975, Berta Leon acquired the car from R.G. Sloan. It scored 94 out of 100 points in May of 1979 at the Rolls-Royce Owners Club judging. In 2004, it was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

The car currently wears an older restoration finished in Lonsdale Yellow paint and black leather interior. The engine was restored at the same time as the body and the odometer shows 60,188 miles.

by Dan Vaughan


Aimed at the professional segment of the middle-class owner-drivers such as doctors, dentists, solicitors and moderately successful businessmen, the Twenty cost about 40% less than a Ghost, yet still met the same exacting standards of design, materials and workmanship.

In the year of its launch in 1922, it had a chassis price of 1,100 (pounds) with a standard open tourer body the price was around 1,600 pounds. The Twenty was conceived and executed with typical attention to detail, object, being as stated by Royce: 'to spend as much money in the construction as can be done wisely, but not unnecessarily'.

The Twenty had been built to carry open and enclosed bodies with up to six seats, but with a light body it was capable of what Royce called a high road speed. In 1922 40 mph was considered a fast cruising speed, yet the Twenty was capable of just over 60 mph.

Ongoing development of the car, a process the company used on most models, eventually upped the top speed to over 70 mph.

Henry Royce's biographer, Sir Max Pemberton, raved about his Twenty. 'The late Lord Northcliffe once said to me that as an instrument of advertising British efficiency in industry, the Rolls-Royce car was unique. When I reflect upon the performance of the 'Twenty' I have driven now for six years, I am wholly in accord with this opinion. It is surely one of the world's two great cars. The other is the 'Phantom'.

by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

by Rolls-Royce


Around the same time that public interest was leaning towards the post-WW1 cars, Royce began development on his design for a brand new chassis, a smaller vehicle, and the first project since 1906 that would reach production. In the U.S. this little car was dubbed the 'Baby Rolls'. In 1922 it was debuted as the '20 HP car' or the 'Twenty'. This engine was fully an overhead-valve type and until the original F-head 20 HP of 1905 it was a six-cylinder engine instead of a four. Originally it came with a three-speed gearbox. The capacity was 191 cubic inches and bore and stroke are 3 by 4 ½ inches.

The 1922 20 HP engine was slightly smaller than the late straight six cylinder Chevy engines before the high-powered V8s became popular. The six cylinders were cast as a single block and depicted the first engine with a detachable head carrying vertical overhead valves operated by push-rods and with the gearbox integral with the clutch housing and engine. Earlier on in the original models the gearshift lever was located in the middle in this right-hand drive chassis but eventually a four-speed gearbox would replace the three-speed unit. The gear change lever would be relocated to the right-hand side along with the hand-brake, much like the contemporary 40/50 made in the UK, and the earlier ones produced at Springfield.

Instead of the torque-tube housing that was found on the Ghost chassis the 20 HP featured an open propeller shaft. The maximum power output was around 50 BHP and the compression ratio is 4.6 to 1. Never built at Springfield, the Twenty did quite well in Europe.

Built on a shorter wheelbase than the Silver Ghost, the 20 HP was easily recognized by its horizontally arranged radiator shutters. The smaller 3-liter, 6-cylinder engine 20 HP was an excellent addition to the Rolls-Royce range. Between 1922 and 1929 a total of 2,885 Twenty's were produced. These models were geared towards the middle-class owners like doctors, dentists and other successful businessmen. It cost around 40% more than a Ghost though it continued to meet the same rigorous standards of design, components and craftsmanship.

Royce stated its intent was 'to spend as much money in the construction as can be done wisely, but not unnecessarily' on the design of the Twenty. As such it was created with the usual exacting attention to detail as all Rolls-Royce vehicles. The standard open tourer body Twenty was priced around 1,600 pounds while a chassis ran for around 1,100 pounds.

Featuring a high road speed according to Royce, the Twenty was built with a light body but could carry open and enclosed bodies up to six seats. The '20 HP' was able to achieve over 60 mph, which was impressive considering 40 mph was considered a fast cruising speed in 1922.

by Jessican Donaldson