Rolls-Royce was founded in England in 1906, however the first car of this brand was born in 1904, named Rolls-Royce 10HP.
Surely all car lovers know the name Rolls Royce, one of the world’s leading luxury car lines.
The Rolls Royce 10-HP 1904 is one of the most valuable models in the classic Rolls Royce line. The car was born in 1904, officially announced on April 1 of that year. According to the original plan, there would be about 19 cars put into production, but then only 17 cars were produced, only a few cars still exist today and are still operating normally.
The first version of the Rolls Royce 10-HP 1904 was equipped with a 1.8-liter engine with a capacity of 10 horsepower, combined with a 3-speed gearbox. It was designed with the idea of serving doctors and in fact 3 of the previous owners of this car were doctors.
At a Baolong auction in London in December 2007, the world’s first Rolls-Royce 10HP was sold for $7.27 million, which was also the highest transaction in the history of classic car auctions at that time.
During its 108-year history, the 10-HP has passed through many different owners such as Percy Binns in Yorkshire (UK) in 1920, Oilver Langton in 1950. The current owner of the car bought it in 1978. He made some adjustments to the red leather seats, headlights, and aluminum hood. According to foreign press, after repair, this Rolls-Royce 10HP can still be driven normally.
Behind the world’s first Rolls-Royce is a little-known story. The birth of this luxury car brand was a chance meeting between two young men, Henry Royce and Charles Rolls, 110 years ago, at the Midland Hotel in Manchester.
Henry Royce was an engineer, doing business in the field of generators. Charles Rolls was a dealer in imported cars, and at the time owned a car dealership in Fulham, England.
After the meetings, they decided to cooperate and create their first “brainchild” – a 10-horsepower car, in which Royce was in charge of designing and manufacturing the car, while Rolls was mainly responsible for selling the car. On March 15, 1906, Rolls-Royce Limited was officially established.
Rolls-Royce uses ghostly names, imbued with the mystical nature of the spiritual world to name its car models: Ghost means ghost, Silver Ghost means silver ghost, Phantom means ghost, Wraith means ghost…
A large number of Rolls-Royce customers are famous royal families in the world: In 1949, Rolls-Royce received an order from the Duke of Edinburgh. In 1977, the Phantom VI was presented to Queen Elizabeth of England. In April 2011, the bride of the British royal family, Kate Middleton, arrived at Westminster Abbey in a vintage Rolls Royce.