History

Charles Rolls and Henry Royce met in May 1904 and agreed almost immediately to produce motor cars together under a joint name. Rolls, an aristocrat and motoring enthusiast, provided the commercial acumen and the clientele; Royce, an engineer of genius who had taught himself mechanics from first principles, provided the technical excellence. The first Rolls-Royce was exhibited at the Paris Motor Show in December 1904. By 1906, the Rolls-Royce company was established and the Silver Ghost — the car that would define the brand for a generation — was under development.

The Silver Ghost

The Silver Ghost, produced from 1907 to 1926, established Rolls-Royce as the pre-eminent motor car manufacturer in the world. It won long-distance reliability trials, broke records, and attracted the patronage of royalty and the very wealthiest clients. The Autocar magazine called it 'the best car in the world' in 1907 — a phrase that has been associated with Rolls-Royce ever since. Henry Royce's obsessive perfectionism — he reportedly tore down and rebuilt engines until they satisfied him — became the company's defining characteristic. Charles Rolls died in an air accident in 1910; Royce continued to lead the engineering until his death in 1933.

Goodwood & BMW

The modern Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is a BMW subsidiary, established in 2003 after a complex corporate dispute in which BMW and Volkswagen both sought to acquire the brand following Vickers' decision to sell. Volkswagen acquired the physical factory and the Bentley brand; BMW retained the rights to the Rolls-Royce name and Spirit of Ecstasy trademark and built an entirely new manufacturing facility at Goodwood in West Sussex — a 42-acre campus of exceptional beauty where every Rolls-Royce is built by hand. The Goodwood factory produces approximately 6,000 cars per year.

The Models

The current Rolls-Royce range spans four core models. The Phantom is the pinnacle — a 5.7-metre limousine that represents the absolute summit of the motor car. The Ghost is the entry point to the brand, a full-size luxury saloon from approximately $350,000. The Cullinan is Rolls-Royce's SUV — an elevation of the sport utility concept to ultra-luxury standards. The Spectre, revealed in 2022, is Rolls-Royce's first fully electric motor car, positioned between Ghost and Phantom. All models feature the Rolls-Royce Starlight Headliner — a bespoke ceiling of 1,340 hand-stitched fibre optic lights mimicking the night sky.

Bespoke

What distinguishes Rolls-Royce from all other luxury manufacturers is the Bespoke programme — the ability for each client to commission a motor car unique to themselves. Every element of a Rolls-Royce can be specified to order: paint colour (Rolls-Royce will match any colour from any sample), leather (over 44,000 colour combinations), wood veneers, embroidery, dashboard art, Gallery showcases in the dashboard. The Phantom Sweptail — a one-off commission delivered in 2017 — reportedly sold for $12.8 million, making it at the time the most expensive new car ever sold. Coachbuild projects (Boat Tail, Droptail) represent the ultimate expression, with three or four bespoke bodies created to individual client specifications.