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Rolls-Royce

The Basics

A meeting at a Manchester hotel in 1904 between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce led to the establishment of probably the most prestigious car manufacturer of all time. Initially, Rolls agreed to sell the cars that Royce produced, but two years later, they went into manufacturing together, and the top-of-the-range Rolls-Royce motor car was launched.

rolls royce silhouette
Until 1922, the only model the company produced was the Silver Ghost. This early model is still running, half a million miles later, and is still purring along as soundlessly as it always did. Successive generations of Rollers saw any number of luxury accessories added to them, from cocktail cabinets to picnic tables.

Who drives a car like this? Or rather, who is driven in one? Well, apart from royalty and other heads of state, a Rolls-Royce has been the preferred means of travel for counter-cultural figureheads such as John “Imagine No Possessions” Lennon and Andy Warhol. And how about that wafting silver female figure on the bonnet? What’s her story?