The Silver Ghost Car By Rolls Royce

The Silver Ghost car by Rolls Royce was earlier known as the 40/50 hp car. The Rolls Royce car company produced both the car by the name Silver Ghost and the car model with the same name. Earlier, the chassis of the car were manufactured at the Manchester's works unit of Rolls Royce. However, in the year 1908, they got manufactured in Derby and later at the Massachusetts factories in Springfield.

In the beginning, Rolls-Royce made a four cylinder 20hp and a six cylinder 30hp, along with two engines of 40/50 hp. All these models were showcased at the Olympia car show. These cars were completed only by the March 1907, when they were officially launched.

The chassis number of the first Silver Ghost car was 60551 and its registration number was AX 201. In 1907, the car received the "Best car in the world" award by the world-renowned publication Autocar. And, till the year 1925, all the 40/50s h.p cars were officially called the Silver Ghost. The chassis and engine of the Silver Ghost cars were also used to manufacture a range of Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars.

The first Silver Ghost cars had features such as six-cylinder hp, a new side-valve, and a 7036 cc engine. Not only this, the earlier cars in this series were powered by two cylinder units whereas the others had two units of three cylinders. In these cars, lubrication was provided by the seven-bearing crankshaft. At the same time, the cars used a large main bearing at the center to remove vibration. As a result, the engine was split into two three cylinder units. From the year 1821, you could choose wither a magneto or a coil ignition for two spark plugs fitted to each cylinder. Most of the cars are now fitted with a trembler coil to produce the spark. Soon this became as a standard practice where all the drivers were asked to start the engine with the trembler or the battery on and then switch to magneto output.

The rapid development in these cars enabled the increase in power output from 48 bhp or 36 kW at 1,250 rpm to 80 bhp or 60 kW at 2,250 rpm. All the cars were fitted with electrical lighting, a practice that started from 1914 as an option, to 1919 when it was standardized. The electric lights in the newer models replaced the older lights fitted with acetylene or oil. The chassis of the car had firm front and rear axles and leaf springs all round. In the earlier Silver Ghost cars, the brakes were operated by a hand lever fitted only on the front wheels. The hand lever was fitted with a pedal operated transmission brake acting on the propeller shaft. By the year 1923, the company also started selling models with servo-assisted brakes fitted in all the four wheels.

And lastly, Silver Ghost, the name by which we known these cars today came into being in the year 1925 after the company introduced the Phantom I series. This name came into being as a result of the ghost like quietness of the cars when they were run. And for many years to come the car remained the most prestigious symbols of its times.