Rolls-Royce began with a meeting on 4 May 1904 at the Midland Hotel in Manchester between Henry Royce, a self-taught engineer who had just built his first car, and Charles Rolls, an aristocratic motoring enthusiast who sold cars in London. They agreed that Rolls would sell every car Royce could build, and Rolls-Royce Limited was formed in 1906. Within a year the Silver Ghost had earned the company a reputation for building the best car in the world. Over the following century Rolls-Royce also became one of the world’s great aero-engine makers — and eventually split into separate car and engine companies, with the car business owned by BMW since 2003.

Timeline

Year Event
1904 Rolls and Royce meet in Manchester
1906 Rolls-Royce Limited founded
1907 Silver Ghost’s record reliability run
1908 Production moves to Derby
1910 Charles Rolls killed in a flying accident
1931 Rolls-Royce buys Bentley
1946 Car production moves to Crewe
1971 Company collapses; aero business nationalized
1973 Car business becomes Rolls-Royce Motors
1998 Vickers sells; BMW gains Rolls-Royce name, VW gets Bentley
2003 First Goodwood-built Phantom delivered

Two very different founders

Henry Royce grew up poor, left school early and became an electrical engineer, building cranes and dynamos in Manchester. Frustrated by the unreliable French car he bought, he built his own, the Royce 10 hp, in 1904. Charles Rolls, son of a lord, was a Cambridge-educated engineer, balloonist, racing driver and car dealer who wanted a British car worthy of his customers.

The Silver Ghost and Derby

The 40/50 hp model, known as the Silver Ghost, completed a record-breaking reliability trial in 1907 and made the company’s name. Rolls-Royce moved to a new factory in Derby in 1908. Read the Silver Ghost story.

Tragedy and aero engines

Charles Rolls became fascinated with aviation and in 1910 was killed when his aircraft broke up at a flying display in Bournemouth — the first Briton killed in a powered aircraft accident. Royce, whose health was fragile, continued to lead engineering from his homes in Sussex and the south of France.

During the First World War, Rolls-Royce built its first aero engine, the Eagle. In the Second World War, its Merlin engine powered the Spitfire, Hurricane, Lancaster and North American P-51 Mustang, making Rolls-Royce a national institution.

Bentley and Crewe

In 1931 Rolls-Royce bought the bankrupt Bentley company. After the war, car production moved to a factory at Crewe, which had built Merlin engines, and cars like the Silver Cloud and Silver Shadow were built there. Read Rolls-Royce vs Bentley.

The 1971 collapse

The enormous cost of developing the RB211 jet engine bankrupted Rolls-Royce in 1971. The British government nationalized the aero-engine business, and the car division was separated as Rolls-Royce Motors in 1973, later bought by engineering group Vickers.

The split and Goodwood

When Vickers sold Rolls-Royce Motors in 1998, Volkswagen bought the Crewe factory and Bentley, while BMW secured the rights to the Rolls-Royce name for cars. BMW built a new factory at Goodwood, and the Phantom VII appeared in 2003. Read how BMW rebuilt Rolls-Royce.