In this article, we're taking a look at the most luxurious car brand out there.
Everybody agrees that Rolls Royce is the pinnacle of class when it comes to the
automobile industry, so maybe you knew that Rolls Royce used to absolutely dominate
the world speed record books, or that they still make some of the world's best
jet engines. In 1973 Rolls Royce split up, with the Rolls-Royce cars splitting
off, and the airplane engine and military contract remaining on its own. Given
the intense history during which they shared a common path, we will look at
this as a whole. In this article, we'll be sharing a few things you might not
know about Rolls Royce. Let's get started
N° 1
The iconic hood ornament is called the “Spirit of Ecstasy” and the result
of an illicit affair. It's modeled after a woman named Eleanor Thornton, she
had a decade-long open secret affair with a man at the forefront of early car
culture. Her lover was a man of great wealth and wanted to pay tribute to his
muse so he commissioned a sculptor to put Eleanor on the front of the car, in
some of the earlier models she has a finger to her lips as a nod to their
secret love.
N° 2
Just the Spirit of Ecstasy alone is worth over 40 million dollars. In 2002,
BMW finalized the acquisition of the Rolls-Royce brand from Volkswagen, the
company ended up paying 40 million dollars just for the rights to the iconic
hood ornament, these days you can have it personalized and made out of gold or
illuminated crystal; Just as a security feature the miniature statue can be
lowered into the hood.
N° 3
Charles Stewart rolls one half of the eponymous car maker was the first to
fly across the English Channel and back. He was an avid aviator and flew his
Wright Flyer over the channel and back in 95 minutes, he also happens to be the
first Brit to die in a plane crash. The tail of his flier broke off and he fell
to his death on July 12th 1910.
N° 4
The “R” airplane engine was the fastest thing on earth. In the early 1930s
it broke every record known to men when it came to speed, it powered an s6b submarine
to over 400 miles per hour, that's close to 650 km/h, and did it in 1931. Sir
Henry se grave set the water speed record in his boat, hit a log in the process
and died shortly after they told him he set the record A few months later they
won the ultra-competitive schneider trophy air race by a lot, a supercharged R
was dropped into Bluebird and the car chopped 300 miles per hour or 482
kilometers per hour. To put that into perspective, the fastest production car
in the world as of putting together this article is the Bugatti Chiron which if
you remove the digital imitator can go up to 288 miles per hour or 464 km/h.
N° 5
Sir Henry Royce made the initial engineering sketches of that engine while
on a beach, he was walking down the beach with several of his engineers when an
idea struck him, he quickly made the sketches right on the spot and when they
figured out how to make it not blow up, he helped beat the Nazis. The Merlin
engine was designed to give the same performance but last longer, it succeeded
and became the heart and soul of the legendary Spitfire fighter plane
N° 6
Rolls-Royce makes nuclear reactors;
Under an agreement dating back to the 1950s, Rolls-Royce makes its own nuclear
reactors for British submarines with some US tech help, In exchange for R.R helping the U.S make subs
a little quieter.
N° 7
The Rolls-Royce was created to compete with trains and horses; when Rolls
and Royce founded Rolls-Royce limited, they set out to prove the car could
become a means of transport to rival the train, an early advert for the company
carry the testimonial from an owner: “I may say my car is a perfect dream, it
is so reliable that I have done away with my carriages and horses”.
N° 8
There are no known photographs of Rolls and Royce together. Believe us,
we've tried to find one for this article and we ended up with nothing.
N° 9
The RR letters on the wheels are always in an up position. The luxury
automobiles have a custom system in place that even when you brake, it
activates itself so the letters always end up in an upwards position
N° 10
Sir Henry Royce was always known as “R” at the factory. The practice of
addressing people by their initials, especially on written memorandums, is still
continued at the factory
N° 11
Hong Kong has the most Rolls Royces per capita in the world. Considered
gaudy or flashy in many places, Rolls-Royce cars are an admired status symbol
of Hong Kong's wealthy. The city has for many years how the title of most Rolls
Royces per capita, with the peninsula hotel easily being the biggest customer
owning an iconic fleet of 14 phantom models
N°12
The most expensive Rolls-Royce in the world so far costs 8.5 million
dollars. Named “Phantom solid gold” the car lives to its name, as one 120
kilograms of 18 karat gold were used to create the custom side trims, front
grille, wheels, boot handle and onboard protection system. We're expecting
later this year to have some vintage Rolls Royces overcome that price in
private auctions, till then the phantom solid gold gets the crown as the most
expensive Rolls-Royce in the world
N° 13
You will never open an ashtray in a modern Rolls-Royce and find a cigarette
end. This is a clear indication of the attention to detail that goes into
making these incredible cars, they have a custom system in place that cleans
the ashtray automatically so you're always enjoying your experience.
N° 14
The Rolls-Royce radiator grille is made entirely by hand and eye. No
measuring instruments are used, it takes one man one day to make a Rolls-Royce
radiator and then five hours are spent polishing it. Also nobody is certain who
designed the radiator grille or the RR logo, the iconic Rolls-Royce radiator
was not a registered trademark until 1974.
N° 15
The oldest Rolls-Royce still on the road is the 1904 10 HP owned by Mr.
Thomas Love Jr. of Scotland, which stands as a testament to the incredible
overall quality of the cars. Rolls-Royce is a symbol of wealth and class, so we
wanted to ask you, what do you think is the most luxurious car brand in the
world? Is it Rolls-Royce or do you believe the likes of Ferrari or Bugatti are
more synonymous with luxury? Let us know in the comments
Because you stuck with us up to this point, we have another fact just for
you
N° 16
From start to finish, it takes six months to build a Rolls Royce. To put
that into perspective, it takes 13 hours to build a Toyota