Salon Privé Concours celebrates 120th anniversary of Rolls-Royce

If someone holds At your birthday party, do they show all the guests the report you wrote for work or the spreadsheet you compiled? Of course not. People’s birthdays don’t work that way. Car companies are very different. They may donate to charities to help people in the surrounding community, but car manufacturers will always be remembered for the products they produce.^day To celebrate the brand’s 70th anniversary, next month’s Salon Privé will bring together seven important models from the past 20 years.^day century exhibitions held at Blenheim Palace in the UK. We highlight a few of them below.

1911 40/50hp – “1701” (aka The Lazy Man)

You may have heard Rolls-Royce referred to as “the best car in the world”. car In 1907, Rolls-Royce reviewed the 40/50hp – just a few years after Rolls-Royce was founded (just like Michael Jordan was called “the GOAT” in 1986). But Rolls-Royce didn’t stop there. In response to rival Napier’s 799-mile London-Edinburgh-London trip in record time, they developed an “experimental speed model” powered by a high-performance 7,428cc six-cylinder engine. Chassis 1701, aka the Slacker, a name inspired by internal debates about whether the car was suitable for its core customer base, was prepared for the 1911 Top Gear London to Edinburgh test drive. Driven by Rolls-Royce experimental test driver Ernest Hives, the 40/50hp beat the Napier and even reached 101 mph at the Brooklands race track. Under current ownership it has completed the London to Edinburgh journey several times and completed a 3,500-mile re-run of the 1913 Alpine Trial.

1923 Rolls-Royce Springfield Silver Ghost Pall Mall

Believe it or not, Springfield refers to Springfield, Massachusetts, where Rolls-Royce has a factory that assembles cars sent in kit form from the Derby factory across the Atlantic. Many of the cars built in Springfield, including this one, have bodies that are ready for show, rather than bodies built by independent coachbuilders. It started production in 1923 at the Derby factory as chassis 77JH, was assembled in Springfield and fitted with locally sourced electrical components and wheels, and had a closed Pickwick body. Later, this Silver Ghost was given a Pall Mall station wagon body from a 1921 Silver Ghost, and is reportedly one of only two American-built examples of the Pall Mall station wagon Dual Cowl in existence. Most recently, it was named Best in Class at the Amelia Antique Car Show earlier this year.

1933 Freestone & Webb Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental

This car was built for speed, or as its build sheet put it, “fast touring.” It had a Freestone & Webb body with no side spare tires or running boards to slow it down. Its clean lines also gave buyers a glimpse into the future design language of Rolls-Royce’s post-war models.

1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V by HJ Mulliner Park Ward

Originally finished in Valentine Black with Velvet Green and Beige leather, this Rolls-Royce was repainted white in 1967 after changing hands. You may have heard of the gentleman who commissioned the exterior makeover: John Lennon. In addition to a new paint job, he also outfitted it with a Webasto sunroof, a Philips record player, an 8-track player, a telephone, a TV, and a rear console. Lennon eventually sold it to Allen Klein, manager of The Beatles and founder of Abkco Music and Records. The Phantom remains part of the Klein family, but it has been restored to the way it would have looked in Lennon’s time.

Other Rolls-Royce models that will be on display at the Salon Privé on August 28-29 include:

• 1953 Hooper & Co. Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost
• 1954 Park Ward Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn Drophead Coupé
• 1988 Hooper & Co. Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit

For more information, including ticket prices and a schedule of events, visit the Salon Privé website.