Rolls Royce Silver Ghost turns 100

by Erin Mays (RSS feed)
May 11th 2007 at 4:02PM

UK Rolls Royce enthusiasts -- at least those who were invited -- packed up their insanely valuable vintage cars and headed off to the Rolls Royce and Bentley Heritage dealership P&A Wood in Great Easton, where they celebrated the 100th birthday for the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost.

The Silver Ghost's centenary was truly rung in with style, with the first-ever Silver Ghost on hand, some Silver Shadows, an Austin 7 and other remarkable vintage cars, as well as flybys from some winged cousins for extra effect, including a Spitfire, Hurricane and a Lancaster bomber.

Introduced in 1907, the Silver Ghost was largely responsible for Rolls Royce becoming lauded as maker of the world's finest cars. Originally outfitted with a six-cylinder, 7036 cc engine mated to a three speed transmission, the Ghost produced 40/50 hp, according to the manufacturer, and its chassis served as the basis for a few armored car models. The "Ghost" designation referred to the vehicle's "ghost-like quietness."

You'll notice that the linked article has things a little backwards -- unless our automotive knowledge is seriously flawed, the Silver Ghost came out in 1907, while the Shadow arrived on the scene in 1965.

Tags: austin 7, Austin7, bentley, rolls royce, RollsRoyce, silver ghost, silver shadow, SilverGhost, SilverShadow