The Engine Bay of a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost 40/50hp Roadster, circa 1914, on display at the 2022 Silverstone Classic
Image details
Contributor:
John Gaffen / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
2MEK5A7File size:
60.2 MB (2.1 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
5616 x 3744 px | 47.5 x 31.7 cm | 18.7 x 12.5 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
27 August 2022Location:
Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8TNMore information:
The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost name refers both to a car model and one specific car from that series. Originally named the "40/50 h.p." the chassis was first made at Royce's Manchester works, with production moving to Derby in July 1908, and also, between 1921 and 1926, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Chassis no. 60551, registered AX 201, was the car that was originally given the name "Silver Ghost." Other 40/50 hp cars were also given names, but the Silver Ghost title was taken up by the press, and soon all 40/50s were called by the name, a fact not officially recognised by Rolls-Royce until 1925, when the Phantom range was launched. The Silver Ghost was the origin of Rolls-Royce's claim of making the "best car in the world" – a phrase coined not by themselves, but by the prestigious publication Autocar in 1907. The chassis and engine were also used as the basis of a range of Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars. The car at first had a new side-valve, six-cylinder, 7036 cc engine (7428 cc from 1910) with the cylinders cast in two units of three cylinders each as opposed to the triple two-cylinder units on the earlier six. A three-speed transmission was fitted at first with four-speed units used from 1913. The seven-bearing crankshaft had full pressure lubrication, and the centre main bearing was made especially large to remove vibration, essentially splitting the engine into two three-cylinder units. Two spark plugs were fitted to each cylinder with, from 1921, a choice of magneto or coil ignition.[4] The earliest cars had used a trembler coil to produce the spark with a magneto as an optional extra which soon became standard - the instruction was to start the engine on the trembler/battery and then switch to magneto. Continuous development allowed power output to be increased from 48 bhp (36 kW) at 1, 250 rpm to 80 bhp (60 kW) at 2, 250 rpm. Electric lighting became an option in 1914 and was standardised in 1919.