However, there is a brand that will never arouse people's discussion-Rolls Royce, which has been a symbol of elegance in the automobile industry for more than 100 years. Even in the low period of brand development, although the model is old, countless people still fall in love with it. Today, Rolls-Royce cars have become a status symbol, and today we will walk into the history of Rolls-Royce together.
1904,41year-old Frederick? Henry. Royce (Henry? Les) finally ushered in a turning point in his career. Henry. Les was born in peterborough, England on 1863. His father died of illness at the age of 9, and he was forced to sell newspapers in the street to support his mother and aunt. Because of his poor family, little Henry, like most poor children at that time, was an apprentice in a railway company as a teenager. Thanks to the attitude of striving for perfection in everything, 19-year-old part-time Henry became an engineer in an electrical company.
Figure: Silver in 1907? Ghost and Rolls-Royce founder Henry? Les (left) and Charlie? Rouse (right).
Like the founders of most automobile brands in the same period, Henry had an amazing talent in machinery. 1902, he bought a car called de Courvill. At that time, Decoville was a very good brand. But this French car always has some minor problems, which makes Henry very disappointed. He vowed to design his own 1 twin-cylinder engine car. 1903, Henry? Les began to make his first car. He commissioned a foundry to manufacture auto parts, recruited some frame craftsmen to assemble four car bodies, and successfully manufactured the first 2-cylinder engine Rolls Royce with a displacement of 1800 ml and a maximum power of 10 horsepower.
This year, Henry? Les met Bole who was 15 years younger than him? -Charles? Stuart? Rawls (Charlie? Routh). So, Charlie, 26? Rouse is the Lord of England? Lord Langetek's third son, his family is a noble family in England. Charlie, who graduated from Cambridge University, is one of the earliest car lovers in Britain and one of the earliest car racing promoters. When Charlie was still studying in Cambridge, he bought his first car, a Peugeot, and practiced his superb driving skills in his spare time. When he graduated from Cambridge, he was already a famous racing driver.
1902, Charlie started the car business, and his Rolls-Royce company soon became one of the most powerful car dealers in Britain. But Rouse has always had two wishes: first, he hopes that his name can be associated with high-quality cars; Second, I hope to find a car made in England. Charlie has been looking for opportunities until he saw the 2-cylinder engine car produced by Les in Manchester in 1904, which was greatly shocked. The start button of this car runs very smoothly, with low noise and very reliable performance. Rawls immediately borrowed Les's car to go to London and introduced it to his partner Claude? Johnson.
1904 14 In February, Les was first exhibited at the Paris Motor Show, which caused a great sensation. Shortly after Christmas, Rolls-Royce and Les formally signed a cooperation agreement. Rolls-Royce became the only company with the right to sell Les cars in the UK, and its brand name was changed to Rolls-Royce. Les is the early technical pillar of Rolls-Royce. Why is the name behind Rolls-Royce? This is not because of Rawls' aristocratic lineage. They all think that the name Les Rolls is not as good as Rolls-Royce, and the name of this legendary brand is finally determined as Rolls-Royce.
Figure: Silver in 1907? Ghost, the front grille of Parthenon is still in use today.
1907, silver? It's the devil who made Rolls-Royce famous. The golden bell-top radiator is very eye-catching. Today, this design element called "Parthenon" is still the front face of the Rolls-Royce family. The door is designed like a carriage and opens backwards to let passengers get off in the most elegant posture. However, it was not until this car was discontinued that Rolls-Royce finally named it Sliver? Ghost. By 1924, Rolls-Royce had produced 6 173 silver amulets, all of which were handmade. Silver charms established Rolls-Royce's position in the world automobile industry.
Like many manufacturers today, Rolls-Royce thought about promoting its brand through racing at the beginning of its establishment. Yinmei (1907) is a four-seater vehicle equipped with an in-line six-cylinder 7L engine, which adopts forced lubrication technology. The maximum output power can reach 36kW, the maximum speed can reach 1 10 km/h, and it can run continuously 15000 miles trouble-free in long-distance endurance races. However, Rolls-Royce's racing history came to an end in 19 10, because the founder Les died in a flight accident, and the biplane that caused the accident officially came from the Wright brothers.
Photo: Rolls-Royce's double "R" logo embodies the sincere and permanent alliance between the founders Rolls-Royce and Les.
Just as Rolls-Royce has two founders, Rolls-Royce also has two quite famous symbols. Double "r" and "flying goddess" The double "R" pattern is overlapped with two "R" s, which symbolizes that you have me and I have you, and embodies the sincere and permanent alliance relationship between Rawls and Les, the founder of the company.
Another symbol of Rolls-Royce, "Goddess of Flying", comes from the painter and sculptor Charles of the famous German magazine Automotive Illustrated. The hand of sykes. Based on the image of Sykes, the goddess of victory 2,000 years ago in the Louvre in Paris, and Miss Shaunton in our society as a model, Charlie designed the "flying goddess", which means the soul of speed. On February 6th, 19 1 1, the goddess of flight came to Rolls-Royce, and its opening ceremony was as grand and enthusiastic as the first Rolls-Royce rolled off the assembly line.
Photo: Another symbol of Rolls-Royce's "Goddess of Flying" comes from Charles, the painter and sculptor of the famous German magazine Automotive Illustrated. The hand of sykes.
Don't underestimate this small and exquisite "flying goddess". Until today, its manufacturing process is still very complicated, and the process is extremely complicated. First, the wax mold technology is used to manually reverse mold pressing, and then hand-polished for at least 8 times, and then the polished flying goddess is put into a machine filled with mixed polishing substances for 64 minutes. Finally, it is qualified after strict inspection.
The reliability of Yinmei made it attracted by the British in the First World War. The silver charm produced by the Derbyshire factory was converted into an armored vehicle and appeared on the battlefields in North Africa and the Middle East. After the war, the upper class at that time was very willing to spend a lot of money to buy these Rolls Royce that could stand the test of war. Before World War I, the British Air Force was equipped with French engines, and the British government thought that war might break out on French soil. So under the command of the British government, Les began to develop aircraft engines in the factory in Derby, England, and soon became the main business of Rolls-Royce.
Photo: Armored vehicle modified by Yinmei chassis in World War I.
1925, 20 years of silver charm can no longer satisfy people's aesthetic point of view. As a result, Rolls-Royce installed a new engine on the chassis of India and the United States, and redesigned its appearance. The new car was named Phantom I, and Phantom I was not technically innovative.
Photo: Phantom I was born to replace the 20-year-old silver charm, but Phantom? I don't have much innovation myself.
Phantom II II was born in 1929. Early Rolls-Royce didn't consider driving in the rain, so it didn't design a shelter for drivers. PhantomⅱII II's canopy covered both drivers and passengers. At the same time, Phantom II lengthens the wheelbase, which makes the rear seat move from the rear axle to between the two axles compared with Phantom I, making the passengers more comfortable. The engine adopts aluminum cylinder head, and the front and rear axles of the chassis are equipped with semi-elliptical leaf springs, which makes the body height lower. The engine, clutch and transmission are designed as a whole, separated from the chassis and no longer fixed on it as before. Of course, PhantomⅱII II also contains many luxurious hand-made designs. In order to make the car paint appear pearl color, Rolls-Royce added green scales ground into powder to the paint. The interior materials are made of the best French leather and small fig wood, which match the body blue.
Figure: Phantom? II gathered the most advanced car-making technology and the most luxurious interior at that time.
193 1 year, Rolls-Royce acquired the bankrupt Bentley Motor Company. Les hopes to make Bentley, which also has a long history, the second brand of Rolls-Royce. Les positioned Bentley as a sports car, and perhaps the existence of Bentley kept Rolls-Royce so pure. At this time, the phantom? The development of ⅲ is also in progress. Is Les a mirage? ⅲ contributed a lot of energy, but died in 1933, and finally did not see the birth of a new car. 1935 10 month, phantom? Ⅲ rolled off the production line. This is the first time Rolls-Royce has been equipped with a 7.3L engine with 12 cylinder. Phantom? III also uses an independent front suspension, and the crankshaft and cylinder head are made of expensive aluminum alloy materials, which were originally used only for Rolls-Royce aircraft engines.
Figure: Phantom, because it can't solve the problem of engine overheating, often explodes at high speed? The III is doomed to be a failed car.
Still, phantom? ⅲ is still a failed model. Because the problem of engine cooling is not solved, the engine will "boil" soon after high-speed cruising. Although improvements were made, the bad reputation spread and soon became a mirage. I lost the market. Compared with the sales of Phantom II 1767 vehicles, Phantom? ⅲ only produced 727 cars and stopped production, and Rolls-Royce unfortunately entered a recession. Phantom? ⅲ declared the end of the era of Rice and the era of unrestricted R&D expenditure.
1946, Rolls-Royce's first production car was born after the war. Is it Bentley Mark? ⅵ. Bentley Mark? ⅵ is more athletic and closer to the people than Rolls-Royce, which has brought vitality to the British society traumatized by World War II. Two years later, Rolls-Royce finally launched its own brand car, Silver? Dawn (silver dawn) soon, phantom? Ⅳ Introduced, this is the first Rolls-Royce car made of its own chassis after the war, with a top speed of 160km/h, but almost no one will drive to this speed, because this car only produced 18 cars, which was specially designed for Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh. Rolls-Royce announced that only heads of state can buy and own phantoms? Ⅳ, which means Rolls-Royce has pushed itself to the ultra-high-end and exclusive market.
Photo: Bentley Mark, Rolls-Royce's first production car after the war? ⅵ. Bentley Mark? ⅵ is more athletic and closer to the people than Rolls-Royce, which has brought vitality to the British society traumatized by World War II.
Photo: Only heads of state can buy and own phantoms? Ⅳ。
1955, Rolls-Royce Silver? Cloud (Silver Cloud) and Bentley S-type appear, and their hoods are exactly the same as those outside the logo, so that some buyers of Rolls-Royce and Bentley often send their new cars to British handicraft factories for personalized decoration or large-scale renovation. Rolls-Royce Silver? Silver Cloud and Bentley S lead the new era of their respective brands, but the processing and production of Rolls-Royce still adopt the old-fashioned way. When new technologies and new design trends appeared, Rolls-Royce began to show its old age.
Photo: 1955 Rolls-Royce Silver Born? Clouds.
During the period of 1955- 1965, Rolls-Royce only made some minor changes, such as changing the compression ratio of the engine and adjusting the seats. Rolls-Royce feels that their cars can't satisfy consumers' tastes in styling, and needs a new model to revive the brand. 1965, silver? Shadow (Silver Shadow) and Bentley Model T were born, replacing silver? Yunhe Bentley S. Silver Shadow is the first Rolls-Royce with a load-bearing body and the best-selling Rolls-Royce. /kloc-in 0/6, * * * sold 34,000 cars, and it was also the last Rolls-Royce brand model that still maintained some classic features. During this period, the management of the company has actually realized that everyone must keep pace with the times, and Rolls-Royce is no exception.
Photo: 197 1 The Rolls-Royce Corniche (Binhai Road) was born with a top speed of 200 km/h. In order to ensure good braking effect, ventilated disc brakes were first used on Rolls-Royce cars.
197 1 In March, Yinying had a branch line model, which was Rolls-Royce Corniche. The car has a top speed of 200 km/h. In order to ensure good braking effect, ventilated disc brakes are used for the first time on Rolls-Royce. In the same year, Rolls-Royce encountered problems in aircraft engines, and some Rolls-Royce cars with meager profits were listed on the London Stock Exchange.
1978, despite the silver? Shadow sells well, but Rolls-Royce Motor Company has already felt the pressure, and the company does not have enough investment to develop new models. And the new Rolls-Royce silver? Spirit and Bentley Mulsanne still use many old technologies, using parts from previous models. 1980, Rolls-Royce Motor Company was acquired by Vexcor. Vexcor has many businesses, mainly defense equipment and engines. This year, Rolls-Royce has changed another brand. Silver? Spirit and silver? The Spurs (Silver Spurs) have become the new protagonists of the car factory.
Figure: Silver in 1990? Spurs (Silver Spurs) Extended Edition.
Photo: Silver in the 1990s? Spirit (silver elf).
1988 Rolls-Royce introduced No.2 Binhai Road, and 1989 Binhai Road No.3 started production. 199 1 year rolls-royce Binhai road series was discontinued. This not only means the end of Binhai Road, but also symbolizes the historical mission of Rolls-Royce Baijia manual production base. Parkward has countless luxury Rolls Royce, and the tinkling years will eventually be replaced by the silent night color. Rolls-Royce's production base is no longer Parkward.
Photo: 199 1 year, the Rolls-Royce Binhai Road series stopped production, and the Rolls-Royce Baijiahua manual production base completed its historical mission.
1997, Vickers announced that it would sell Rolls-Royce. As early as 1990, BMW took control of Rolls-Royce Aircraft Engine Company, and Vexcor also wanted BMW to take over Rolls-Royce. 1At the end of April, 1998, Vickers officially accepted BMW's offer of $575 million, but at this time, Volkswagen broke out halfway and announced that it would buy Rolls-Royce at an astonishing price of $795 million, and promised not to take Rolls-Royce out of the UK and maintain its British management model. Sure enough, Volkswagen's move achieved miraculous results. Vexcor Group turned to BMW to raise its offer, but it was resolutely rejected by the latter. After a heated discussion in the board of directors, Vickers turned to accept the offer from the public. 1On July 3, 1998, Vexcor Group announced that it would sell Rolls-Royce to Volkswagen for144 billion mark, and BMW was kicked out.
Photo: Rolls-Royce Aeroengine Company controlled by BMW.
In the face of Vickers' promise, the angry BMW immediately countered and announced that it would suspend the supply of engines for Rolls-Royce. At this time, as a subsidiary of BMW, Rolls-Royce Aeroengine Company owns the trademark of Rolls-Royce. It announced that it did not agree with Volkswagen to use the brand name of Rolls-Royce, but would authorize the trademark right to BMW. In this way, an acquisition war turned into a deadlock: Volkswagen bought the sign of "Goddess of Flying" and the right to use the water tank grille, but it could not build a Rolls-Royce car; Similarly, BMW got the name of Rolls-Royce, but it has no right to use the logo and the grille of the water tank.
In the end, Volkswagen, BMW, Rolls-Royce and Vexcor settled the dispute through consultation. BMW obtained the right to use the name and logo of Rolls-Royce for 68 million dollars, but allowed the public to use its name until the end of 2002. Volkswagen buys Bentley brand, but can it produce Rolls-Royce silver in Crewe, England? Seraphim and Bentley were elegant until February 3, 20021. What happened after that, silver? The production right of Seraphim was transferred to BMW, and BMW agreed to abide by a series of contracts signed with Cosworth Engine Company controlled by Volkswagen.
Photo: In 2003, the last batch of silver produced by the Crewe County factory? Seraph (Silver Angel) is off the assembly line, and Rolls-Royce is no longer produced in Crewe County factory.
1998 rolls-royce launches silver? Seraph (Silver Angel), in 2003, in order to commemorate the contribution of Inkru County Automobile Factory, the automobile factory specially produced 170 limited edition Silver Angel as a souvenir. The limited edition Silver Angel is unique in that there is a silver metal nameplate on the back of the front wheel, which says Rolls Royce? Motor? Cars? Crewe, England, and painted with a rice flag. 170 limited edition silver angel is Rolls-Royce's swan song as a British aristocrat.
Photo: Surprisingly, the Phantom of Rolls Royce launched in 2003 was created by a designer in his twenties.
In 2003, a brand-new phantom appeared in front of car fans all over the world. As the latest Rolls-Royce released by BMW after taking over Rolls-Royce, the designer of this car is only in his twenties, and some people loyal to the Rolls-Royce brand are deeply uneasy about it, but the new phantom has dispelled their doubts. This talented designer carefully studied the Rolls-Royce models in the past 100 years. Especially in the 1930s, some features of Rolls-Royce models were incorporated into the design of new cars, such as the large front hood of the engine and a small proportion of windows, which were very popular in Europe, America and Asia.
Photo: In 2009, Rolls-Royce released the Ghost, a four-door sedan with a slightly lower phantom positioning than Rolls-Royce.
In 2009, Rolls-Royce released a brand-new 200EX concept car and named it Ghost. Ghost is a four-door car with a slightly lower positioning than Rolls-Royce Phantom Series. Ghost seems to commemorate Silver, who is called "the best car in the world"? Ghost (silver charm) also indicates that Rolls-Royce is appearing in front of the world with a brand-new image after a hundred years of vicissitudes.
Looking at the "contradictory" car brands mentioned at the beginning of the article, BMW may be the most successful. Every time BMW compromises from sports to comfort, it will always attract a lot of discussion, but BMW can always balance well and continue its brand genes. Even after compromise, there will be countless fans. Why doesn't Rolls-Royce face such a "contradictory" situation? Even if you have a hundred years of aristocratic blood, you always have to go through technological updates and changes. I believe BMW will do a good job in how to balance.
Photo: Rolls-Royce Phantom, a sliding back model launched on 20 13.
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