Post by Tom on Jan 30, 2024 14:58:16 GMT -5
I guess Julio has this one and if he doesn’t, he will undoubtedly like it.
In 1907 Claude Johnson, commercial and managing director of Rolls-Royce, ordered a car to be used as a demonstrator by the company. With chassis no. 60551 and registered AX 201, it was the 12th 40/50 hp to be made, and was painted in aluminum paint with silver-plated fittings. The car was named the ‘Silver Ghost’ to emphasise its ghost-like quietness, and a plaque bearing this name adorned the bulkhead. An open-top Roi-des-Belges body by coachbuilder Barker was fitted, and the car readied for the Scottish reliability trials of 1907 and, immediately afterwards, another 15,000-mile (24,000 km) test which included driving between London and Glasgow 27 times.
The aim was to raise public awareness of the new company and to show the reliability and quietness of their new car. This was a risky idea: cars of this time were notoriously unreliable, and roads of the day could be horrendous. Nevertheless, the car set off on trials, and with press aboard, broke various records. Even after 7,000 miles (11,000 km), the cost to service the car was a negligible £2 2s 7d (£2.13). The reputation of the 40/50, and Rolls-Royce, was established.
AX 201 was sold in 1908, for £750, to Sir Daniel Hanbury who used it repeatedly to travel to his Italian residence, Villa della Pergola in Alassio, in the Italian Riviera, starting from his English residence Castle Malwood in Lyndhurst in Hampshire.
This car was then recovered by the company in 1948. Since then, it has been used as a publicity car and travelled worldwide. In 1991, the car was restored.
In 2005 it was noted to be the world's most valuable car, its insured value was placed at US$35 million. After the 1998 sale of Rolls-Royce Motors Ltd the car passed into the ownership of Bentley Motors.
This Rolls-Royce can be found in just about every general classic car book and every R-R company history book and I’ve seen it on display at several shows. You can say without doubt that it’s the most famous Rolls-Royce ever. The 1980s Franklin Mint 1:24 model was about the pinnacle of mass-market model making at the time, with a level of detail and finish that still impresses almost 40 years later. Though thousands of these must have been sold, few remain complete and in good condition. Usually the windscreen is missing, which ruins the model. Those damaged and incomplete models can be had for very little money, I was briefly tempted by one at the local thrift store for EUR 4.50. In the end I decided that I wanted a complete and undamaged model and waited, and it took less than a month to find a complete one for an attractive, if logically higher price at a different thrift store. I lusted after this model in the ‘80s and though I now have lots of models with more detail, it will always be special to me. This will get a nice place in my displays. I will need to straighten the radiator mascot without breaking it and to get a new aerosol of compressed air for a proper clean
Franklin Mint – Rolls-Royce 40/50 ‘Silver Ghost’ 1907
In 1907 Claude Johnson, commercial and managing director of Rolls-Royce, ordered a car to be used as a demonstrator by the company. With chassis no. 60551 and registered AX 201, it was the 12th 40/50 hp to be made, and was painted in aluminum paint with silver-plated fittings. The car was named the ‘Silver Ghost’ to emphasise its ghost-like quietness, and a plaque bearing this name adorned the bulkhead. An open-top Roi-des-Belges body by coachbuilder Barker was fitted, and the car readied for the Scottish reliability trials of 1907 and, immediately afterwards, another 15,000-mile (24,000 km) test which included driving between London and Glasgow 27 times.
The aim was to raise public awareness of the new company and to show the reliability and quietness of their new car. This was a risky idea: cars of this time were notoriously unreliable, and roads of the day could be horrendous. Nevertheless, the car set off on trials, and with press aboard, broke various records. Even after 7,000 miles (11,000 km), the cost to service the car was a negligible £2 2s 7d (£2.13). The reputation of the 40/50, and Rolls-Royce, was established.
AX 201 was sold in 1908, for £750, to Sir Daniel Hanbury who used it repeatedly to travel to his Italian residence, Villa della Pergola in Alassio, in the Italian Riviera, starting from his English residence Castle Malwood in Lyndhurst in Hampshire.
This car was then recovered by the company in 1948. Since then, it has been used as a publicity car and travelled worldwide. In 1991, the car was restored.
In 2005 it was noted to be the world's most valuable car, its insured value was placed at US$35 million. After the 1998 sale of Rolls-Royce Motors Ltd the car passed into the ownership of Bentley Motors.
This Rolls-Royce can be found in just about every general classic car book and every R-R company history book and I’ve seen it on display at several shows. You can say without doubt that it’s the most famous Rolls-Royce ever. The 1980s Franklin Mint 1:24 model was about the pinnacle of mass-market model making at the time, with a level of detail and finish that still impresses almost 40 years later. Though thousands of these must have been sold, few remain complete and in good condition. Usually the windscreen is missing, which ruins the model. Those damaged and incomplete models can be had for very little money, I was briefly tempted by one at the local thrift store for EUR 4.50. In the end I decided that I wanted a complete and undamaged model and waited, and it took less than a month to find a complete one for an attractive, if logically higher price at a different thrift store. I lusted after this model in the ‘80s and though I now have lots of models with more detail, it will always be special to me. This will get a nice place in my displays. I will need to straighten the radiator mascot without breaking it and to get a new aerosol of compressed air for a proper clean
Franklin Mint – Rolls-Royce 40/50 ‘Silver Ghost’ 1907