Rolls-Royce Limited was a very prestigious, world famous, British manufacturer of luxury cars. It also manufactured aero engines which eventually became a problem when the costs of developing the advanced RB211 jet crippled them. As a result, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars was born.
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Rolls-Royce Car Reviews
Rolls-Royce Overview
Brief History
Rolls-Royce Limited was founded in 1906, nationalized in 1971 and divided into Rolls-Royce Motors and Rolls-Royce plc in 1973. The Rolls-Royce motor company has undergone many changes through the years.
In 1973 the British government sold the car company so that it could concentrate on manufacturing jet engines. In 1980 the company was purchased by Vickers. It was resold 18 years later to Volkswagen. However Rolls-Royce plc decided to license the company’s name and logo to BMW, whom the company had entered into business with, for £40 million. Volkswagen held rights to the Rolls-Royce grille and mascot but could not build cars under the Rolls-Royce name.
The two companies managed to come to an agreement and it was decided that Volkswagen would be allowed to use the names from 1998 to 2002 with BMW continuing to supply engines for the cars, but by January 1, 2003 only BMW would be allowed to manufacture cars under the Rolls-Royce name. Volkswagen would then continue to manufacture cars under the Bentley name.
Model Range
Rolls-Royce Phantom
The Rolls Royce Phantom is a luxury saloon that was first produced in 2003 under BMW. It can be bought as a 4-door saloon, a 2-door drophead coupé or a 2-door convertible. It has a 6.5 litre, v12 engine and won the Top Gear Car of the Year Award for 2003
Rolls-Royce Ghost
The Rolls-Royce ghost is a luxury 4-door saloon which was produced in 2010 in an attempt to produce a more ‘realistic car’ than the Phantom, in terms of price and size. The Ghost features a 6.0L twin-turbo V12 engine which allows the Ghost to do 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.
