Nowadays, most automobile brands with some history leave people with the same impression, that is, contradiction. The progress of car-making technology makes it possible for a car to have many different personalities at the same time, which also makes people's requirements for a car more and more diverse. Everyone knows that BMW, which used to focus on sports performance, is increasingly compromising luxury and comfort, but few people know that Bentley, which focuses on the ultimate and luxury, started with Le Mans Endurance in the early days. When talking about the so-called brand culture and heritage, I believe many brands must be "lost".
But 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 1 years. Even in the low period of brand development, although the models are old, countless people still fall in love with it. Now, Rolls-Royce cars have become a status symbol, and today we are going into the history of Rolls-Royce together.
in p>194, 41-year-old Frederick? Henry? Royce (Henry? Les) finally ushered in a turning point in his career. Henry? Les was born in peterborough, England in 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, like most children from poor families at that time, little Henry worked as an apprentice in a railway company as a teenager. Thanks to his attitude of striving for perfection in everything, Henry worked part-time at the age of 19 and became an engineer in an electrical company.
picture: Silver in 197? Ghost and Rolls-Royce founder Henry? Les (left) and Charlie? Rouse (right).
Like the founders of most automobile brands in the same period, Henry has an amazing talent in machinery. In 192, he bought a car called Decauville. At that time, Decoville was a good brand. But this French car always has some minor problems, which makes Henry very disappointed. He vowed to design a 2-cylinder engine car by himself. In 193, Henry Les began to build 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 Royce car with a 2-cylinder engine, with a displacement of 1,8 ml and a maximum power of 1 HP.
this year, Henry? Les met Bole, who is 15 years younger than him? ——Charles? Stewart? Rolls (Charlie? Routh). Charlie, then 26? Rouse is Lord of England? The third son of Lord Langatek, whose family is a noble family in England. Charlie graduated from Cambridge University and was one of the earliest car enthusiasts in Britain and one of the earliest motor racing promoters. When he was still studying in Cambridge, Charlie bought his first car, a Peugeot, and practiced his superb driving skills in his spare time. By the time he graduated from Cambridge, he was already a famous racing driver.
in p>192, Charlie started to do car business, and his Rolls Company soon became one of the most powerful car dealers in Britain. But Routh 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 Britain. Charley was always looking for opportunities until he saw Les's 2-cylinder engine car in Manchester in 194 and was greatly shocked. This car starts with a button, which runs very smoothly and smoothly, with little noise and very reliable performance. Rolls immediately borrowed Les's car to London and introduced it to his partner Claude? Johnson.
In December, 194, Les cars were exhibited for the first time at the Paris Motor Show, which caused a great sensation. Shortly after Christmas, Rolls-Royce and Les formally signed a cooperation agreement, and Rolls-Royce became the only company with the right to sell Les cars in Britain, and its brand name was changed to Rolls-Royce. Les is the early technical pillar of Rolls-Royce. Why is the name behind Rolls? This is not because of Rolls's 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 to be Rolls-Royce.
picture: Silver in 197? Ghost, the "Parthenon" front grille is still in use today.
In p>197, Silver made his first appearance at the Paris Motor Show. Ghost 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 Rolls-Royce family. The door is designed like a carriage, and it opens backwards, allowing passengers to 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 Charms, all of which were made by hand. Silver Charms established its position in the world car world for Rolls-Royce.
like many manufacturers today, at the beginning of its establishment, Rolls-Royce also thought of promoting its brand through motor racing. In 197, Yinmei, a four-seater car with an in-line six-cylinder 7L engine, adopted forced lubrication technology, with a maximum output of 36kW and a maximum speed of 11 km/h, and was able to run continuously for 15, miles in long-distance endurance races without trouble. But the racing history of Rolls-Royce came to an end in 191, because the founder Les died in a flight accident, and the biplane that caused the accident officially came from the Wright brothers.
Figure: Rolls-Royce's double "R" logo embodies the sincere and permanent alliance between the founders Rolls 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 uses two "R" overlapping together, symbolizing that you have me and I have you, which embodies the sincere and permanent alliance between the founders of the company, Rolls and Les.
Another logo of Rolls-Royce "Goddess of Flying" comes from Charles, the painter and sculptor of the famous German magazine Automotive Illustrated. The hand of sykes? Charles designed the "Flying Goddess", which means the soul of speed, based on the image of Sykes, a 2,-year-old statue of the goddess of victory in the Louvre in Paris, and Miss Shaunton of our society as a model. On February 6, 1911, the "Goddess of Flying" descended on Rolls-Royce, and its opening ceremony was as grand and enthusiastic as the first Rolls-Royce rolled off the assembly line.
Figure: Another logo of Rolls-Royce "Goddess of Flying" comes from the painter and sculptor Charles of the famous German magazine Automotive Illustrated. The hand of sykes.
Don't underestimate this small and exquisite "flying goddess". Until today, its production process is still very complicated and complicated. Firstly, the wax mold technology is used to manually reverse mold and press it, then it is polished by hand for at least 8 times, and then the polished flying goddess is put into a machine filled with mixed polishing substances for grinding for 64 minutes. Finally, it is only qualified after passing strict inspection.
because of its reliability, Yinmei was attracted by the British army in World War I. The Yinmei produced by 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 people at that time were very willing to spend a lot of money to buy these Rolls Royce that stood the test of war. Before World War I, the British Air Force was still equipped with French engines, and the British government thought that the war might break out on French soil. So under the orders 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.
Figure: Armored vehicle modified from Yinmei chassis in World War I..
in p>1925, the 2-year-old silver charm could no longer satisfy people's aesthetic views. As a result, Rolls-Royce installed a new engine on Yinmei's chassis and redesigned its appearance. The new car was named Phantom I, and Phantom I was not technically innovative.
Figure: Phantom I was born to replace the 2-year-old silver charm, but Phantom? I itself is not much innovative.
in p>1929, PhantomⅡ ⅱ was born. The early Rolls-Royce didn't consider driving in the rain, so it didn't design a rain shelter for the driver, and the canopy of PhantomⅡ II covered both the rider and the driver. At the same time, Phantom II lengthens the wheelbase, which makes the rear seats move from the rear axle to between the two axles compared with Phantom I, making the occupants more comfortable. The engine uses an 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 and separated from the chassis, and are no longer fixed on it as before. Of course, PhantomⅡ II also contains many luxurious hand-made designs. In order to make the car paint show the pearl color, Rolls-Royce added the green scales ground into powder to the paint. Interior materials used the finest French leather and small fig wood that matched the body blue.
picture: Phantom? II gathered the most advanced car-making technology and the most luxurious interior at that time.
In p>1931, Rolls-Royce acquired the bankrupt Bentley Motor Company. Les hopes to revive Bentley, which also has a long history, into 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, Phantom? The development of ⅲ is also in progress, and Les is Phantom? ⅲ contributed a lot of energy, but he died in 1933, and finally did not see the birth of a new car. October 1935, Phantom? Ⅲ off the assembly line, this is the first time Rolls-Royce is equipped with a 12-cylinder 7.3L engine, Phantom? The III also uses an independent front suspension, and the crankshaft and cylinder head are made of expensive aluminum alloy materials, which were originally only used in Rolls-Royce aircraft engines.
Figure: Phantom, which often explodes at high speed because it can't solve the problem of engine overheating? The III is destined to be a failed car.
even so, Phantom? ⅲ is still a failed model. Because it does not solve the problem of engine cooling, the engine will "boil" soon after high-speed cruising. Although improvements were made, the bad reputation spread, and soon Phantom? Iii lost the market. Compared with Phantom II's sales of 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 rice era, and also declared the end of the era of unrestricted R&D expenses.
in p>1946, Rolls-Royce's first post-war production car was born. It was a Bentley Mark? Ⅵ。 Bentley Mark? ⅵ is more athletic and more people-friendly than Rolls-Royce, which has brought vitality to the British society that has suffered from the trauma of World War II. Two years later, Rolls-Royce finally launched its own brand car, Silver? Dawn (silver dawn) Soon, Phantom? Ⅳ Launched, this is the first Rolls-Royce car made of its own chassis after the war, with a top speed of 16km/h, but almost no one will drive to this speed, because the 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 Phantom? Ⅳ, which means that Rolls-Royce has pushed itself to the ultra-high-end and exclusive market.
Photo: Bentley Mark, Rolls-Royce's first post-war production car? Ⅵ。 Bentley Mark? ⅵ is more athletic and more people-friendly than Rolls-Royce, which has brought vitality to the British society that has suffered from the trauma of World War II.
Figure: Only the head of state can buy and own Phantom? Ⅳ。
in p>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? Cloud (Silver Cloud) and Bentley S lead the beginning of a new era of their respective brands, but at this time, the processing and production of Rolls-Royce still adopts the old-fashioned approach. When new technologies and new design trends appear, Rolls-Royce begins to show its old age.
Photo: Rolls-Royce Silver, born in 1955? Cloud。
During the ten years from 1955 to 1965, Rolls-Royce only made some minor changes, such as changing the compression ratio of the engine and adjusting the seats, etc. Rolls-Royce felt that their cars could no longer meet the tastes of consumers in terms of styling and needed a new model to revitalize the brand. In 1965, Silver? Shadow (Silver Shadow) and Bentley Model T were born, which replaced Silver? Cloud and Bentley S. Silver Shadow is the first Rolls-Royce with a load-bearing body, and it is also the best-selling Rolls-Royce. In 16 years, it has sold 34, cars, and it is also the last Rolls-Royce brand model that still maintains some classic features. During this period, the management of the company has actually realized that everyone must keep up with the times, and Rolls-Royce is no exception.
Figure: The Rolls-Royce Corniche (Binhai Road), which was born in 1971, has a maximum speed of 2 km/h. In order to ensure good braking effect, ventilated disc brakes were first used on Rolls-Royce cars.
In March, 1971, Silver Shadow had a branch model, which was Rolls-Royce Corniche. The maximum speed of the car reaches 2 km/h. In order to ensure good braking effect, the ventilated disc brake is used on Rolls-Royce for the first time. 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.
in p>1978, although Silver? Shadow is selling well, but Rolls-Royce Motor Company has sensed the pressure and the company doesn't have enough investment to develop new models. And the new model Rolls-Royce Silver? Spirit (Silver Elf) and Bentley Mulsanne still use many old technologies, using the parts of previous models. In 198, Rolls-Royce Motor Company was acquired by Vickers. Vexcor has many businesses, mainly defense equipment and engines. This year, Rolls-Royce had another brand change. Silver? Spirit and Silver? Spur (silver spurs) has become the new protagonist of the car factory.
Figure: Silver in 199? Spur (Silver Spurs) Extended Edition.
picture: Silver in the 199s? Spirit (silver elf).
in p>1988, rolls-royce introduced Binhai road II, and in 1989, Binhai road III began production. In 1991, the Rolls-Royce Binhai Road series was discontinued. This not only means the end of Binhai Road, but also symbolizes Rolls-Royce ParkWard.