Rolls-Royce

About Rolls-Royce

Rolls Royce branded motor cars are known around the world for their elegance and superior engineering. The company behind it, Roll-Royce Motor Cars Limited, is a subsidiary of BMW AG.

History

Rolls- Royce actually goes back to 1906, when it was founded by Frederick Henry Royce and Charles Stewart Rolls, hence the name of the company. The company would become one of the premier automobile makers in the world.

However, in 1971, Rolls-Royce was burdened by the costs of developing an advanced jet engine forcing the nationalization of the firm. It was renamed Roll-Royce Limited. Two years later, the car division was removed from its parent company and named Rolls-Royce Motors. In 1987 it was privatized and known as Rolls-Royce PLC.

In 1988, Rolls-Royce PLC sold the brand and logo to BMW, which also acquired the grills shape trademarks from Volkswagen AG. BMW then created Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited after that. Since its inception in 2003, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited has been producing Roll-Royce branded vehicles.

In 2003, a four-door sedan called Rolls-Royce Phantom was launched. Since then the company has expanded its models to include an extended wheelbase and two-door coupe versions of the Phantom, aside from a convertible model. It also has the Ghost 4-door sedan as well as the 2-door coupe Wraith in its roster of vehicle models.

Models

The Phantom was first launched at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The first version was powered by a 6.75 liter, V12 engine from BMW. In 2005, Rolls Royce came up with an extended wheelbase version of the Phantom which is 250 mm longer than the standard Phantom sedan. Eventually, the company also launched coupe and convertible versions of the Phantom.

In 2010, the company launched a four-door model called Ghost. It was smaller than the Phantom, and thus was cheaper. The latest incarnation of the Ghost, the Ghost Series II, was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 2014. It featured an updated interior and front with new LED headlights.

The Rolls Royce Wraith is a luxury coupe which is powered by a twin-turbocharged, 623 horsepower V12 engine.

Innovations

In 2011, Rolls-Royce unveiled a Phantom with an interesting innovation: wireless charging. The car had a 74kWh battery bank that is enough to provide electricity to 24 homes in one hour. According to reports, the car can run up to 200 kilometers, depending on how aggressive the driving is.