My favourite car is a vintage Rolls Royce,
It really is the vehicle of choice,
The company was founded in 1906,
The car of pop stars, kings and bolsheviks.
Chassis only and coach-built till ’49,
When the Silver Dawn brought everything into line…
The 10, 15, 20 & 30 hp,
Silver Ghost, Twenty, Phantoms I, II & III,
Wraiths, Dawns, Clouds and Shadows, Phantoms V-VI,
Corniche and Spirit, all names that stick.
Bentleys, Camargues, Seraphs and Silver Spur,
These are all cars that belong to the entrepreneur…
In 1998 the firm was acquired by Volkswagen AG,
They renamed it Bentley in 2003.
They acquired its assets, like the Crewe Factory,
And its elegant mascot, Spirit of Ecstasy.
From 1929-35, they made the 20/25,
The car on which my mother learned to drive!
This is my father’s 20/25 drophead coupé
The only car that belongs to the family it was built for to this day…
Cars
- chassis only, no R-R built body until Silver Dawn
- 1904–06 10 hp
- 1905–05 15 hp
- 1905–08 20 hp
- 1905–06 30 hp
- 1905–06 V-8
- 1906–25 40/50 Silver Ghost
- 1922–29 Twenty
- 1925–29 40/50 Phantom
- 1929–36 20/25
- 1929–35 Phantom II
- 1936–38 25/30
- 1936–39 Phantom III
- 1938–39 Wraith
- 1946–59 Silver Wraith
- 1949–55 Silver Dawn with bodies by Pressed Steel Company, Cowley
- 1950–56 Phantom IV
- 1955–65 Silver Cloud standard saloon with bodies by Pressed Steel Co
- 1959–68 Phantom V
- 1968–92 Phantom VI, chassis by Rolls-Royce Motors after 1973
- the following cars use unitary construction and have no separate chassis
- 1965–80 Silver Shadow standard saloon, totally R-R built car, built by Rolls-Royce Motors after 1973
- 1980–98 Silver Spirit standard saloon, built in entirety by Rolls-Royce Motors
- 1998–2002 Silver Seraph standard saloon, built in entirety by Rolls-Royce Motors
The next Rolls-Royce model, the Rolls-Roycee Phantom was built by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Bentley Models (from 1933) – chassis only
Caro Field Author 
Beautiful car. Lovely picture of your Pa and Brother too. Fabulous poem darling xx
Thank you my love!
Awesome. I love the story of the Spirit of Ecstasy. Fantastic that your family still owns The Car!!
Yes indeed! My grandfather had it made for him and my mama inherited it…
Gorgeous car! Interesting history of the Rolls Royce.
She is beautiful and is known as Wizzie!
Wonderful information as owning one is on my Bucket list. Is it also nice to know that when I am riding in a VW I am
ridding in a cousin to that wonderful car. A couple of friends of my are owners of these wonderful cars, but for the most
part they set in a garage while the owners drive something that does not stand out as much in a crowd. In this day and age we
can’t even wear a Rolex for fear of being mugged. When the Concord was flying and you would walk up to it to board, if you looked
at the engines, there in big bright lettering on the sides of them “Engines by Rolls Royce.” A great sign of quality for anyone
that was going to fly at those speeds.
She is such a beautiful car! I got married in her as did my siblings and many of my friends!
I, too, loved and coveted the Rolls,
Of course, parking lots would exact their tolls.
but, before i could buy,
It was sold on the fly,
To Volkswagen there in Germany,
Which meant the car would never be fore me
And, now it is clear,
The Rolls is simply veneer…
No Roy never veneer, it’s the real McCoy!
What a wonderful car your dad owns. Thanks for all the data too! My Sweetie who is a WWII fanatic has schooled me on the fact that RR provided the engines for many of the planes that helped in the war effort. Great British Technology.
She is stunning. Hard to drive because you have to allow for the running boards!
Caro, This car was built for your grandfather? How cool is that. Too bad about being bought out by VW. Roy will never buy anything built in Germany. But the antiques, he ought to look at. I would like a ride, but not to own one. Great poetry as always.
This car was indeed built for my grandfather. He gave the car to my mother and father when he and my grandmother moved to a warmer climate for his health. This is the car on which my mother learned to drive!
The poem was exquisite too. My thanks I prefer to you. Daniel Omell I love poetry ( the 10,20, 30 and 1,2,3, told me right then that this was gifted work. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Daniel!
I have never touched a Rolls Royce, let alone sat in one. It is on my to do list. Have you driven it too? I wonder how it feels…
Yes I have driven if and when dongle so you have to allow for the fact that the car has running boards so is much wider than you think.,,