Rolls-Royce’s greatest hits

01 Rolls-Royce 10 hp

After meeting in May 1904 to discuss a potential business deal, Charles Rolls and Henry Royce were all ready to unveil their car by Christmas. The 10 hp became the first car to be given the Rolls-Royce badge. Built in Manchester and sold exclusively in London, it was priced at £395.

04 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost

Originally called the 40/50 hp, just one car (AX201) was actually known as the Silver Ghost before the motoring press decided to apply the moniker to all 40/50s and Rolls eventually followed suit. This was the Rolls first described as “the best car in the world”.

07 Rolls-Royce Phantom VII

The seventh-generation Phantom was the first car of the new BMW era at Rolls-Royce and helped cement the future of the company. It was also the first car to be built at the newly built Rolls-Royce factory in Goodwood, as Volkswagen got custody of the Crewe facility.

02 Rolls-Royce Corniche

Sold in both coupe and convertible form, the Corniche arrived in the early Seventies as a two-door iteration of the Silver Shadow. Handbuilt by Mulliner Park Ward, it really was the height of luxury. The Bentley version was the precursor to today’s Continental GT.

05 Rolls-Royce Phantom I

The replacement for the Silver Ghost introduced what is now a rather iconic nameplate. The Phantom arrived in 1925 with a straight-six engine and an array of coachbuilders waiting to design your perfect body style. It was built both in Derby and Springfield, Massachusetts.

08 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe

A sort of luxury grand touring version of the Phantom limo, the 2007 Phantom Drophead Coupe was a two-door (rear-mounted, like on the Phantom), four-seat convertible with a V12 engine and enough wood in the interior to raise a barn. Naturally we absolutely loved it here at TopGear.

03 Dakar Corniche

In 1981, Thierry de Montcorgé and JeanChristophe Pelletier took on the Paris-Dakar Rally in this. With a Chevrolet V8 under the lengthy bonnet and the chassis from a Toyota HJ45 Land Cruiser, not much of the original Corniche was left, but just look at how cool it is.

06 Rolls-Royce Phantom III

The third-generation Phantom was the last of the big pre-war Rolls-Royces. Launched in 1936 (and curtailed by war), it was also the last Rolls to be powered by a V12 engine until the Silver Seraph arrived in 1998. It was the last car that founder Henry Royce worked on before he died.

09 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith

Launched in 1946, the first post-WW2 RollsRoyce was the Silver Wraith. It was related to the shorter Bentley Mark VI and used a 4.3-litre straight-six engine. It was one of the last R-Rs to be offered as a chassis only, on which coachbuilders would do their thing.