Henry Royce, in ill health, had withdrawn from day-to-day running of his Derby factory by 1911, but remained in charge of engineering. With the outbreak of World War I, the firm turned to designing aeronautical engines - the Eagle, Falcon and Condor - and also produced vehicles for military use, including armoured cars and ambulances. These proved rugged and reliable, and the company's reputation was sealed further when the first non-stop aeroplane crossing of the Atlantic was made in 1919, by an ex-RAF Vickers Vimy powered by two Eagle engines.
After the war, Silver Ghost production resumed, but a new market had opened up for smaller, owner-driven cars as well as the large chauffeured limousines. The 3127cc, 62mph, 20hp model was launched in 1922, a year after Silver Ghost production started in Springfield, Massachusetts for the American market (the factory closed in 1931, having made nearly 3000 vehicles). A testing centre was established south of Paris in 1924 - French roads were less congested even then, and the local police more tolerant than in the UK. Work also progressed on a series of all-new models.
An interim new car, the Phantom, was introduced in 1925. This retained the Ghost's chassis, but had a 7668cc overhead valve engine good for 108bhp and 85mph. The Phantom II of 1929 received the new chassis, with lower suspension and half-elliptic springs. Influenced by the Riley Nine and contemporary Sunbeam and Buick models, it was offered with lightweight coachwork by Barkers, though there were a number of bodywork options; with the Park Ward Continental Tourer coupe body, it could do 92.3mph and 0-60mph in 19.4 seconds. A smaller 3699cc model, the 67mph 20/25, replaced the Twenty.
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| Malcolm Campbell with his Phantom |
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Rolls-Royce intended to make a sports car, and the opportunity came in the early 1930s when Bentley Motors went bankrupt. Rolls-Royce acquired Bentley's assets, and the 3.5-litre Bentley was launched in 1933, acclaimed for its performance and handling. Royce, developing a V12 engine for the Phantom III (7340cc, 92mph and 0-60 in 16.8 seconds), died that same year, aged 70.
Rolls-Royce's engines continued to break records and set new benchmarks in planes and boats, including Malcolm Campbell's water speed records in the Bluebird craft, powered by Rolls-Royce R-Type engines. In 1933, Campbell was also the first person to top 300mph on land, in a Rolls-Royce V12 which developed 2300hp from its supercharged 36.5-litre engine; George Eyston carried on the tradition in 1937, achieving 357.5mph in the Thunderbolt, powered by two supercharged Rolls-Royce racing engines, totalling 73 litres and 4700hp. Such achievements didn't detract from day-to-day business, however; the 20/25 was replaced by the more powerful 25/30hp in 1936 (4257cc, 115bhp, 80mph), and the Silver Wraith, with independent suspension, made its debut in 1938. But car production was halted by World War II, when Rolls-Royce turned its energy to producing Merlin engines for fighter aircraft and torpedoes; a new factory was opened in Crewe to make these.
