1921 ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER GHOST ROTHSCHILD TOURER - - JUST CARS

1921 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Rothschild Tourer - Motorclassica Best in Show 2013

First offered in 1906 as the ‘40/50hp’, the car that became the ‘Silver Ghost’ was one of four different models Rolls-Royce produced at the time.

Initially powered by a 7-litre straight six engine, the 40/50hp was upgraded to a 7.4-litre version from 1910 and the 3-speed manual transmission upgraded to a 4-speed from 1913.

The Silver Ghost name had been applied by Rolls-Royce to a single 40/50hp car prepared for RAC reliability trials in Scotland in 1907 (‘Silver’ for the colour of the Barker touring body and ‘Ghost’ for the smooth, quiet operation of the engine), but would later be applied to all 40/50hp models.

Built to a high standard, the Silver Ghost established the Rolls-Royce reputation for excellence; so much so that all other models were abandoned and the 40/50hp, aka Silver Ghost, was the sole model produced by Rolls-Royce until 1927.

A total of 7,874 Silver Ghosts were manufactured, including licence-built versions – known as ‘Springfield’ Rolls-Royces – in the USA. Thanks to the quality of their engineering and manufacture, many survive to this day.

Due to the standard practice of supplying chassis-and-engine only at the time, Silver Ghosts were fitted with an array of bodies in period, so rarely do two examples look identical.

The 2013 Best in Show winner was fitted with a touring body by French coachbuilders Rothschild, who had been bodying Rolls-Royces since the Silver Ghost’s release and also produced brougham, landaulette, cabriolet, limousine and torpedo bodies on Rolls-Royce chassis.

Ordered on 9 March, 1921, by Dalgety & Company for the Manager of Kodak Australia, the car cost a whopping £2,100 in chassis form, which is how it was shipped to Melbourne in October, 1921. Exactly when the Rothschild touring body was fitted is unknown, as is much of this car’s history after its arrival in Australia.

Restored over a 10-year period, this Rolls-Royce can be seen briefly in Baz Luhrman’s 2013 version of The Great Gatsby.