9781422269671

ALFA ROMEO: A LEGACY FROM MILAN BENTLEY: THE BEST IN ITS CLASS MASERATI: ITALIAN STYLE AND PERFORMANCE PORSCHE: THE ULTIMATE SPEED MACHINE RANGE ROVER: THE ULTIMATE IN LUXURY ROLLS-ROYCE: INNOVATION AND ASPIRATION TESLA: THE FEELING IS ELECTRIC

Carlie Lawson

MASON CREST M I A M I

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Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-4784-6 Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4222-4852-2 Series ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-7026-4 ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-6967-1

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CONTENTS

Introduction .....................................................................6 Chapter 1: A Lasting Vision ............................................15 Chapter 2: A Commitment to Excellence ........................35 Chapter 3: Weathering an Extreme Business Climate .....53 Chapter 4: Marketing Brilliance......................................63 Series Glossary of Key Terms ..........................................92 Further Reading & Internet Resources.............................93 Index ..............................................................................94 Author’s Biography and Credits ......................................96

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Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

A n unlikely pair of friends, separated by societal class, educational attainment, title, and more than a decade in age formed one of the world’s most successful automotive companies. Henry Royce, the self-taught engineer who took night classes, met aristocrat adventurer Charles Rolls through a mutual friend at an auto club. The pair didn’t immediately form a partnership; they first

The two-cylinder engine and gearbox of the second car that Royce designed.

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Rolls-Royce: Innovation and Aspiration

formed a friendship over the new-fangled automobiles that had captured their interest. It took two years for the two Englishmen to decide to do business together. Their mutual interest in cars cut through many differences in their upbringings, but it took time to build the friendship that led to one of the world’s longest-lasting luxury goods manufacturers. Just how different were the young lives

of these two enigmatic engineers, and why did it mean so much that they

joined forces to bring England one of its first automobiles? Sir Frederick Henry Royce

Sir Frederick Henry Royce (1863–1933).

The detail-oriented Frederick Henry Royce entered this world on March 27, 1863, in Alwalton, Huntingdonshire. Born to James Royce, a flour mill operator, and Mary King Royce, a homemaker, the youngest of the couple’s five children loved to play and explore, spending time with his father in the flour mill once he reached toddler age. His curiosity sometimes got the better of him, and at age two he clamored into the sluiceway of the flour mill and almost drowned. His father saved him, but could not save the mill, leased from Ecclesiastical Commissioners, which went under. His father and

Introduction

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A Rolls-Royce HP 10 from 1905.

mother moved their family to London, where Royce attended his one year of grammar school. In 1872, Royce’s father died. So that the family would not become destitute, all of the children went to work, as did their mother. His two jobs as a newspaper salesperson and telegram delivery person precluded his staying in school. Determined to learn, Royce studied at home in what free time he had and tinkered with anything mechanical he could find. After six years of his working, one of his aunts intervened, noting his dedication to bettering himself and his innate learning abilities. She helped him obtain an apprenticeship with the Great Northern

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Rolls-Royce: Innovation and Aspiration

Railway in 1878 at the age of 15. The learning opportunity and job afforded him his first formal schooling since he completed the first grade. At the age of 18, Henry Royce, as he was known, landed a job as a toolmaker for a Leeds firm. He learned while working, taking night classes. He developed an interest in electricity and its workings, which led him to return to London to take a job with Electric Light and Power Company. Assigned to the Liverpool office, Royce worked on street and theater lighting, working his way up to the position of chief electrical engineer by 1882. Royce saved his earnings, and when the company for which he worked went out of business in 1884, he responded by opening his own business, F.H. Royce & Company in Manchester, England. He used £20 of his savings, which in 2023 money would be £3,179.67 or $3,465.52, and took on a partner, Ernest Claremont, who fronted £50 (£7,949.18 or $8,663.81 in today’s terms). The pair began making lamp filaments and lamp holders, but their biggest hit became their electric doorbell kit. Its success let them expand their product line to include generators and electric cranes. Rather than reinvent the wheel, so to speak, Royce chose to use his engineering knowledge to improve other people’s designs. By doing so, the company soon earned the reputation of offering the highest-quality generators and cranes available. As automobiles entered the roads of England, Royce grew enamored with them. He learned to drive and purchased a Decauville and a De Dion. Neither suited his high standards, so he tinkered with them, retooled them, and improved on their design. Still not satisfied, the self-made businessman embarked on his own automotive design project, rebranding his existing partnership to Royce Ltd. in 1899. The new firm created a prototype vehicle on April 1, 1904, then two more of its kind. Henry Edmunds, an avid automotive fan, established the Henry Edmunds Hill-Climbing Trophy in 1897, one of the first auto racing

Introduction

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prizes. The founder of the Cable Makers’ Association, he remained on the lookout for businesses in which to invest and became a shareholder in Royce Ltd. In 1904, he purchased one of Royce’s three vehicles and showed it off to his fellow members of the Automobile Club of Great Britain. Charles Stewart Rolls Quite the opposite of his

Charles Stewart Rolls (1877–1910).

eventual friend and business partner, Charles Stewart Rolls entered the world on August 27, 1877, in Berkeley Square, London, England. Born to the 1st Baron Llangattock, John Allan Rolls, and Baroness Llangattock, Georgiana Marcia Maclean Rolls, his upbringing consisted of spending time in the family’s city home in London and his ancestral home, The Hendre, near Monmouth, Wales. The youngest of four children, Charles joined eldest brother John Maclean Rolls, born in 1870, older brother Henry Alan Rolls, born in 1871, and older sister, Eleanor Georgiana Rolls, born in 1872, in a lively household that encouraged learning. His education began with attending Mortimer Vicarage Preparatory School in Berkshire. He spent his high school years at Eton College, known as the school for royalty in Great Britain. At Eton, he developed an interest in motor engines. Rather than a book interest, Rolls enjoyed working with his hands, and his constant tinkering with motors resulted in frequently coming into the residence halls covered in motor oil. His fellow students dubbed him “Dirty Rolls” for consistently being doused in motor oil and grease.

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Rolls-Royce: Innovation and Aspiration

In 1894, he attended a private crammer, a school that prepares students for specific examinations. That required a move to Cambridge, England. Successfully completing the course, he earned admission to Trinity College of the University of Cambridge. In 1895, he launched his studies of mechanical and applied science, earning his bachelor’s degree in 1898 and then continuing his studies to complete a master’s degree in 1902. Let’s back up to his sophomore year in college, though. Like most teens, the 18-year-old wanted the latest and greatest gadgets. In 1896, that meant a car, even though no one else in Cambridge had one. Young Charles traveled to Paris, France, to buy a Peugeot Phaeton, since England didn’t have its own automotive factories or sales lots yet. While on his trip, he joined the Automobile Club of France.

Charles Stewart Rolls attended one of the finest universities in England, Trinity College, Cambridge.

Introduction

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Returning to England, he joined the Self-Propelled Traffic Association (SPTA), campaigning against motor vehicle restrictions created by the passage of the Locomotive Acts. Always active on campus, Rolls made his college’s bicycle racing team in his freshman year. The following year, along with buying his car, he became team captain of the Cambridge University Bicycle Club and won a Half Blue, a university honor similar to the U.S. award of a lettermen’s jacket. He also c-founded the Automobile Club of Great Britain, which merged with SPTA in 1897. After graduation with his bachelor’s degree in 1898, Rolls went to work on the steam yacht Santa Maria . He later accepted a position at the London and North Western Railway in Crewe, although he also completed coursework to earn his master’s while working.

In 1909 Charles Stewart Rolls bought the Wright Flyer. His interest in aviation proved his undoing when he died in a plane crash a year later.

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Rolls-Royce: Innovation and Aspiration

In January of 1903, having earned two degrees and athletic honors, and already with two career positions under his belt, Rolls approached his father for an investment to found his own company. Knowing his own strong sales skills and the growing interest in automobiles, he pitched to his dad the idea of opening a car dealership. The nobleman provided his son with £6,600 (£1,026,726.89 or $1,273,449.36 in today’s terms) in today’s terms, to found C.S. Rolls & Co. in Lillie Hall, Fulham. Initially the auto firm would import and sell Minerva cars from Belgium, and Peugeot cars from France. Rolls also developed an interest in aviation in 1903, helping to found the Royal Aero Club. He became the second person to earn a pilot’s license through the club. He embarked on numerous aviation adventures, including setting the record for the longest single flight, for which he won the Gordon Bennett Gold Medal. In 1909, Rolls bought Wright Flyer aircraft, with which he made over 200 flights. One year later, he became the first person to make a nonstop double flight across the English Channel, for which he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club. However, only one month after his successful crossing of the English Channel, he was killed in an air crash during a flying display at Bournemouth, becoming the first Briton to die in a plane crash. He was only 32 years old when he died.

Introduction

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A Rolls-Royce Phantom II circa 1929. It was the third and last of Rolls-Royce’s 40/50 HP models.

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Rolls-Royce: Innovation and Aspiration

A LASTING VISION Born in 1853, businessman and financier Henry Edmunds seemed more of a big brother in age to Royce. Since he was 22 at the time of Rolls’s birth, he was more of a surrogate father figure to the young man whom he knew from their mutual membership in the Automobile Club of Great Britain. Edmunds convinced Royce to attend a meeting of the Auto Club with him, at which he introduced Royce to Rolls. While some sources claim that the rest is history, the two younger men did not immediately embark on a business venture together. Edmunds and Rolls convinced Royce to join the Auto Club, and the three men spent two years becoming close friends. Edmunds had purchased stock in Royce Ltd., while Rolls’s dad had bankrolled his auto sales company. Called “The Godfather of Rolls Royce,” Edmunds earned the moniker for his fostering of the two young men’s friendship and his investment as a shareholder in Royce’s firm. Although separated by 14 years in age and from vastly different backgrounds, the two men agreed on striving for perfection. Both saw no reason to accept less than ideal. As Royce famously said,

A Lasting Vision

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Charles Stewart Rolls driving a Panhard & Levassor autocar, with the Duke of York in the front seat, in 1900.

“Take the best that exists, and make it better.” Charles Rolls noted that “poor quality is remembered long after low prices are forgotten.” From this attitude, Royce and Rolls built their automotive firm, and the vision with which they founded the company and its original mission still stand today. 1900s The first business agreement between Rolls and Royce covered sales, not production. Royce Ltd. would provide English-made vehicles to C.S. Rolls & Co. That continued until March 1906, when the pair decided to produce vehicles formally together under a new company name: Rolls-Royce. Although the 1904 and 1905 model vehicles carried the joint name, that stemmed from the sales agreement. At that time, Rolls wasn’t involved in the vehicle design, only its marketing. He did try to convince Royce to develop a design for an aeronautical engine, but the older engineer refused, as his hands were full with Rolls-Royce vehicles.

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Rolls-Royce: Innovation and Aspiration