9781422269671

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