Iconic Rolls-Royce Twenty To Turn 100 This Week

The legendary Rolls-Royce 20 HP is considered one of the direct ancestors of today's models of the British luxury brand. On October 6, 1922, began the history of the car, designed by Sir Henry Royce primarily as an owner-driver car rather than as a chauffeur-driven limousine. Friends of the brand and experts soon called him "the Twenty". According to Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, certain models like the Twenty have changed the broader automotive landscape forever.

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1923 Rolls-Royce Twenty

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said, “Every Rolls-Royce is both evolutionary and revolutionary – true to our core design and engineering principles while taking technology, comfort and driving experience to a new level. But during our long history, there have been certain defining models that have permanently altered the broader automotive landscape. The 'Twenty', released 100 years ago, is one of them. We join owners and enthusiasts from around the world to mark this very special occasion and celebrate the enduring legacy of this much-loved and legendary car.”

In 1906 Rolls-Royce introduced the 40/50 HP, better known as the Silver Ghost. Because of its quiet engine, its reliability and its endurance, this epochal automobile earned the title of "the best car in the world. The company thus also relied on a new one-model strategy instead of the then usual practice of offering several models at the same time. This proved to be a financially prudent strategy until the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

1924 Rolls-Royce Twenty

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The end of hostilities in 1918 resulted in an entirely new world with completely changed socio-economic, political, and cultural environments. For Rolls-Royce, the transition from wartime to peacetime meant that there was now huge overcapacity at its Derby works, which employed up to 8,000 workers in 1919. Even before the end of World War I, Henry Royce had recognized the need to come up with a smaller car to counteract the likely decline in sales of the larger 40/50hp chassis. An automobile that didn't require costly weekly maintenance like the Silver Ghost and could be driven by the owner instead of the chauffeur could become an attractive proposition for the new times.

On October 6, 1922, Rolls-Royce unveiled its new "small horsepower" car. Its 3.1-litre straight-six was less than half the size of the Silver Ghost's 7.5-litre unit. The new 20 HP, or simply "the Twenty", as it was quickly called, represented a great leap forward in terms of technology. The light steering and the properties of its steering, braking and chassis systems, on the other hand, made the Silver Ghost appear outdated.

1928 Rolls-Royce Twenty

Like all Rolls-Royce models of the time, the 20 HP was produced as a chassis onto which owners could have custom-made bodies fitted by a coachbuilder. Royce hoped coachbuilders would keep the size and weight of their creations as small as possible. But many customers also insisted on having their preferred style implemented on the bodies of the Twenty. They were then usually not only heavier but also aerodynamically less favourable than the standard bodies. These massively overbuilt bodies inevitably cost performance.

In 1929 the Twenty was replaced by the 20/25 HP, powered by an engine with an increased displacement. Even this model did not completely solve the problem and in 1935 Royce produced the 25/30 hp with a 4.25-litre engine. The small horsepower era finally came to an end with the 1938 Wraith.

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1929 Rolls-Royce Twenty

The Twenty had a profound impact on Rolls-Royce long after production ceased in 1929 after 2940 examples. In particular, the in-line six-cylinder engine with a removable cylinder head and overhead valves provided the template for Rolls-Royce engines over the next 30 years.