CREATING A LEGEND
When The Autocar magazine hailed Rolls-Royce as the maker of “the best car in the world”, it created an expression that would continue to be associated with the company for many decades afterwards. The particular model that prompted this gushing honour was, of course, the 40/50hp, which had debuted in 1906. What’s particularly impressive, however, is that the partnership between Charles Rolls and Henry Roy had been formalised just two years earlier, while Rolls-Royce Limited itself wasn’t officially founded until eight months prior to the 40/50’s launch.
The 40/50hp was a genuinely remarkable machine truly worthy of the accolade bestowed upon it by The Autocar. It wasn’t just that twenty years after Karl Benz invented his Patent-Motorwagen, most automobiles were still underpowered, primitive, slow, unreliable and prone to shaking themselves to bits on the atrocious roads of the era. The 40/50hp was incredibly well-built, powerful and robust – in terms of both its mechanicals and engineering.
