Rolls-Royce does not build many cars like the Rolls-Royce 15 hp with 3000 , built from 1905 when a car was a rich man's adventure and every maker was a workshop. Its designer of record is Sir Henry Royce.
The story
The Rolls-Royce 15 hp was one of four cars to be produced as a result of an agreement of 23 December 1904 between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Badged as a Rolls-Royce, the 15 hp was produced by Royce's company, Royce Ltd., at its factory in Cooke Street, Hulme, Manchester. It was sold exclusively by Rolls' motor dealership, C.S.Rolls & Co., at a price of GBP500. The 15 hp was exhibited at the Paris Salon in December 1904, along with the 10 hp, 20 hp and engine for the 30 hp models, but as the new three-cylinder engine was not ready the chassis was incomplete. Three-cylinder engines were quite popular in the early years of motoring, and one was part of the ambitious programme of the new company. The layout produced less vibration than 2-cylinder engines and was much simpler to make than a six-cylinder with its long crankshaft.
However, Royce was making his range of engines using a standard two-cylinder block, putting two together for the four-cylinder and three for the six. The three-cylinder engine did not fit in with this production, having each of its cylinders cast separately, and this is thought to be the reason why only six were made. The engine, which has a bore of 4 in (102 mm) and stroke of 5 in (127 mm), is water-cooled and of 3000 cc capacity with overhead inlet and side exhaust valves. A high-tension ignition system using pre-charged accumulators, a trembler and a coil provides the ignition spark. As the lighting supplied uses oil, there is no other drain on the accumulators. The power output is 15 bhp (11 kW) at 1000 rpm. The engine speed is controlled by a g
What is underneath
Under the skin sits 3000 . The gearbox is a three-speed. The wheelbase is 103 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Ford Model T, the De Dion–Bouton Fouillaron type 10 HP tonneau, the Panhard & Levassor type U 1 coupé-chauffeur. Nearby in the Rolls-Royce catalogue sit the Rolls-Royce 100EX and the Rolls-Royce 102EX.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Rolls-Royce 15 hp has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.