Rolls-Royce does not build many cars like the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost with Inline 6, built from 1906 to 1926 when a car was a rich man's adventure and every maker was a workshop.
How it came about
The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost name refers both to a car model and one specific car from that series. Originally named the "40/50 h.p." the chassis was first made at Royce's Manchester works, with production moving to Derby in July 1908, and also, between 1921 and 1926, in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. Chassis no. 60551, registered AX 201, was the car that was originally given the name "Silver Ghost".
Other 40/50 hp cars were also given names, but the Silver Ghost title was taken up by the press, and soon all 40/50s were called by the name, a fact not officially recognised by Rolls-Royce until 1925, when the Phantom range was launched. The Silver Ghost was the origin of Rolls-Royce's claim of making the "best car in the world" – a phrase coined not by themselves, but by the prestigious publication Autocar in 1907. The chassis and engine were also used as the basis of a range of Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars. In December 1923, four friends of Woodrow Wilson chipped in to buy the former president a Silver Ghost, just weeks before Wilson's death in February 1924. The car was modified so that Wilson, who was disabled, could enter and exit the car more easily.
The hardware
Under the skin sits Inline 6; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 1760 kg. The gearbox is a 3-speed manual (1909–1913) / 4-speed manual (from 1913). The wheelbase is 135.5 in (1906–1913) / 143.5 in (1913–1923) / 144 in and / 150.5 in (from 1923). These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Rolls-Royce's history is not in doubt: the Rolls-Royce 30 hp came before it; the Phantom I followed it; it was built at Derby, England. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Ford Model T, the British Motor Corporation Austin 15/20, the Panhard & Levassor type U 1 coupé-chauffeur. Its Rolls-Royce stablemates include the Rolls-Royce 100EX and the Rolls-Royce 102EX.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.