Rolls-Royce Fun Factoids

Since 1904, the Rolls-Royce has been Britain's iconic luxury automobile and the ultimate standard of engineering quality. Living proof is that three-quarters of all Rolls-Royces ever built are still on the road.

The oldest surviving road-ready Rolls-Royce, once located in Scotland, is from its first year, 1904. It's the fourth Rolls ever produced and was sold for over three million English pounds at auction.

No two Rolls-Royce figurine hood ornaments, "The Spirit of Ecstasy", are alike. In recent models, "The Spirit of Ecstasy" figurines are removable to prevent theft.

Rolls-Royce Company factoids

Charles Rolls and Henry Royce was an odd couple. Rolls was the son of a miller, and Royce was the son of first Baron Llangattock.

Charles Rolls, the co-founder of Rolls-Royce Motors, was also an airplane aficionado. In 1910, he became the first person to fly non-stop across the English Channel. Later that same year, his Wright bi-plane crashed and Rolls became Britain's first aircraft fatality.

Rolls-Royce only had one short-lived factory in the United States. It opened in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1921 and closed in 1931.

During World War II, Rolls-Royce engines powered English fighter aircraft and bombers that helped win the Battle of Britain.

American auto company General Motors once tried to buy the Rolls-Royce Company, but they met stiff British resistance. Today the Rolls-Royce brand name is owned by German manufacturer BMW.

The Rolls-Royce Company runs a chauffeur's training school in Crewe near Liverpool.

The Rolls-Royce Company maintains its own forest in Italy, the burled walnut from its trees used for its classic Rolls dashboards.

Famous Rolls-Royce owners

Nicholas, the last Russian czar, owned Rolls-Royces as did the first Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin owned nine Rolls-Royces.

Between 1950 and 1955, there were only 18 models of the Rolls-Royce Phantom IV produced, and these were only sold to royalty or heads of state. The first Phantom IV was owned by then Princess Elizabeth, who later became Queen of England. Spanish dictator Francisco Franco owned three models. "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno currently owns one that belonged to a Prince of Iran.

In 1965, Beatle John Lennon's Rolls-Royce came equipped with a Sterno radio-telephone, an early forerunner of the cellular phone. In 1967, Lennon commissioned a crew of Dutch gypsy artists to paint his '65 Rolls in psychedelic colors.

While Elvis Presley is best known for his Pink Cadillac Fleetwoods, he also had a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud that was previously owned by actor Michael Landon and country singer Charlie Rich.