ROLLS ROYCE

Founded in 1904 in Manchester by engineer Henry Royce and aristocrat-aviator Charles Rolls, after a famous meeting at the Midland Hotel. Built a global reputation for the Silver Ghost, Phantom and Silver Cloud. Cars were produced under Rolls-Royce Limited and Rolls-Royce Motors from 1906 to 2003. In 1998 BMW bought the rights to the Rolls-Royce car brand, the Spirit of Ecstasy and the famous grille (separately from Volkswagen, which had bought the Crewe factory and Bentley name). BMW built an entirely new home for the marque at Goodwood in West Sussex, designed by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, which opened on 1 January 2003 — every modern Rolls-Royce (Phantom, Ghost, Wraith, Cullinan, Spectre) is hand-built there.