Rolls-Royce 20 hp

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Rolls Royce

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20 hp
Production period: 1905-1906
Class : Upper class
Body versions : Phaeton , touring car
Engines: Otto engine :
4.1 liters (15 kW)
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase : 2692-2896 mm
Empty weight : 612-680 kg
Previous model Rolls-Royce 15 hp
successor Rolls-Royce 30 hp

The Rolls-Royce 20 hp was one of the four passenger car models built under the contract between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce of December 23, 1904. The car was called Rolls-Royce , but was manufactured by Henry Royce's company, Royce Ltd. In the district of Trafford Park in Manchester , built and only in the car trade home of Charles Rolls, of CS Rolls & Co. , which costs GBP sold 650th The 20 hp was exhibited together with its sister models 10 hp and 15 hp , as well as the engine of the 30 hp model , at the Paris Motor Show in December 1904 .

The in-line four-cylinder engine consisted of two assembled blocks of two cylinders each from the smaller 10 hp model, with which it shared the 101.6 mm bore and 127 mm stroke. The engine is water-cooled and has a displacement of 4119 cm³, as well as counter-controlled valves (inlet valves hanging in the head, exhaust valves standing on the side). The early models had high-voltage ignition with pre-charged accumulators, a buzzer and an ignition coil, the later cars had an additional magneto ignition. Since the side and rear lights were operated with petroleum and the headlights with carbide, there were no other power consumers and the batteries did not have to be charged while driving. The engine output was 20 bhp (15 kW) at 1000 min −1 . The engine speed was kept constant by a mechanical speed controller, which the driver could intervene with the accelerator pedal. Initially, a three-speed gearbox was installed, which was later replaced by a four-speed gearbox when the Light Twenty was introduced and which all Rolls-Royce models later got. The gearbox was connected to the engine by a short shaft and a leather cone clutch. In the four-speed transmission, third gear was the direct gear (ratio 1: 1) and fourth gear had an overdrive function.

Two of these cars took part in the TT on the Isle of Man in 1905 , one of which was driven by Percy Northey and took second place in the overall standings, and the second - driven by CS Rolls - did not reach the finish line due to transmission problems. Rolls competed again in 1906 and won the TT. In December 1906 he brought a car to the United States and won a race at Yonkers.

The first cars had a wheelbase of 2896 mm, but after the production of the particularly light specimens for the TT, there were also shorter chassis with a 2692 mm wheelbase. The short version became known as the Light Twenty while the first version was known as the Heavy Twenty . The track of the Light Twenty was also narrower at 1321 mm than that of the Heavy Twenty at 1422 mm. Rolls-Royce only manufactured the chassis and mechanics, not the superstructures. So the cars were sold and the customers took care of the body themselves, which was available in open or closed versions.

The Light 20 reached a top speed of 80 km / h (84 km / h on the TT version) and the Heavy 20 drove 76 km / h. The maximum speeds could be lower for heavy bodies. The foot brake worked on a drum brake at the transmission output and the handbrake worked on drum brakes on the rear wheels. The front and rear axles were attached to semi-elliptical longitudinal leaf springs supported by transverse leaf springs. The wagons had wooden spoked wheels.

As far as is known, three of the 40 copies made in 1905/1906 have the chassis no. 26350, 40509 and 40520 survived to this day.

literature

  • David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975. New edition. Veloce Publishing plc., Dorchester 1997, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter Pugh: The Magic of a Name. The Rolls-Royce Story. The First 40 Years. Icon Books et al., Duxford et al. 2000, ISBN 1-84046-151-9 .
  2. The Rolls-Royce company was only founded in 1906.
  3. ^ A b c Anthony Bird, Ian Hallows, Brendan James: The Rolls-Royce Motor Car and the Bentley since 1931. 6th revised edition. Batsford Books, London 2002, ISBN 0-7134-8749-6 .
  4. Price only for the chassis with mechanics.
  5. a b Rolls-Royce website (English) .
  6. ^ Georgano, N .: The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Volume 2: M - Z. Fitzroy Dearborn, Chicago et al. 2000, ISBN 1-579-58293-1 .