Thursday 8th August 1907
The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost with a 4-speed overdrive gearbox passed its 15,000-mile RAC-observed trial with top marks. It was this trial that made the Ghost’s reputation and gave it the accolade of ‘Best Car in the World’. Four years later, on the London-Edinburgh Trial, a Ghost ran the entire distance in top gear with a fuel consumption of 24.32 mpg, an amazing performance for the time in such a heavy car. Although the 7-litre, side-valve engine’s compression ratio was only 3.2:1, it developed 48 bhp and could cruise at 50 mph. A total of 6,173 Silver Ghosts were produced.
