Rolls-Royce 25/30

Last updated

Rolls-Royce 25/30
Rolls Royce 25 slash 30 1937.JPG
1937 Rolls-Royce 25/30 Saloon
Overview
Manufacturer Rolls-Royce Ltd
Production1936–1938
1201 made [1]
Powertrain
Engine 4257 cc
Transmission 4-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase 132 inches (3.4 m) [1]
Chronology
Predecessor 20/25
Successor Wraith

The Rolls-Royce 25/30 built between 1936 and 1938 is an updated version of the 20/25 with larger engine to provide more power, as over-large bodies had often been fitted to the earlier model leading to complaints about its performance. [2]

Contents

Engineering

The in-line 6-cylinder, overhead-valve 25/30 hp engine is similar to that used in the 20/25 but increased in capacity to 4,257 cc (259.8 cu in) by increasing the bore from 3.25 inches (8.3 cm) to 3.5 inches (8.9 cm), with the stroke remaining at 4.5 inches (114.3 mm). The compression ratio is 6:1. A single proprietary Stromberg downdraught carburettor replaced the Rolls-Royce one, and magneto ignition was no longer fitted, but a standby coil was provided. [1] The four-speed gearbox is mounted in unit with the engine, and a traditional right-hand change used. Synchromesh is fitted to third and top gears.

The riveted chassis has rigid front and rear axles suspended by half-elliptic springs with hydraulic dampers. Braking is on all four wheels assisted by a mechanical servo, famously under licence of Hispano-Suiza. Separate rear brakes are fitted for the handbrake. The traditional Rolls-Royce radiator with triangular top was used with vertical louvres, the opening angle of which is controlled thermostatically to control engine cooling.

Bodywork

Only the rolling chassis and mechanical parts were made by Rolls-Royce. The body was made and fitted by a coachbuilder selected by the owner. Some of the most famous coachbuilders who produced bodies for Rolls-Royce cars are Park Ward, Thrupp & Maberly, H. J. Mulliner & Co., Arthur Mulliner and Hooper.

Movie appearances

This Rolls-Royce appears in films such as The Naked Truth (1957), Death on the Nile (1978), and several others. Although the sultan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) calls his car a Phantom II, the technical details he recites are those of the 25/30. However, the actual on-screen car was neither; it was a 1935 20/25. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud</span> Luxury saloon produced by Rolls-Royce

The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is a luxury automobile produced by Rolls-Royce Limited from April 1955 to March 1966. It was the core model of the Rolls-Royce range during that period. The Silver Cloud replaced the Silver Dawn and was, in turn, replaced by the Silver Shadow. The John P. Blatchley design was a major change from the pre-war models and the highly derivative Silver Dawn. As part of a range rationalisation, the Bentley S1 was made essentially identical, apart from its radiator grille and badging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentley T-series</span> Motor vehicle

The Bentley T-series is a luxury automobile produced by Bentley Motors Limited in the United Kingdom from 1965 to 1980. It was announced and displayed for the first time at the Paris Motor Show on 5 October 1965 as a Bentley-badged version of the totally redesigned Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn</span> Motor vehicle

The Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn is a full-size luxury car that was produced by Rolls-Royce at their Crewe works between 1949 and 1955. It was the first Rolls-Royce car to be offered with a factory built body which it shared, along with its chassis, with the Bentley Mark VI until 1952 and then the Bentley R Type until production finished in 1955. The car was first introduced as an export only model. The left hand drive manual transmission models had a column gear change, while right hand drives had a floor change by the door. In the British home market the Silver Dawn only became available from October 1953, with the introduction of the model corresponding to the Bentley R Type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentley S1</span> Motor vehicle

The Bentley S1 was a luxury car produced by Bentley Motors Limited from 1955 until 1959. The S1 was derived from Rolls-Royce's complete redesign of its standard production car after World War II, the Silver Cloud. Each was its maker's last standard production car with an independent chassis. The S-series Bentley was given the Rolls-Royce - Bentley L Series V8 engine in late 1959 and named the S2. Twin headlamps and a facelift to the front arrived in late 1962, resulting in the S3. In late 1965, the S3 was replaced by the new unitary construction Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow-derived T series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentley Mark VI</span> Motor vehicle

The Bentley Mark VI is an automobile from Bentley which was produced from 1946 until 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentley R Type</span> Motor vehicle

The Bentley R Type is the second series of post-war Bentley automobiles, replacing the Mark VI. Essentially a larger-boot version of the Mk VI, the R type is regarded by some as a stop-gap before the introduction of the S series cars in 1955. As with its predecessor, a standard body was available as well as coachbuilt versions by firms including H. J. Mulliner & Co., Park Ward, Harold Radford, Freestone and Webb, Carrosserie Worblaufen and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentley S2</span> Motor vehicle

The Bentley S2 is a luxury car produced by Bentley from 1959 until 1962. The successor to the S1, it featured the new Rolls-Royce–Bentley L-series V8 engine and improved air conditioning made possible by that engine's increased output. Power steering was also standard, and a new dashboard and steering wheel were introduced. Some early S2s were built with the earlier S1 dashboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentley S3</span> Motor vehicle

The Bentley S3 is a four-door luxury car produced by Bentley from late 1962 until 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith</span> Motor vehicle

The Silver Wraith was the first post-war Rolls-Royce. It was made from 1946 to 1958 as only a chassis at the company's Crewe factory, its former Merlin engine plant, alongside the shorter Bentley Mark VI. The Bentley was also available as a chassis for coachbuilders, but for the first time could be bought with a Rolls-Royce built Standard Steel body. The use of the name "wraith" coincided with the established tradition of naming models after "ghosts".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Phantom IV</span> Ultra-luxury flagship automobile in its fourth generation

The Rolls-Royce Phantom IV is a British automobile produced by Rolls-Royce. Only eighteen were made between 1950 and 1956, sold only to buyers whom Rolls-Royce considered worthy of the distinction: the British royal family and heads of state. Sixteen are known to still exist in museums as well as in public and private collections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Phantom I</span> Ultra-luxury flagship automobile in its first generation

The Rolls-Royce Phantom was Rolls-Royce's replacement for the original Silver Ghost. Introduced as the New Phantom in 1925, the Phantom had a larger engine than the Silver Ghost and used pushrod-operated overhead valves instead of the Silver Ghost's side valves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Phantom II</span> Ultra-luxury flagship automobile in its second generation

The Rolls-Royce Phantom II was the third and last of Rolls-Royce's 40/50 hp models, replacing the New Phantom in 1929. It used an improved version of the New Phantom engine in an all-new chassis. A "Continental" version, with a short wheelbase and stiffer springs, was offered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Phantom III</span> Ultra-luxury flagship automobile in its third generation

The Rolls-Royce Phantom III was the final large pre-war Rolls-Royce. Introduced in 1936, it replaced the Phantom II and it was the only V12 Rolls-Royce until the 1998 introduction of the Silver Seraph. It is the first of the three V12-powered Rolls-Royce Phantoms, with the 2003-2017 Rolls-Royce Phantom VII and 2018- Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII being the other two. 727 V12 Phantom III chassis were constructed from 1936 to 1939, and approximately 650 have survived. Although chassis production ceased in 1939, cars were still being bodied and delivered in 1940 and 1941. The last car, though the rolling chassis was completed in 1941, was not delivered with a body to its owner until 1947. The Phantom III was the last car that Henry Royce worked on – he died, aged 70, a year into the Phantom III's development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentley 3.5 Litre</span> Motor vehicle

The Bentley 3½ Litre was presented to the public in September 1933, shortly after the death of Henry Royce, and was the first new Bentley model following Rolls-Royce's acquisition of the Bentley brand in 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Wraith (1938)</span> Car model

The Rolls-Royce Wraith was built by Rolls-Royce at their Derby factory from 1938 to 1939 and supplied to independent coachbuilders as a rolling chassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrupp & Maberly</span> British coachbuilding company

Thrupp & Maberly was a British coachbuilding business based in the West End of London, England. Coach-makers to Queen Victoria they operated for more than two centuries until 1967 when they closed while in the ownership of Rootes Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce 20/25</span> Motor vehicle

The Rolls-Royce 20/25 was the second of Rolls-Royce Ltd's pre-war entry level models. Built between 1929 and 1936, it was tremendously popular, becoming the most successful selling inter-war Rolls-Royce. Its success enabled Rolls-Royce to survive the economic difficulties of the Great Depression years and remain one of world's great brands. A total of 3,827 20/25s were produced, of which over 70% are still on the road today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Twenty</span> Motor vehicle

The Rolls-Royce Twenty built between 1922 and 1929 was Rolls-Royce's "small car" for the 1920s and was produced alongside the 40/50 Silver Ghost and the successor to the 40/50, the Phantom. It was intended to appeal to owner-drivers but many were sold to customers with chauffeurs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humber Pullman</span> Motor vehicle

The Humber Pullman is a four-door limousine which was introduced by the British Humber company in 1930 as a successor to the Humber 20/65 hp and long-wheelbase version of the Humber Snipe.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Rolls-Royce Motor Car. Anthony Bird and Ian Hallows. Batsford Books. 2002 ISBN   0-7134-8749-6
  2. Sedgwick, M. (1989). A-Z of Cars of the 1930s. Devon, UK: Bay View Books. ISBN   1-870979-38-9.
  3. Internet Movie Cars Database: Rolls-Royce 25/30 in Movies and TV series