Centenary of London to Edinburgh 'Top Gear' Trial Recreated by Rolls-Royce 20-Ghost Club

LONDON – Aug 24, 2011: Rolls-Royce has always been the epitome of speed and luxury. But 100 years ago it claimed in The Times to have created ‘the best car in the world’. This bold assertion was based on its accomplishments in September 1911, where chassis No. 1701 Silver Ghost drove nearly 800 miles from London to Edinburgh and back, in its top gear, with performance and fuel consumption figures that easily bested its rivals.

The event has been organised by 20-Ghost and Royal Automobile Club member Nick Naismith. The actual car which completed the original London to Edinburgh Trial in 1911, chassis No. 1701, will be on display at the Royal Automobile Club’s Pall Mall clubhouse from Monday 22 August until Monday 5 September, before being readied for the 799-mile round trip. All of the Silver Ghosts will leave the clubhouse in Pall Mall early on Sunday 11 September – exactly as 1701 did a century ago.

On July 7 1910, Claude Johnson, General Managing-Director of Rolls-Royce accepted a challenge laid down by rivals Napier; to drive the 799 miles from London to Edinburgh and back in top gear only, with four passengers and luggage, under RAC observation. The 65bhp Napier ‘Silver Bullet’ managed the feat with an average of fuel consumption of 19.3 mpg and a top speed of 76.42 mph at Brooklands.

Johnson saw the opportunity to top this performance and create the first line of sporting Silver Ghosts. The 45bhp, six-cylinder Rolls-Royce covered the route (which travelled via Grantham, Doncaster, Newcastle, Alnwick and Bedford) without any mechanical failures, dashing Napier’s figures with an average fuel consumption of 24.3mpg and a top speed of 78.26mph over the flying half-mile. Driving the whole journey in top gear was only achievablebecause of the huge 7.5 litre, low compression ratio engine allowing drivers to slip the oil lubricated, leather-lined clutch enough for the car to pull away smoothly from standstill or even on a slight incline. Chassis 1701 later returned to Brooklands with more streamlined bodywork and secured an astonishing speed of 101.816mph, making it the fastest Rolls-Royce built at the time.

Nick Naismith has been a member of the Royal Automobile Club for four years and says of the re-enactment: “1911 was a very important year for Rolls-Royce. The Prince Henry Tour and the London to Edinburgh trial helped create the Silver Ghost’s reputation as ‘the best car in the world’. As the oldest Rolls-Royce club in the world, the 20-Ghost Club has been planning the re-enactment of the Prince Henry Tour and the London to Edinburgh trials for the past two years. The Royal Automobile Club has been very helpful with organisation for the start of the London to Edinburgh event and kind enough to allow us the use of the Pall Mall clubhouse for the night before the trial.”

The Silver Ghosts taking part in the recreation will do so under similar conditions; carrying passengers, measuring fuel consumption and reliability and only using the direct top gear. They will use as much of the original Great North Road Route (now mostly the A1) as possible. Leaving at 6am Sunday morning to avoid the worst of the traffic in London, Naismith further highlights the challenges of 21st century motoring: “The 1911 trial nearly came to grief when a donkey and cart got in the way when climbing the hill at the Archway, I think that in 2011 traffic lights rather than donkeys will be the problem .”

The Royal Automobile Club will be hosting a number of other events in 2011. Every year, on the first weekend of November, the Club promotes the UK’s largest, free-to-spectate celebration of motoring, past, present and future. On Saturday 5 November, The Future Car Challenge runs from Brighton to London and showcases the performance of low energy vehicles. In its inaugural year (2010) it attracted the support of major manufacturers from around the world. The

The next morning Hyde Park sees the start of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, celebrating the Emancipation Run of 1896. Over 500 vehicles, all built before 1905 and from around the globe, participate in the world’s longest running motoring event.