Rolls-Royce celebrates 110th anniversary of 1913 Spanish GP victory

Rolls-Royce announced that it is celebrating the 110th anniversary of its 1913 Spanish Grand Prix win with the Silver Ghost.

According to the British automotive brand, the victory claimed by the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost at the very first Spanish Grand Prix proved that the three foundations used to build the race-winning machine worked.

The said foundations are “overwhelmingly superior engineering and performance; deliberate team tactics executed to perfection; and the self-sacrifice of one of Rolls-Royce’s most experienced and devoted employees.”

Per the London-headquartered carmaker, the Grand Prix appealed to the brand because it was a test of endurance and reliability and not just raw speed.

The — approximately — 308-kilometer course required the participants to complete three laps and overcome two formidable passes in the rugged Guadarrama mountains, northwest of Madrid.

The race was open exclusively to four-seater touring cars, which had to be fitted with mudguards, lamps, hoods, and two spare tires. Additionally, the hoods of the competing vehicles were sealed, and no water could be added to the radiator once the race was underway, despite a shade temperature well above 30 degrees Celsius at the start in La Granja.

Rolls-Royce entered two modified Silver Ghosts.

The first was owned and (against the company's express wishes) driven by Don Carlos de Salamanca y Hurtado de Zaldivar, later Marqués of Salamanca, who had recently become Rolls-Royce’s new agent in Madrid.

The second was a company-owned Silver Ghost driven by Eric Platford, one of Rolls-Royce’s most experienced and dedicated engineers, who had been responsible for many of the marque’s previous trials successes.

Recalling the momentous event, Rolls-Royce said that the company’s second entry had a lead of over 20 minutes over the other Silver Ghost. But because of commercial reasons, Platford had to let the Marqués of Salamanca pass him.

The company’s Madrid agent went on to win his home nation’s first-ever Grand Prix race in a time of 3 hours, 34 minutes, and 12 seconds, at an average speed of around 86.9 kilometers per hour.

“Rolls-Royce’s dominance of long-distance trials in the early 20th Century is well-known; but motor racing, especially in continental Europe, was also crucial in securing the marque’s reputation for performance and reliability. Today, we look back on the Silver Ghost’s victory in the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix on 15 June 1913, which was a triumph not only of Henry Royce’s technology, but also of team spirit and self-sacrifice,” Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Head of Corporate Relations Andrew Ball commented.

Photos from Rolls-Royce

Also read: 

Rolls-Royce unveils unique Manchester Ghost

Rolls-Royce, Iris van Herpen create Phantom Syntopia

Rolls-Royce celebrates 20 years in Goodwood