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(1958 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud)

Rolls-Royce – Charles Stewart Rolls and Sir Henry Royce were an unlikely team,
which was cemented over a lunch in May 1904. Royce was the brain behind the
car and Rolls, owner of one of the first car dealerships. Rolls, from aristocratic
parents and a bit of a playboy, was trying to find the most reliable car.

Sir Henry Royce and Charles Stewart Rolls

While both partners were engineers, Royce had some manufacturing experience,
and as he was very dissatisfied with his car, he wanted to build his own car. The
first car he built was a two cylinder, but it was enough to convince Rolls to join
him. They proceeded to build a 2000cc car, of which they only sold 19 by 1906.

A 3000cc model followed and then the 6000cc but sales remained slow. In 1907
they launched...

(1960 Volvo 544 Sport)

Volvo – Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson decided to start manufacturing
Scandinavian motorcars in 1924 with the financial support of SKF ball bearings.

Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson

The initial car with a four cylinder engine, was a convertible, which was not
suitable for the harsh climate in Scandinavia. After the building of 205 cars
when they changed to a closed body, of which 791 were produced. Their cars
were largely based on US cars and when Chrysler launched their Airflow,
Volvo followed suit with a similar model named Carioca. This was their first
car with a steel body. Their cars were very popular as taxis, as they were
built very robust. In 1938 a six cylinder engine was introduced.

(1960 BMW 700 CS Coupe)

BMW – was well known as a manufacturer of motorcycles and aircraft engines. In
1929 BMW acquired the Dixi car factory, which sold a range of different car models,
But BMW only continued to build the small Dixi, which was built under license from
the British Austin Seven.

During 1932 BMW launched the first of their own cars, although they still looked
similar to the Dixi. In 1933 they added a new 1’200cc engine, but the big step forward
was the introduction of the models 309, 315 and 319, of which the sports convertible is
particularly sought after today. While the 309 still had a four cylinder engine of 845cc,
the 315 and 319 were equipped with 1’490cc and 1’911cc overhead valve engines.
With these models BMW was well on their way to producing close to 10’00...

Packard – brothers James Ward Packard and William Doud Packard started out
manufacturing Packard electric incandescent lamps in 1891, which were later sold
under the name General Electric. In 1899 the brothers started to manufacture
Packard automobiles. This brand was known as one of the top quality US cars
available, but they were also very expensive and very few people could afford
them. They were also very innovative and offered some very advanced features
and managed to break many records.

In 1903 one Tom Fletcher was first to cross the USA from the West to the East
Coast in 61 days. Quite remarkable considering the roads, or the lack thereof at
that time. The single, as well as the five mile record was broken by a Packard racing
car in 1904...

Peugeot – The Peugeot family were well established in the 18th century, and were
well known for tools, pepper mills, guns and many other engineering products.
Later they also became a leading manufacturer of bicycles. As early as 1888 they
ventured into the manufacture of motorcars. Initially a three wheeler steam car,
which lead to the Peugeot Type 1 steam car. This was followed by petrol engined
cars Peugeot Type 2, 3 and 4.

In 1896 Peugeot he founded the company Société des Automobile Peugeot and
built a new factory for the manufacture of motorcars. Here he also designed and
built his own engines. His cars were also used for racing and won the first Paris-
Bordeaux-Paris race at an average speed of 21.8 km/h. From 1897 all Peugeot
cars were fitted with Michelin pneumatic tyres, wh...

Singer – like many others George Singer had manufactured bicycles and motor-
cycles before expanding into motor cars. In 1905 he launched his first two seater
named 8 HP with a horizontally opposed two cylinder engine. The Ten, a sedan
was the most popular of 13 different models built before the First World War.

In 1919 a sports car was launched, based on the popular Ten. Soon this model
was also available as a racing car with a 33 bhp engine, later to be upgraded to
a six cylinder engine. This model did particularly well in the Le Mans and from
then on was named Singer Le Mans after the race.

Simca – Henri Théodore Pigozzi – was the founder of Simca in 1935 in the
outskirts of Paris. Pigozzi was sponsored by Fiat Director Giovanni Agnelli who
wanted the Fiat cars built in France. Production started initially with the Fiat 508
Balilla, but only really got going with the Fiat 500 Topolino, which was also
sold as the Simca Cinq.

7’282 cars were built in 1936, which increased to 12’925 in 1937. During 1937
the Cinq was replaced by the Simca Huit, which was based on the Fiat 1100.
After the Second World War, Simca was one of the fist companies to re-start
car production. Even a racing car known as the Simca Gordini was made
available. The Simca Gordini was quite successful, but really made its mark
by winning its class at the 24-hour Le Mans race.

After the death of Pigoz...

Lincoln – Henry Martyn Leland, also known as “Uncle Henry” was the founder
of both Lincoln and Cadillac, the two foremost American auto brands. He started
work as a shoe shine boy aged eight. Ten years on, in 1861, he worked as a
designer. During 1890 Leland started a machine factory in Detroit, where he
also built engines for the Oldsmobile Company. He soon started another factory,
The Cadillac Motor Company next door. This company was acquired by General
Motors in 1909.

During 1917 Leland also started his own aircraft engine factory, for which he soon
received an order for 6000 units. But he soon ran out of orders, as the war only
lasted two years.

Leland, now 77, decided to start The Lincoln Motor Company with his son. The
first luxury car with a 5...