This book shows how Rolls-Royce turned its very name into a byword for luxury.

Few brands in any field carry the cachet of Rolls-Royce—and it’s a cachet rooted in the incredibly high quality, luxury, and attention to detail that has marked their cars for more than a century.

This history of Rolls-Royce motor cars runs from the company’s origins in 1904—when Charles Rolls met Henry Royce and drove the car that Royce was developing—through the outbreak of World War II. Peter Moss shows how the pairing of Royce, engineering genius, and Rolls, the businessman, was the foundation of the company—but that Rolls-Royce’s long-term success relied just as much on managing director Claude Johnson’s innovations in promoting the cars and the company. That marketing, and the publicity it generated, helped Rolls-Royce stand out in a crowded field as the market for cars exploded worldwide. Richly illustrated with little-seen marketing materials and ephemera, and buttressed by internal documents of meetings and plans, this book shows how Rolls-Royce turned its very name into a byword for luxury.