Rolls-Royce – Ghost 40/50 HP Springfield (1923)

Even enthusiasts often forget that Rolls-Royce manufactured vehicles in the USA. In the early 1920s, Rolls-Royce built a factory in Springfield/Massachusetts primarily to avoid the high import duties levied on vehicles coming into the USA. Initially, cars were only assembled at this factory with all the parts imported to the USA from England. However, the plant in Springfield soon began to work with American suppliers and this increased the vertical range of manufacturing. The quality of the Rolls-Royce cars built in Springfield was soon equal to that of the vehicles produced in England. From 1926 to 1931 the Phantom I was built here, and the most striking external difference from the vehicles built in England was that all US vehicles were left-hand drive. However, the Springfield cars had several features that clearly distinguished them from the cars passing through the factory gates in England, notably the tubular bumpers and the drum-shaped headlights from Bausch & Lomb. All Springfield cars were fitted with American-made coachwork based on existing Rolls-Royce coachbuilding designs and then badged as made by Rolls-Royce Custom Coachworks. The American bodywork styles often differed from their British counterparts as they were visually lighter and less formal in appearance. This Rolls-Royce Springfield Silver Ghost was delivered to Penn Motors in Philadelphia with a closed Pickwick body in June 1924. The Silver Ghost played a role here as a demonstrator for two years. The first private owner R.M. Stein acquired the car in 1926 and asked Rolls-Royce to fit a Pall Mall body. This was taken from an earlier 1921 Ghost chassis, fitted by the Rolls-Royce factory and completed in 1928. It is one of only two surviving Pall Mall Tourer Dual-Cowls built in America.