The WORLD-WIDE Centennial celebrations for Rolls-Royce
begin in Auckland with the Inaugural Dinner of the 2004
Rolls-Royce Centennial World Tour at the Stamford Plaza
Hotel on Sunday, January 25th, 2004. Around 50
Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, from all over the World and
New Zealand, will by then have assembled for the tour of
New Zealand, the first leg of the world-wide Tour.
On the morning of Monday, January 26th, 2004, the Tour
begins as the cars depart Auckland on their way South to
Rotorua, the first stop. Tauranga, Ruapehu, Taupo, Napier
and Wellington are followed the picturesque West Coast of
the South Island, Queenstown, Dunedin, and Mt Cook. The
Tour ends in Christchurch on Tuesday, February 10th,
2004.
After Christchurch some participants will continue
with a tour of Australia from Brisbane to Melbourne,
followed by Europe and England: all timed to be in
Manchester for May 4th 2004 – the day 100 years
earlier that the Hon. Charles S. Rolls met Henry Royce at
the Midland Hotel, a meeting which ultimately resulted in
the formation of the company called Rolls-Royce. After
England, the Tour continues through the USA from the East
to the West Coast.
Some of the participants doing the New Zealand leg
will drive the full distance. The earliest car presently
scheduled to take part in the New Zealand leg dates from
1912 and the newest from the year 2001.
Rolls-Royce has entered common language to describe
the best of anything: “it is the Rolls-Royce of
……”This is through no mere accident or
slip of the tongue. What the company bearing the name
Rolls-Royce produced was generally acknowledged to be the
best in its field. Most are aware of the range of cars
produced: the Silver Ghost which was described as
“the best car in the world”; the Phantoms used
so often by Royalty; the Silver Cloud, perhaps the most
beautiful car the company produced; the Silver Shadow,
easily its most successful model; and the 2003 Phantom, a
car once again described as “the best car in the
world”. Fewer people are as aware of the wider role
Rolls-Royce has played. Their aero engines have powered a
wide range of planes that include the Spitfire and
Hurricane of World War II, the Concorde, a wide range of
Boeings including the 747 series, a wide range of Airbus
planes and many of the World’s airforces. In
addition Rolls-Royce engines power offshore drilling
rigs, naval ships, submarines and rockets for space
exploration.
