Rolls-Royce, Bentley

Rolls-Royce is a set of companies derived from the British car and aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Henry Royce and C.S. Rolls in 1906. The companies are: more...

• Rolls-Royce plc, by far the most significant in economic terms, a British engineering firm specializing in turbine-based products, particularly aircraft engines, which has recently added marine propulsion and energy systems to its portfolio, providing a wide range of civil and military engineering products and services.
• Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited, a new manufacturer of luxury automobiles, owned by BMW, which started deliveries of its single model, the Phantom, in January 2003 (see below).
• Bentley Motors Limited, the continuation of the original Rolls-Royce automobile division. Since 1998 the company has been owned by the Volkswagen Group. Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars shared much mechanically since the 1931 takeover of Bentley by Rolls-Royce, often differing in little other than the radiator grille. Confusingly, from 2003 the company is no longer allowed to produce cars called Rolls-Royce, the trademarks being licensed to BMW rather than to Volkswagen.

Nicknames for Rolls-Royce cars are "Rolls", "Roller" and "Double R", although in Derby, where the headquarters of Rolls-Royce plc is located, the firm is commonly known as "Royce's". The former Rolls-Royce motor car factory in Crewe, Cheshire, which now builds only Bentley cars, is also often known by locals as "Royce's". The term "The Rolls-Royce of x" is often used informally to describe anything that is the best of its type. The company is aggressive at protecting its trademarks whenever commercial use of the term is mentioned. (One noted example was a coachbuilder marketing the Custom Cloud, which used a Chevrolet Monte Carlo with Rolls-Royce cues. The company was forced to shut down production after a heated lawsuit.) The company did allow the creation of a futuristic pink Rolls-Royce for Thunderbirds in 1965.

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