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The inspiration for our 1965 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III began with the infamous Grey Poupon commercials debuting in 1981 (Image #1).  The 1992 Wayne's World and 1993 Married with Children parodies added fuel to the fire, making a Silver Cloud a bucket list item for us.  The M5 car's nickname, "Pou-Pey" was derived from these commercials...

 

Enjoy some of the commercials in the links below:

1965 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III

  • Rolls Royce was founded in 1904 in Manchester, England by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. The first Rolls-Royce cars, the 10 hp, 15 hp, 20 hp as well as the engine for the 30 hp were unveiled at the Paris Salon in December 1904.

     

    1904-71 Rolls-Royce Limited - Rolls Royce Models produced prior to the 1971 bankruptcy included:

    • 1904–06 10 hp
    • 1905–05 15 hp
    • 1905–08 20 hp
    • 1905–06 30 hp
    • 1905–06 V-8
    • 1906–25 40/50 Silver Ghost
    • 1922–29 Twenty
    • 1925–29 40/50 Phantom
    • 1929–36 20/25
    • 1929–35 Phantom II
    • 1936–38 25/30
    • 1936–39 Phantom III
    • 1938–39 Wraith
    • 1946–59 Silver Wraith
    • **1949–55 Silver Dawn
    • 1950–56 Phantom IV
    • 1955–65 Silver Cloud (see the Silver Cloud section below)
    • 1959–68 Phantom
    • 1965–80 Silver Shadow
    • 1968–92 Phantom VI
    • 1971–2002 Corniche
    • **Note:  From its establishment, Rolls-Royce didn’t produce complete cars until the introduction of the Silver Dawn in 1949. Instead, early models were badged as Rolls-Royces but supplied with only a framed chassis with engine, gearbox and transmission, to which a body was fitted by a coachbuilder of the customer's choice including Barker & Co., Hooper, H. J. Mulliner & Co., Park Ward and James Young.

     

    1971-73 Rolls-Royce Limited - The original Rolls-Royce Limited was temporarily nationalized by the English government in 1971 due to the financial collapse of the company, caused in part by the development of the RB211 jet engine

     

    1973-80 Rolls-Royce Motors - Rolls-Royce Motors was created in 1973 when the English government spun off the Rolls-Royce car business to allow nationalized Rolls-Royce Limited to concentrate on jet engine manufacture

     

    1980-98:  Vickers plc acquired Rolls-Royce Motors in 1980 and produced models including:

    • 1968–92 Phantom VI
    • 1971–2002: Rolls-Royce Corniche (I–V)
    • 1980–1997: Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit/Silver Spur
    • 1998–2002: Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph

     

    1998-2002 - Volkswagen acquired Rolls-Royce Motors in 1998 (including the car company, factory in Crewe, and Bentley brand).  However, the “Rolls-Royce” name and logo trademarks for cars were separately licensed by BMW (from Rolls-Royce plc, the aero-engine company)

    • BMW agreed that VW dba Rolls-Royce Motors could legally build the cars at Crewe and sell them as Rolls-Royce up until December 31, 2002 when production would move to BMW
    • Models produced included the Silver Seraph, Corniche V, Park Ward Limousine, and a handful of late Silver Spurs. 
    • The Corniche V is the only Rolls-Royce model launched under Volkswagen holding ownership; the last Rolls-Royce Corniche to date, and with just 384 units built, it remains one of the brand's most exclusive modern series production models.

     

    2003+ - BMW dba Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited took ownership of Rolls-Royce branded cars, moving production from the original Crewe factory to the new Goodwood plant in England.  Since 2003, models built under BMW ownership have included:

    • 2003–17 Phantom VII
    • 2007–16 Phantom Drophead Coupé
    • 2008–16 Phantom Coupé
    • 2013–22 Wraith
    • 2016–22 Dawn
    • 2010–present Ghost
    • 2017–present Phantom VIII
    • 2018–present Cullinan
    • 2023–present Rolls-Royce Spectre (electric)

     

    BENTLEY

     

    In 1931, Rolls-Royce acquired Bentley, the small sports/racing car maker and potential rival, after the latter's finances failed to weather the onset of the Great Depression. 

     

    From 1946 until 2002, Rolls-Royce and Bentley car production moved to Crewe where they began to assemble complete cars with standard Bentley and Rolls-Royce models being nearly identical – Bentleys were badge engineered; only the radiator grille and minor details differed.

     

    In 1998 Volkswagen acquired Bentley Motors Limited along with their acquisition of Rolls-Royce Motors, and has been manufacturing Bentley branded cars at the Crewe factory in England ever since.  

     

    In 2021, Audi (owned by Volkswagen), took over Bentley's management while VW remains the parent company at the top level.  Bentley models produced since the Volkswagen acquisition include:

    • 1998–2009: Arnage
    • 2003–2011: Continental GT
    • 2005–2013: Continental Flying Spur (Gen 1)
    • 2006–2009: Azure (Gen 2)
    • 2008–2011: Bentley Brooklands (Gen 2)
    • 2010–2020: Mulsanne
    • 2011–2018: Continental GT (Gen 2)
    • 2013–2019: Flying Spur (Gen 2)
    • 2018–2024: Continental GT (Gen 3
    • 2016–present: Bentayga
    • 2019–present: Flying Spur (Gen 3)
    • 2024–present: Continental GT (Gen 4)

Disclaimer:  Both of these projects are ongoing Father & Son collaborations that are just for fun. While we are doing our best to document as accurate information as possible, there is a lot of conflicting data out there - even with AI - especially regarding old guitars.  If you notice any errors, or have any suggestions on how we can improve our collections and/or web site, you can reach out to us at m5carsandguitars@gmail.com

@ 2025 Mach Five Motorsports

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