Rolls Royce 20

Rolls Royce 20 Tyres

Straight Sided Tyres

23" Rim Size

Crossply Tyres

21" Rim Size

The Rolls Royce Twenty mainly fitted 525x21 tyres, of which the Firestone gives the lightest steering feel and the Dunlop the best stability and longevity. Some Rolls Royce Twenty cars were equipped with 32x4 1/2 tyres (please click on the tyre sizes to see details).

Rolls Royce Twenty History

The Rolls-Royce Twenty built between 1922 and 1929 was Rolls-Royce's "small car" for the 1920s and was produced alongside the 40/50 (Silver Ghost) and Phantom models. It was intended to appeal to owner drivers but many were sold to customers with chauffeurs.

A new in-line 6 cylinder overhead valve engine was designed for the car of 3127 cc. Unlike the Silver Ghost engine, the cylinders were cast in one block and the cylinder head was detachable. Both a coil and magneto ignition system were fitted. The early cars had 3 speed gearboxes with the gear lever in the centre of the car but this changed in 1925 to a four speed unit with traditional right hand change. A torque tube was used to transmit the power to the rear axle.

The substantial chassis had rigid front and rear axles suspended by half elliptic springs, with braking initially only on the rear wheels. Four wheel brakes with mechanical servo were introduced in 1925. The traditional Rolls-Royce radiator with triangular top was fitted and early examples had enamel finished horizontal moveable slats, later changing to a nickel finish and finally becoming vertical.

In 1920 a chassis cost £1100 with, typically, a complete tourer bodied car costing around £1600. With coachwork to the factory recommended weight the car could reach 60 mph but many owners had large limousine bodies fitted with the inevitable detrimental effect on performance.