In 1913, 40 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts set out on an 1800-mile journey over the mountains of Europe, “wafting,” as Rolls puts it, through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy.
Known as the Alpine Trial, the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost was deemed the ‘Best Car in the World’ after the examples traversed the trial with “faultless reliability.”
Marking the 100th anniversary of the event, Rolls-Royce will do it again – not only with a few modern cars but with some over a century old.
A 2013 Alpine Trial Centenary Ghost has been specially designed for the odyssey, complete with “an exterior hue that takes inspiration from the Radley car,” according to the Rolls-Royce press release, and a “clock displays the stages of the rally and timings, whilst inlays to rear picnic tables and the front fascia express the topography and distances of the Alpine route.”
Rolls-Royce owners keen to partake in the event have shipped their vehicles from all over the world to P&A Wood, the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ Authorized Dealer in Essex, England. There the dealership’s skilled technicians and craftspeople have worked tirelessly preparing the rigs for the road.
“I am certain they will negotiate the challenging Alpine roads as effortlessly as they did 100 years ago,” said Georgina Wood, of P&A Wood.
We at Digital Trends have long imagined an Americanized version of the Alpine Trial, running some Ford Model Ts down to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Now imagining 100-year-old Rolls-Royces going through 1800-miles of some of the most scenic mountain passes in Europe makes our dream adventure look laughable.
It must be good to be the king – or at least as rich as one.
