en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Silver_Seraph
2 corrections found
Volkswagen's marketing licence for the Rolls-Royce marque were handed over to owner BMW
This reverses how the rights actually worked. BMW had already acquired the automotive rights to the Rolls-Royce name in 1998 and then licensed Volkswagen to use them until 31 December 2002; Volkswagen did not 'hand them over' to BMW in late 2002.
Full reasoning
Contemporary official and regulatory records describe a different arrangement from the one stated here.
- The European Commission's 1998 merger decision says the rights to the Rolls-Royce name and marque for motor cars were acquired separately by BMW AG from Rolls-Royce plc, and that BMW then granted Volkswagen's Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd a licence to use the name only until 31 December 2002.
- A BMW Group press release from 2001 likewise says BMW had acquired the rights to the Rolls-Royce brand for automotive business from Rolls-Royce plc in 1998 and would take over full responsibility in 2003.
So the rights were not something Volkswagen simply "handed over" to BMW at the end of 2002. BMW already held the automotive brand rights; what changed on 1 January 2003 was that Volkswagen's temporary licence to use the Rolls-Royce name expired.
2 sources
- European Commission merger decision IV/M.1283 – Volkswagen / Rolls-Royce / Cosworth (24 August 1998)
"The rights to the 'Rolls-Royce' name and marque for motor cars did not form part of the above transactions. These rights were acquired separately by BMW AG ... BMW AG subsequently granted a licence to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd, now owned by Volkswagen, to use the 'Rolls-Royce' name and marque until 31 December 2002."
- BMW Group Starts Building the New Rolls-Royce Facilities
"BMW acquired the rights to the Rolls-Royce brand for automotive business from its owner Rolls-Royce plc in 1998 and will take over full responsibility, including production and distribution, in 2003."
They replaced the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit and the slightly longer Silver Spur, made from 1980 through 1997.
This overstates the Silver Spur's end date. While the Silver Spirit ended in 1997, Silver Spur models were still built after that, including 1998 examples, and specialist and auction records place Silver Spur production through 2000.
Full reasoning
The sentence groups the Silver Spirit and Silver Spur together as if both were built only "through 1997." That is not accurate for the Silver Spur.
- RM Sotheby's describes the Silver Spur as a model that "would remain in production through 2000" and catalogs a 1998 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur.
- A detailed Rolls-Royce/Bentley model registry documents 1998 Silver Spur Non-Division production, including first and last 1998 chassis numbers and a total of 20 cars for that 1998 variant.
So while the Silver Spirit did end in 1997, the Silver Spur continued beyond 1997. As written, the sentence gives the wrong end date for the Silver Spur lineage.
2 sources
- 1998 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur | Hershey 2024 | RM Sotheby's
"The Rolls-Royce Silver Spur made its debut in 1980 as the long-wheelbase version of the Silver Spirit. The model would remain in production through 2000."
- Rolls-Royce Silver Spur Non-Division
"Rolls-Royce Silver Spur Non-Division 1998 ... Number manufactured 20 ... First chassis number: SCAZY21C7WCH80701 (1998). Last chassis number: SCAZY20C9WCH80720 (1998)."