Although released the previous year, the name "Silver Ghost" was born after Claude Johnson, Commercial Managing Director of Rolls-Royce Ltd. in 1907, took the 12th chassis, and silver-plated some metal parts, and painted the body in aluminium paint, which gave it the look of silver. Although there was really only one true Silver Ghost, future versions of the 40/50 quickly adopted this nomenclature. Public appearances at races and other contests of the original Silver Ghost propelled the company and the 40/50 model to its place in history.
In 1910 Rolls-Royce opened a driving school and had service technicians visit owners to perform maintenance at the owner's house. The inline six-cylinder engine fitted to the silver ghost was a square unit that consisted of two blocks with three cylinders each. The
cylinder heads were not detachable but did employ two spark plugs per cylinder. The 1910 engine was a 7.4-L unit with a bore of 114.3 mm (4.5 in) and stroke of 120.7 mm (4.75 in). The compression ratio was 3.2:1. The engine was water cooled with a pump and fan. The
valves were mounted on the side but not enclosed. Tappets, valve springs, and valve stems were therefore accessible from the side of the engine. Tappet heads used fiber inserts to help quiet the engine.
A machined nickel-steel crankshaft was used along with seven bearings. A pressurized system was used to lubricate the crankshaft bearings, camshaft timing wheels, and cylinder walls. The engine used a coil and magneto. A cone-type clutch was used with the four-speed
transmission. Overall ratios for the gears were 7.67:1 for first, 4.51:1 for second, 2.708:1 for third, 2.174:1 for fourth, and 9.93:1 for reverse. Maximum speed was 135 km/h (84 mph).