Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow

Overview

production	1965–1980 30,057 produced
aka	Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II
related	Bentley T-series Rolls-Royce Camargue Rolls-Royce Corniche
manufacturer	Rolls-Royce Ltd (1965–1973) Rolls-Royce Motors (1973–1980)
layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
predecessor	Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III
successor	Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit
assembly	United Kingdom: Crewe, England
body style	2-door saloon 2-door convertible 4-door saloon
engine	6230 cc L410 V8 (1965–70) 6750 cc L410 V8 (1970–80)
transmission	4-speed automatic (1965–70; RHD only) 3-speed THM 400 automatic
length	203.5 in 207.5 in (LWB)
width	71 in
height	59.75 in
weight	4648 lb
wheelbase	119.5 in‡R1R‡ 123.5 in (LWB)
sp	uk
class	Full-size luxury car (F)

The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and its slightly stretched version, the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II, are full-size luxury cars produced by British automaker Rolls-Royce in various forms from 1965 to 1980. It was the first of the marque to use fully slabsided unitary body and chassis construction, as well as all-around independent suspension. Two-door versions were initially, between 1965 and 1971, sold as the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow 2-door saloon and the Silver Shadow Drophead Coupé, before they became the Rolls-Royce Corniche Coupé and Convertible, respectively.

The Silver Shadow was produced from 1965 to 1976, and the Silver Shadow II from 1977 to 1980. The combined model run was 30,057 cars manufactured; James May reported it in 2014 as the largest production volume of any Rolls-Royce model.[2]

A Bentley-badged version, the T-series, was produced from 1965 through 1980 in 2,336 examples.

Models

Silver Shadow

Derivatives

Silver Wraith II

Rolls-Royce considered offering a more exclusive, long-wheelbase Phantom VII model based on the Silver Shadow, but production was not pursued and no prototypes were built.[13] Instead, a pilot series of ten stretched-wheelbase "limousines" – which offered an additional 4 inches of rear seat legroom – was built in 1967 and sold, one of them to Princess Margaret.[14]

This long-wheelbase variant was offered in the United States from May 1969, and available to domestic customers from early 1970.[15]

Some extended-wheelbase models were fitted with an electrically retractable privacy glass divider. Outside of North America, the cars with a divider were fitted with a separate air conditioning unit mounted in the boot – North American safety laws made this impossible, as the petrol tank would have had to be relocated. The cars with a divider lost the entire gain in wheelbase, trading off extra legroom for privacy.

Initially, the long-wheelbase model did not have a separate name, but with the introduction of the Silver Shadow II in 1976 the longer car was dubbed the Silver Wraith II.

The Silver Wraith II is identified by all alterations found on the Silver Shadow II and additionally an Everflex-covered roof (also available as an option on the Silver Shadow II), a smaller, more formal rear window, and different wheel covers.

The Rolls-Royce factory built a special stretch limousine on Silver Wraith basis in 1979. It was ordered by the religious leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, who had a collection of 93 Rolls-Royces.[16][17]

Corniche

In 1971 the Silver Shadow two-door models were given the separate identity of Corniche (with either Rolls-Royce or Bentley badging), and eventually went on to outlive the Silver Shadow by some years with production lasting until 1982 for the coupé and 1996 for the convertible.

Camargue

Another coupé variant on the Shadow platform was the Camargue, with bodywork designed by the Italian firm Pininfarina, and production running from 1975 to 1986. The Camargue had the distinction of being the most expensive production Rolls-Royce.

Bentley T

A Bentley version of the Shadow, known as the Bentley T (and Bentley T2 from 1977), was also made. It was mechanically identical and differed only in the badging and design of the radiator shell. The more rounded radiator also required a slightly reshaped bonnet profile. Other modifications were only slight cosmetic ones, a different front bumper and hubcaps. Engine valve covers with a "Bentley" logo were only used when the factory had them available.

The long-wheelbase version of the Bentley T did not have a separate identity and was simply called T long-wheelbase or T2 long-wheelbase. Only a very few of these were built (9 and 10 examples respectively, less than 0.4% of the total long-wheelbase production).

All two-door cars were also available as Bentleys. However, only one example of a Bentley Camargue was ever produced.

Popular culture

The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, and its derivatives, have appeared in numerous film and television shows to define the rarefied upper echelons of wealth. The most filmed individual Rolls-Royce motor car, is chassis no. SRH 2971, a shell grey Silver Shadow ( early ). First seen from 1968 in TV series The Avengers then until 1983.

Rock band Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, who never drove a car because he had no licence, was often chauffeured around London in his Silver Shadow from 1979 until his death in 1991. The car was passed to his sister Kashmira who made it available for display at public events, including the West End premiere of the musical We Will Rock You in 2002, before it was auctioned off at the National Exhibition Centre.[20][21]

Steve McQueen often drove a 1967 Silver Shadow two-door sedan in his 1968 film, The Thomas Crown Affair.[22][23]

The Silver Shadow has been used in several James Bond films, including a drophead coupé in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), a Silver Shadow I in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), a Silver Shadow I LWB in For Your Eyes Only (1981), a Silver Shadow II (driven by Q) in Licence to Kill, and a Silver Shadow II in The World Is Not Enough (1999).[24][25]

Jamie Farr's Arabian sheikh raced in a 1974 Silver Shadow I in the 1981 action comedy The Cannonball Run.[26]

One of Princess Margaret's favourite cars was a 1980 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II which she owned for 22 years until her death, with notable passengers including Paul Getty, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, Lady Diana Spencer, the Queen and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.[27][28]

In 1997, a white 1972 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow was depicted on the cover of the Oasis album Be Here Now. During the photo shoot for the album, the car was lowered into the swimming pool of Stocks House, Hertfordshire.[29]

A Silver Wraith II (1979 model) made multiple appearances in the first season of Netflix's The Umbrella Academy. It was first very briefly revealed at the end of the series' first episode, "We Only See Each Other at Weddings and Funerals". The same vehicle later made a clearer appearance at the end of "Number Five". It also appeared in the beginning and end of "The Day That Was" and of "I Heard a Rumor". It was seen for the last time at the beginning of "Changes".[30]

Japanese director Juzo Itami was known as a Rolls-Royce aficionado, featuring several Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles in his movies including a Silver Shadow in his 1984 film The Funeral, a Bentley T-series in the popular 1985 classic Tampopo, and a Silver Shadow in the 1987 film A Taxing Woman. His last personal vehicle, a Bentley Continental, is maintained at his museum in Matsuyama.[31][32]

The Corniche immediately became a status symbol for celebrities upon its release in 1971. Paul McCartney, Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones all bought one. David Bowie, Michael Caine, Elton John and Dean Martin put their names on two-year-long waiting lists,[33] and it has been seen in countless films and television shows from Beverly Hills, 90210 to Dynasty, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Sixteen Candles, and The Player. No other car conveyed an image of the idle rich better than the Corniche.[34][35][36]

Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow

Models

Silver Shadow

Two-door versions

Silver Shadow II

Derivatives

Silver Wraith II

Corniche

Camargue

Bentley T

Production statistics

Commemoration

Popular culture

Further reading

External links

References