Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Classic Cars for Sale

The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow was a sleek and sophisticated British car manufactured by Rolls-Royce between 1965 and 1980. Rolls-Royce has always been one the UK’s most prestigious automotive manufacturers and the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow embodies the company’s commitment to luxury vehicles. It’s elegant yet imposing design speaks volumes about its impeccable quality.

History of the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow

Rolls-Royce was established in 1906 by Sir Frederick Henry Royce and Charles Stewart Rolls. Over the following decades, it gained a reputation for high-quality engineering. It also developed the ‘R’ engine, which set several important land and air speed records.

By 1965, however, Rolls-Royce was facing concerns about its ability to innovate. In response, the company incorporated a new monocoque chassis into the design of its latest vehicle, The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. The Silver Shadow was the first Roll-Royce car to utilise this type of light, resilient chassis. The vehicle also featured a high-pressure hydraulic system, which Rolls-Royce licensed from a rival manufacturer. The system allowed for self-levelling suspension and dual-circuit braking. In short, the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow wasn’t just a beautiful car: it was a technologically remarkable one.

In 1971, Rolls-Royce was struck by a disaster: the cost of developing the RB211 jet engine (an unrelated project) dealt the company such a severe blow that it had to be partially nationalised. The car-manufacturing division of the company was split off, however, and continued to produce vehicles as part of the private sector. Consequently, the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow survived the crisis.

In 1977, the manufacturers made several significant changes to the Silver Shadow that improved the vehicle’s handling dramatically. The new version of the vehicle was known as the Silver Shadow II. A variant with a longer wheelbase became known as The Silver Wraith II... it was so impressive that the religious leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh commissioned a one-off Silver Wraith II stretch limousine!

Throughout its life, several variants of the Silver Shadow were made available to the general public: a 4-door saloon, a 2-door saloon and a 2-door cabriolet. However, the 2-door versions of the Silver Shadow would later be rebranded with the name ‘Corniche’. Nowadays, of course, all variants of the Silver Shadow are considered highly desirable as they embody Rolls-Royce at its most innovative and stylish.

The unusual name of the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow

Rolls-Royce originally intended to name the vehicle the Silver Mist. This name was seen as evocative of Rolls-Royce’s earlier automobile, the Silver Cloud, which it had manufactured between 1955 and 1966. However, the manufacturers sensibly chose to change the name to Silver Shadow when it became apparent that ‘Mist’ meant ‘manure’ in German. It was felt that the vehicle would be unattractive to the German market if it bore such a negative name. Perhaps this was a stroke of luck: it is hard to deny that ‘Silver Shadow’ sounds more assertive than ‘Silver Mist’.