Fellow Curbivore GN has recently shown us a Car and Driver feature on the 1966 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, so it seems appropriate to show this, an example of something that could be considered as almost the ultimate development of the Silver Shadow.
The Shadow was Rolls-Royce’s first monocoque vehicle, and therefore the potential range of coach built bodies offered on the preceding models, such as the Silver Shadow, was reduced. Rolls-Royce adapted to this by building in house the first convertible and coupe models, known as the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow convertible and two door saloon, bodywork for which was produced by Mulliner Park Ward or for just a few examples by James Young., introduced in 1967
The first use of the Corniche name came in 1971, when the Mulliner Park Ward car was renamed. It was also offered as a Bentley Corniche, differing only in the radiator shell and badging details. Production numbers were low, even by Rolls_Royce standards, with 4400 of the first version being produced, up to 1986.
There were a series of minor changes in 1986, in 1989 and again in 1992. By then the car had the GM THM-400 gearbox rather then the Hydramatic, fuel injection had been added to the 6.75 litre pushrod V8, and airbags and ABS were also fitted, and of course the Silver Shadow itself had been superseded by the related Silver Spirit, in 1980. To the end of production in 1996, the hood was latched manually.
This example is a 1985 Bentley Continental. The Bentley took the Continental name in 1984, and had a few trim and interior changes over the Rolls-Royce. In reality, the level of customisation available and usually taken by customers for these cars means that the likelihood of another being the same is low.
I saw this example recently on the perhaps the first decent spring day we have had, taking the air in the late afternoon sunshine. Somehow, all seems well with the world when you can park a car like this with the roof (almost) down near an ice cream van.
With regards to the video “can you buy class” I just always find it perplexing that people praise rolls royce for not focusing on sports and handling and instead keeping things soft and smooth above all else, but those same people turn around and incessantly mock large American cars for having done the same thing.
From what I can tell, the Queen herself is into Rovers (both Land & sedans), & often drives them herself. Considering she’s tax-funded, maybe a Rolls or Bentley would be too extravagant.
She also travels in a golden carriage and a huge custom built limo. Probably safe to say she isn’t overly concerned about stuff like that.
Same here. I wish some American marque would at least throw a bone to those of us who want to float down the road in tomb-like silence for much less than Rolls prices. Even Cadillac and Lincoln don’t do that any more.
Everything seems “sport” or “sporty” or has available sports packages (spoilers and such) on rather unsporty vehicles these days from econoboxes to the big cars still left.
Screw “sport”.
Does Tesla count? I can’t speak to how floaty the suspensions on their cars are, but they’re comfortable and certainly very quiet, if nothing else.
They did, a 65 Ford was quieter than a Rolls Royce!
The last real Lincoln was the 2011 Town Car and the last real Cadillac was the 1996 Fleetwood Brougham (tho’ I’d prefer the older body). Every car doesn’t have to be some Teutonic Sport Sedan, There should be room for a traditional luxury car. (I blame tacky stretch limos for “sullying” the image of “real” luxury cars) Rant over!
+1!
I have always liked the looks of these, and will take excellent ride with decent handling over the reverse for a vehicle I drive regularly on the street. If maint did not tend to be so expensive/difficult on these, they would be on a short list of cars I would like to own.
I just want to share my 1981 Bentley Mulliner Park Ward drophead coupe Corniche . She is one of just 77 ever made 1971-1985 and one of only 32 such cars with rack & pinion and fuel injection. In 1981 & 1982 only six were produced. One of the five 81s was a rhd car and the ONLY 82 was also rhd. So….in 81 and 82 my Bentley is the only one of six finished in Porcelain White.
You can see the impression of the bows in the soft top because after 35 years my original top has seen its day.
Thanks for sharing your car Michael – it looks great
Thank you Roger. I have put 23,000 miles on the Bentley since I found her about 19 months ago. Now showing 89,000. The car was built for touring and enjoying and that is whathe I do.
Lovely car, but it’s time for a new top, and you have incorrect wheels and tyres.
Can you buy class?
No. Having money and having class are two different things entirely. A lot of rich people have no class. A lot of poor people have lots of class. True class is acting classy and has nothing to do with money.
+1
“Miss Manners” (Judith Martin) once defined true class as the ability to make any person feel comfortable in your presence no matter what the differences in social, economic, or education level. I believe that works both ways.
That said, I would love to have a Rolls-Royce or Bentley coupe from this era. I just like the way they look. Of course, I would need to display true class in my behavior so I wouldn’t appear to be a snob. 🙂
Absolutely Right! Look at most “celebrities” (by this I mean people who are famous without any real accomplishments.) today, I literally know welfare recipients with 20x more class. Money and Class are not at all the same thing. The general “tackiness” of todays celebs is probably the reason that current Rollers are fugly. No wonder QE2 would rather be in a Rover than a Rolller, She’s not a Kardashian!
Am I the only one who noticed the very colorful van in the background of the 1st picture?
Thank you Roger for another fine read. An elegant car which would sadly be a target for vandals in my warzone.
What’s not to like are the costs if anything goes wrong, R-R always used to have its own way which means much is not interchangeable with anything else, and fiendishly complicated with the obvious price premium.
To add to that, while it’s easy to say, “If you can afford a Rolls-Royce, that shouldn’t matter,” the reality today is that – because they’re relatively rare – there is a scarcity of dealers and parts when compared to more common marques.
While that may not have been a problem when these were sold to the landed gentry, I would imagine that today’s working rich are less tolerant of downtime as they wait for the flatbed to fetch the car from the weekend house to the dealer in the city, and then wait a few more days for the part to be flown in from the UK. Even if you have multiple vehicles, it doesn’t make for a stellar ownership experience – particularly not when you pay over a quarter million for the privilege.
Whew ! that DHC looks very sexy to me .
I’d rock one in a heartbeat but truth be told , every time I foolishly buy a Rag Top , after three months the top never goes down again unless someone asks me .
Still and all , a very nice looking car , been a long time since I got to ride in / drive one .
-Nate
I especially like the third photograph, where the light seems to deepen and soften the cars color. To me, this is what a premium automobile should look like. Offhand, I can’t think of a single modern that blends elegance and gravitas so skillfully.
The car to have in the 80’s when a Mercedes 560SL or Jaguar XJ-S V12 was too plebian. At the time I thought they looked too old-fashioned, but then again I was a kid with questionable taste. Today, they’ve proven to age quite well!
An earnest article, Mr Carr, thank you. Please allow me to clarify a few points.
1. Silver Shadow and Bentley T 2-door saloon cars with Mulliner Park Ward coachwork first appeared in 1966; the convertible version arrived in 1967.
2. Fifty cars (35 Rolls-Royce and 15 Bentley) received 2-door saloon coachwork by James Young between 1966 and 1967.
3. The Rolls-Royce and Bentley Corniche cars were introduced on 4th March 1971. They featured a .25 inch deeper grille shell, ventilated brakes, radial tyres, larger diameter exhaust, and a new facia with additional instrumentation including a tachometer. The earliest examples featured a 15 inch Moto Lita steering wheel with thin wood rim and three padded black leather spokes.
4. The Bentley Corniche was renamed Continental in 1985 and received Corniche II seating and body coloured grille vanes. Alloy wheels came along shortly thereafter, and the Continental interior design was updated through production concurrently with the Rolls-Royce Corniche III and IV.
5. All Corniche and Continental cars had the 6.75 litre engine and THM-400 transmission until the GM 4-speed automatic was introduced very late in production.
6. Carburettors were twin SU HD8 until 1975 when the Solex 4A1 unit was fitted. US and a few other markets continued with the HD8s until 1977 when they were substituted with twin SU HIF7 units. US cars received Bosch K Jetronic fuel injection from 1980; improved fuel injection was introduced for all markets across the board from 1986, concurrently with the 20,000 series 4-door SZ saloons.
7. The attached video is unfortunate as the car is not a Corniche, but rather a 1970 Silver Shadow convertible by Mulliner Park Ward, and with several incorrect fittings at that.