The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow is one of those rare cars that really deserves to be called both a gem and a milestone. It signaled the death of the chauffeur-driven peasant-crushers directly harking back to the pre-war era – a niche that Rolls-Royce had hitherto managed to cling onto exclusively for 20 years – and ushered a new owner-driver class of plutocratic transport. I may mock, josh and occasionally kid, but all joking aside, this really was the most significant car in Rolls’ post-war history.
We’ve had a number of posts on the Silver Shadow, but no “proper” CC as of yet. That’s quite a gap, one that needed to be filled with something worthy of this exceptional automobile. That means not one of those horrible late ‘70s Series II bumper-cars or a vulgar Corniche convertible: only an honest, fully-chromed and hopefully well-maintained Series 1 saloon would do.
I lucked out and located one a few months back, sitting in the same space as this Datsun Fairlady, strangely enough. Over the first half of 2021, I kept going back near that parking garage on occasion, just to see if I could catch the Silver Shadow’s rear end or get a better shot of the interior, but every time it was there, it was always parked the same way.
No matter, one must make do with the limitations of the area – and decent-looking Series 1 Silver Shadows are not necessarily that easy to come by, even in British-car-obsessed Japan. The darkness of the place added to the black leather interior made for a challenging dashboard shot, so here’s the best I could coax.
There was less glare for the rear compartment, fortunately. This is a standard 119.5-inch (303cm) wheelbase car, yet the legroom looks pretty generous, especially compared to the gargantuan (only on the outside) Detroiters of the times. Speaking of which, let’s delve into the historical background a bit.
US advert, 1966
So why is the Silver Shadow the most important Rolls in living memory? Well, there used to be a prolific CCommenter, whose name many of you may recall (he got banned ages ago), who pooh-poohed the Silver Cloud 1 as “a really nice 1939 car.” Comparing it to a Cadillac of similar vintage, he found that the R-R’s modest 6-cyl. engine, lack of gizmos and über-traditional styling quite at odds with the significant difference in price between the two cars, at least on the US market.
US advert, 1959
And to be honest, prior to 1959, this notion had merit. But that year, Rolls-Royce replaced the venerable six with a 6.2 litre V8 that would have looked equally at home under the hood of a Chrysler. From that point on, the only tangible technological edge that a Cadillac had over a Rolls-Royce was measurable in terms of gadgetry and style, but not substance.
What Rolls-Royce could not make themselves, they usually licensed: GM’s 4-speed Hydramatic gearbox was deemed quite satisfactory, so that’s what Rolls used in the ‘50s and ‘60s. They similarly did not bother to reinvent the wheel with A/C units or radio sets. Sure, if you wanted cruise control or automatic headlight dimmers, Detroit was the way to go. But other than that and the completely different approach to styling, by the early ’60s the Flying Lady was level-pegging with Imperial, Lincoln or Cadillac.
The competition was less with American cars than with a diminishing European field. Throughout the ‘50s, Rolls-Royce could not help but notice that the traditional luxury chassis-makers of yore, be they Daimler and Armstrong-Siddeley in Britain, BMW in Germany or Delahaye and Talbot in France, were in a pretty bad way or already dead. Traditional coachbuilders also went belly up left and right.
On the other hand, a resurgent Mercedes-Benz and an insolent Jaguar threatened R-R’s niche more than ever. Switching from 6-cyl. to a V8 was only part of the solution: Rolls-Royce also needed to make cars for people who took the wheel rather than the back seat. This meant a smaller and lower car, with better driving characteristics than the older generation — without compromising on comfort.
In the mid-to-late ‘50s, Rolls-Royce started several revolutionary new small car programs. One of these was a collaboration with BMC, which resulted in the Vanden Plas Princess 4R. Another was a stillborn Bentley sports car, the Korea. The ones they dubbed Tibet and Burma eventually matured into the Silver Shadow. Monocoque construction was seen as the ideal solution to bring weight and size down while keeping decent interior space. A completely new all-independent coil-sprung suspension, including a Citroën-licensed hydropneumatic self-levelling system, was also devised to improve on the old body-on-frame models’ live axle and leaf spring set-up.
Rolls-Royce were initially reluctant to fit disc brakes on their new car for one simple reason: the ones that existed then were noisy. This was deal-breaker for a car like the Silver Shadow, as low decibels were deemed an essential quality of anything with a Flying Lady on its nose. Screeching to a stop was not in keeping with the serene image they wanted to project. But eventually, the Crewe crew cracked it: all that was needed was a adding band of stainless steel wire on the disc, and mum was the word. Four disc brakes thus came as standard from the car’s launch in late 1965, power-assisted via the Citroën-sourced spheres that kept the car level.
So to recap, the Silver Shadow had an all-alloy V8 with automatic transmission, unit body construction, all-independent self-levelling suspension and power disc brakes, making it leagues ahead of Detroit technologically-speaking, and almost on par with Mercedes-Benz. These sophisticated solutions had demanded a lot of work and took a long time to get right. Rolls-Royce could not afford to debut a half-baked, gremlin-infested new car.
The same amount of care was afforded to the car’s appearance. The Silver Cloud was kept in production for longer than it should have, by the end having sprouted quad headlamps to help reduce the quantum leap in styling between it and the Shadow. But not everybody was thrilled by the new Rolls’ looks when it came out. Some felt the big vertical chrome grille looked anachronistic on such a modern body. Others felt the rear end was too timid and already outdated, looking like a portlier Peugeot 403 from certain angles. As far as I’m concerned, this is John Blatchley’s best work — an opinion shared by my esteemed CColleague Prof. Andreina in his seminal oeuvre on the designer, which should be re-read as soon as.
1966 Bentley T1
As had been the case since the ‘40s, both Rolls and Bentley versions would be sold alongside each other, without any difference between the two except the grille and badges. Two-door versions – a drop-top and a coupé – were soon added to the range, but we’ll get into those in another post. The ‘60s and ‘70s were dark times for the Bentley marque, which almost became extinguished due to it becoming a badge-engineered exercise in futility. The public almost agreed, too: Rolls barely only sold a single Bentley T1 for every ten Silver Shadows, two-door derivatives included.
There were many small changes to be made still, though: the self-levelling suspension, initially on all wheels, was pared back to the rear only by 1969. Also around that time, A/C became a standard feature and the US-made GM400 3-speed gearbox replaced the older RR-built 4-speed unit for all markets. In 1970, the V8 got an increase in stroke that brought it to 6750cc for all markets as well (the US got it earlier than that). This was to be the definitive Rolls-Royce/Bentley V8 engine displacement, which was to remain thus until production ended in 2020.
US advert, 1975
In 1974, a revised braking system, coupled with fatter tyres, brought about the first notable external change: slightly more prominent fender flares. As we can see above, US-bound cars were already being fitted with the infamous 5mph bumpers, but other markets had a couple years of reprieve before that happened. Our feature car is one of those flared-fender cars – the small grilles under the headlamps also vanished at some point, but I’ve not been able to ascertain when that took place exactly. For model year 1977, the car became the Silver Shadow II, now including big black bumpers, a completely new dash and rack-and-pinion steering. Saloons were made until mid-1980, but Corniche drop-tops lasted until 1995.
There was still a small clientele who preferred the ultra-long and super-conservative coachbuilt limousines of yore, so Rolls-Royce kept a trickle of Phantom chassis going for those folks. But by and large, by the end of the ‘60s, the world’s most elitist carmaker had successfully reoriented its output towards a far more modern clientele. But Phantoms we huge and expensive, so for people who preferred the rear seat, in 1969 Rolls provided a happmyy medium in the LWB Shadow (above), which confusingly became known as the Silver Wraith II for MY 1977. The extra 10cm (4 in.) of legroom was hopefully matched by a set of longer picnic tables…
The Silver Shadow was the most successful Rolls model of the company’s first century. All told, just over 21,000 series 1 saloons were made between 1965 and 1976, including 2776 long wheelbase cars and just over 1700 Bentleys. The shorter lifespan of the Series 2 (1976-80) belied an uptick in popularity, even as the model became over a decade old: over 11,000 R-R Silver Shadows II / Wraiths II and Bentley T2s were sold. The two-door derivatives, be they Rolls or Bentley, fixed-head or convertible, Mulliner-ParkWard or Camargue, totalled an additional 6280 even more expensive cars, albeit on a far longer timeline, stretching from 1966 to 1995.
The relatively large number of cars made means that there are still a lot of Silver Shadows out there, so it’s one of the cheapest Rollers money can buy. But given the complexity of the beast, its ’70s Pressed Steel body and upkeep costs, attrition must have claimed quite a few, now that they’re over 40 years of age.
For many in my generation, the first mental image that comes up when hearing the name Rolls-Royce is the Silver Shadow. It remains a classic among classics, infinitely more modern than the Clouds and Phantoms it eclipsed, far more beautiful than the bulky Silver Spirit/Spur that came after it and light years ahead, in terms of class, of the present century’s Silver Panzers, or whatever they’re going by.
If I had to pick a post-war Rolls, this would be the one. I’d have to win the lottery first of course, because though they’re not too dear at first, these little toys get thirsty and, when they break down, usually require a pile of cash in spares and expertise. Not to mention the need for a wardrobe and a lifestyle to match. So it’s a bit of a commitment, but then you can’t make light of a Shadow.
Related posts:
Vintage R&T Road Test: 1976 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow LWB Saloon – A House or a RR?, by PN
Vintage Review: Rolls Royce Silver Shadow – Car And Driver Checks Out The Updated Grand Dame Of British Motorcars, by GN
Vintage Review: Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II, by Yohai71
eBay Find: 1972 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow – The Ultimate Business Coupe, by Geraldo Solis
In-Motion Classic: Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II – Classic Luxury on the Way to Work, by Yohai71
Wordless Outtake: 1977 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II – Dignity, by Joseph Dennis
CC Biography/Design: John Blatchley of Rolls-Royce, by Don Andreina
I have been sitting on some pictures of a somewhat raggedy examples of one of the later Shadows. I knew I had something that had not yet been covered, but I kept putting off this daunting project which was going to require a first-rate write-up.
Today I happily doff my bowler and say Bravo for a job well done. You not only did the car justice, your subject was a magnificent example (in silver yet) and not the neglected car I would have featured.
I too immediately conjure this car when the RR name is mentioned. I recall seeing maybe 2 or 3 of these in Fort Wayne during my youth an countless others on TV. may even still have a Hot Wheels version. It was beautifully styled and looked current for most of its rum. It’s successor was never as right as this one.
At least I can help you with a rear end shot. I went back and the car looks better than I remembered, but still very much a “curbside-quality” car.
Thank you for this fine booty shot, JPC!
I say, T., old bean, it’s agreed that if one must MUST have a Shadow imposed upon one, then Series 1 only it must be, and rather exactly like this one and in this color at that.
But a Shadow? Must one?
Don A. spent part of his (sadly missed) resident professorship here mounting a passionate case for Blatchley and the clever beauty of the thing, but even his learnedness failed to sell me one. I remain cool towards the idea of a Rambler with an ostentatious grille, though will concede part of it could be over-familiarity, as I am equally yawned about, say, the MG-B, which is objectively a damn handsome machine.
And really, was this box so very advanced? It didn’t handle. The brakes behaved like a prim servant given tasks below its station if provoked, and left. It had no aerodynamics. The performance was a good deal behind that which a Caddy could muster at same prodigious use of fuel. The Citroen system they did/didn’t license – it’s never been clear to me – was reliable under sharky DS’s, but notoriously not under these, probably because They Who Knew Better at Rolls buggered with it to no effect. The damned Colonials in Detroit had to design the transmission for The Best In The World, which was also incidentally then built by RR to be no more reliable.
The whole may have represented a leap across the quantums for Rolls, but the rest of the world had leapt well before them. This car, almost unbelievably, is just two years older than the NSU Ro80, which, if the rotary dead-end is overlooked, is 90% of what cars became by about 2000.
It didn’t save the old firm either, as by about ’72, the car division and its insignificant profits (if any) were sold off.
For me, Rolls-Royce is a magnificent piece of history, and it died a long time ago at about the time of this not-good-enough pile. The modern, almost embarrassing crass showboats called RR are just unrelated trinkets for the ill tastes of the super rich.
The name Shadow has ultimately proved apt, as in, an ephemeral reflection of a former self.
Nailed it.
This generation RR makes the current one rather resemble a Panzerwagen.
It’s better than the first German one.
I saw a perfect looking Corniche convertible with the top down (nonmetallic red exterior, baseball glove colored interior) parked inexplicably on a street near me recently. I didn’t know about the 1976 instrument panel change but I bet it was a later version.
What stood out that isn’t as noticeable in photos is how tall the blade shape of the front, uh, wings are – practically ’61 Lincolnesque. I should have taken some photos.
Nice write up.
A couple of thoughts: The Silver Shadow was hardly the turning point away from chauffeur driven Rollers. That happened in 1949 with the Silver Dawn, the first RR (and Bentley) with a “mass produced” steel body built by Pressed Steel. Given the realities of post-war high-tax socialist GB, when the upper class had to let all their servants go, a standard production reasonable-sized sedan was a must for RR there, as well as export markets like the US, where luxury cars were almost universally self-driven, except for extended wheelbase limos.
I would also say that although RR kept an eye on what the Americans were doing, it was the Mercedes 600 that undoubtedly influenced the Silver Shadow much more. The 600 was a bombshell, the first real direct competitor to RR, who had no real serious competition up to that point in the uber-luxury class. The 600 of course also had sophisticated air suspension and full hydraulic power controls for all sorts of things. It was the 600 that made the Silver Ghost look like something from the 1930s.
The Silver Shadow was pretty widely criticized for its vague and numb steering and handling, which forced RR to completely redesign the front end with a new rack and pinion system. The 600 meanwhile was praised for its superb steering and handling, and was often called “a two ton sports car”. No one would never accuse the Silver Shadow of that.
The factory bodied Dawn was a recognition of the future but lived in the past, whether the owner chose to drive it or not. I know of at least one chauffeur driven Maruti.
The fact the Shadow looked more like a car than a stately home was a statement in itself, setting aside engineering advances.
Cheers Paul.
The Dawn was a toe in the water, but with only 760 made in six years (and that’s chassis made, not all wore the Pressed Steel body), it was hardly a runaway success. The Cloud was bigger and sold much better, be it in normal or LWB form. The Shadow was definitely a return to the Dawn’s dimensions (almost identical wheelbase), but it also became the star product. Back in the Dawn days, that was the Wraith.
I’m wondering whether the Mercedes that really scared Rolls-Royce into making the Shadow was the 300 / 300d (W186/W189) and the W112 more than the 600. Timeline-wise, the Adenauer was certainly more of a perceived threat, but more for the LWB Wraith/Cloud and Phantom V, I’d have thought. By the time the 600 came out in 1963, the Shadow was pretty much set in stone; the RR was a saloon, the Benz was a limo.
I get the mystique about the 600, but realistically, how many 600 owners actually drove their “two-tonne sports car”? And looking at the production numbers, the Adenauer was a real blockbuster: over 11,000 made in under a decade, versus less than 3000 Grossers in twice the time. The 600 was aimed more at the Phantom, and was very successful in that regard.
Leave to a low-bred fellow to see a parallel between the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and Studebaker. Beginning with the 1947 model year, the standard W-Body designated Commander sedan was built on a 119 inch wheelbase. For their more affluent customers, Studebaker also offered the Y-Body Commander Land Cruiser on a 123 inch wheelbase which had the additional four inches added to the rear passenger compartment legroom with wider rear doors. This dual sedan body regimen continued through all of Studebaker’s tribulation until the full 1962 Lark line switched to the longer W-Body on a 113 inch wheelbase. How declasse to point out this aspect!
Used Silver Shadows can be a wonderful experience if the car has been continually maintained and garage-kept to prevent rust damage. Conversely, a neglected and/or abused one is a seriously expensive nightmare for any one unfortunate enough to purchase such hoping for a good experience on the cheap. The old adage “the most expensive car one can buy is a cheap (fill in the name of any initially costly luxury or exotic car nameplate).
Ah, neglected Shadows!
Soon after we married, say 1985, some delightful folk who were friends of my in-laws came to visit one day. I was suitably impressed by the Series One Shadow parked under the trees outside our house, No doubt the neighbours were wondering whether they’d underestimated us somehow, since we knew somebody who drove a Rolls-Royce. Were we, in fact, more that we seemed? Did we have Contacts?
Inside the house, they seemed perfectly normal folk to converse with. Initially I had been ill at ease, having come not only from from The Wrong Side Of Town, but the worst suburb thereof, but there was no sign of any class-consciousness or anything of that sort. Just thoroughly delightful people, as I have since found is often the case with Old Money. Any sense of a class gap was all in my head. I felt so much better for having known them.
When it was time to go, the husband apologized to us; he really needed to get the exhaust fixed. I expected a barely-audible noise instead of utter silence; what I heard was more akin to the powerboats racing on Albert Park Lake. I could still hear that engine when they turned onto the highway half a mile away.
Most definitely a vee-eight. 🙂
> Leave to a low-bred fellow to see a parallel between the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and Studebaker
I also see more than a bit of resemblance to a ’64 Lark Cruiser sedan – not the front of course, and only slightly the rear, but the whole greenhouse area with those flat, vertical windows devoid of tumblehome, the B and C pillars, the chrome side molding, they’re almost interchangable. Disk brakes too!
I have always seen a similarity of the greenhouse, doors, C pillars, flat rear window of the Rolls to the center section of the 1963 Australian Valiant.
Given the character and “$tatu$” of the R-R, this design was very nicely done. I find it cohesive and elegant; even today.
However, the closeup photo of grill and leading edge of the hood provided a visual surprise that seems odd on a vehicle costing this much. If you look at that pic you can see that the shape of the hood’s leading edge does NOT match that of the grill! GM, no matter the vehicle’s cost would never allow that. I wonder why this was permitted into production that way??? DFO
I’ve always liked these cars. The first ‘modern’ RR and more elegant than the generation that followed. But I would have chosen the Bentley because it was more understated. Would seem the ‘old money’ choice. Interesting how the side glass appears completely flat, which is something that we were just criticizing the Studebaker Champion for.
If you check, you’ll see that the shape of the hood (or bonnet) of all RR’s back to “the day” were shaped the very same way as the Shadow. Tradition!
For model year 1977, the car became the Silver Shadow II, now including big black bumpers
The black rubber-covered bumpers were the standard fitment for the US and Canadian markets in 1974 and thinner ones for the international market in 1977.
Yeah I wrote all that at the start of the paragraph you’re quoting.
Great write-up on this car – similar to what JPC wrote above, writing a history of a car this notable is a daunting task, so thanks for taking it on.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one of these small-bumper Silver Shadows, and the difference that the small bumpers makes on this car is profound, over the big-bumpered versions I’m more familiar with.
A few months ago I wrote a short piece on a Corniche convertible, and in researching that piece, I came across a statement by Rolls-Royce that they had surveyed existing RR owners during the Silver Shadow’s development, and that half of the owners (in the early ’60s) reported to have no chauffeurs, and that the vast majority reported driving themselves occasionally (thought presumably not always in the Rolls). I assume that the responses were stratified by age too (w/ younger owners more likely to be drivers), so this propelled RR to adopt a more compact, and driveable car.
Maybe a controversial viewpoint, but whenever I see one of these I’m reminded of Lauren Bacall, or Maybe Bea Arthur. Engaging dynamic “handsome women” who seem to drip with class and grace. The shape and styling will never pure me in like a Jaguar XJ, but there’s certainly something very compelling about stoic solidity.
Thank you Tatra87 for this comprehensive article about the Silver Shadow. I hadn’t realized how much technical advancement was embodied in this car, having always preferred the more classic styling of the Silver Cloud. This gives me a much greater appreciation of the Shadow.
You certainly found a stunning example and in the perfect color!
I remember an early 1970’s article about celebrities cars in Motor Trend magazine. There were several celebrities that owned Rolls Royces like this. Telly Savalas, Flip Wilson and maybe Phyllis Diller. I was kind of disappointed in the article, why would so many rich, famous people own such a dull car? Sure they were rich and I guess a Rolls came with the territory. It was definitely a status symbol, something that a Cadillac or Lincoln could not convey when almost any middle class person could stretch to a Detroit luxury make. I’m sure that many of the Hollywood elite maintained a fleet of cars, but why select a Rolls to display? I imagined that there would be Ferraris, Aston Martins, Maseratis and other exotics.
I’ve seen a Shadow drag raced. Flat black ( with flames, IIRC) runs 17s. I’m not sure the Rolls Royce owner’s club are enamored of the idea