Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow

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Rolls Royce
Rolls Royce Silver Shadow I, manufactured in 1967 (2005-09-17 Sp) -2.jpg
Silver shadow
Production period: 1965-1980
Class : Upper class
Body versions : Sedan , coupe , convertible
Engines:
Gasoline engines : 6.2–6.8 liters
Length: 5170 mm
Width: 1820 mm
Height: 1520 mm
Wheelbase : 3035 mm
Empty weight : 2061 kg
Previous model Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud
successor Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II
Rear view of a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II

The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow (dt .: Silver Shadow ) is a luxury car by Rolls-Royce . It replaced the Silver Cloud in 1965 and was produced in two model series until 1980. The successor model was the Silver Spirit .

history

In 1965 the Silver Shadow and the identical sister model Bentley T-Series were presented. The only difference between the Bentley and the Silver Shadow was that it had different brand emblems, a radiator grille and a bonnet that was adapted to the grill. While the previous models with their curved shapes were designed conservatively even for their time, the new models were state-of-the-art and were generally recognized as successful. This applied both to the technology and to the body, which had been designed under the direction of John Blatchley, who took up elements of the Rolls-Royce Rangoon concept vehicle developed a few years earlier . The technique was brought to modern standards: These included one at Pressed Steel made self-supporting body , disc brakes , independent suspension and one of Citroën licensed central hydraulic system with level control . Both models were smaller and lighter than previous models in all dimensions, but the interior was larger because of the self-supporting body. The first series of the Silver Shadow was subsequently called the Silver Shadow I . After the facelift in 1977, the model was called Silver Shadow II . Noticeable external changes were the redesigned radiator grille and the now more voluminous bumpers with plastic coating. The latter were already mandatory in the USA at the end of 1973; therefore, taken on their own, they are not a sure distinguishing feature. The exterior mirrors are a clear distinguishing feature; only with model II are they adjustable from the inside and correspondingly larger.

From 1969 the Silver Shadow was offered with a wheelbase that was ten centimeters longer. A pilot series of 10 vehicles had already been completed in 1966/67; one of the first customers was Princess Margaret . She later received other vehicles of this series. This extended version was called Silver Wraith II when the Silver Shadow II was introduced ; in the first series, Rolls-Royce referred to this model as the Silver Shadow Long Wheel Base (i.e. long wheelbase; LWB for short).

The Silver Wraith was mostly delivered with an Everflex roof. This is a roof covered with PVC- coated fabric , offered in different colors. In contrast, the majority of the Silver Shadow was purchased without this roof.

There were several modifications during the construction period. In 1970, the original 6.3-liter eight-cylinder from the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III and the associated 4-speed automatic were replaced by a 6.75-liter engine and a three-speed automatic; the dashboard was adapted to US safety regulations as part of this facelift.

The Silver Shadow was also available as a Two Door Saloon and from 1967 also as a convertible . These variants were renamed the Rolls-Royce Corniche in 1971. They were manufactured at Mulliner Park Ward until 1991 .

With over 29,000 copies, the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow was the most popular Rolls-Royce to date.

Engine and power

The initially used 8-cylinder V-engine with 6230 cm³ displacement was replaced in 1970 by one with 6750 cm³. At the time, Rolls-Royce kept silent about the engine power and described it as "sufficient". The 6230 cc engine actually developed 131 kW (178 hp) at 4500 rpm; the 6750 cc engine, built from 1970, 147 kW (200 hp) at 4500 rpm. The maximum torque was around 500 Nm and 550 Nm at 2500 rpm each. The Silver Shadow II accelerated to 100 km / h in 11.0 seconds; the maximum speed was measured at 190 km / h. The average petrol consumption was 22 liters per 100 kilometers.

Special bodies

Some Silver Shadow has been modified afterwards by independent body shops.

  • In addition to the two-door saloon models from Rolls-Royce itself, the British coachbuilder James Young Coachbuilder manufactured 35 Rolls-Royce and 15 Bentley Two-Door Saloon, which were much more sedan-oriented than the coupés from Mulliner Park Ward.
  • In 1974, the London body manufacturer Hooper developed a four-door landaulet based on the Silver Shadow. Only a few examples of the vehicle known as the Hooper Landaulette were built.

Production figures for the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow

Type Period number
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow 1965-1977 16,717
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow LWB 1969-1977 2,776
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow two door saloon 1965-1971 591
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, James Young 2 door saloon 1966-1971 15th
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Pininfarina coupe 1968 1
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Cabriolets 1967-1971 505
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II 1977-1980 8,425
Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II 1977-1980 2.145

The first series received the addition of the Roman numeral I only after the introduction of the second series; therefore the original designation from the production years is given in this table of production figures.

gallery

Web links

Commons : Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. Malcolm Bobbitt: Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, Bentley T-series page 25, section "Bodywork and Panels", line 4. Veloce Publishing, Dorchester (England) 2008, ISBN 978-1-84584-146-1
  2. Classic Cars, issue 6/2011, p. 74.
  3. On the Rolls-Royce Rangoon and the sister model Bentley Bengal cf. the summary on the website www.aronline.co.uk (accessed on May 18, 2011).
  4. Jonathan Wood: Rolls Royce p. 141. Color Library Books, Godalming (England) 1992. No ISBN.
  5. http://www.rrsilvershadow.com/EKleur/Kleur4.htm Information on the Everflex roof
  6. http://www.traumautoarchiv.de/html/3781.html data sheet of the Silver Shadow II
  7. ^ Illustration of the Silver Shadow Landaulet www.traumautoarchiv.de (accessed on May 23, 2011).
  8. http://www.rrab.com/rsh1d.htm Production figures for Series I
  9. Production figures for Series II