Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow

The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow is a luxury car that was produced in the United Kingdom in various forms from 1965 to 1980.
It was the first Rolls-Royce to use:
Unitary body
Chassis construction
This was in response to concerns that the company was falling behind in innovation.
The Silver Shadow has the largest production volume of any Rolls-Royce
Overview
The standard wheelbase Silver Shadow measured 224 inches (5,700 mm), 4,700 lb (2,100 kg) and had a book price of £6,557 in the first year of production.
The Silver Shadow was produced from 1965 to 1976, and the Silver Shadow II from 1977 to 1980.

Naming

Initially, the model was planned to be called "Silver Mist
The name was changed to "Silver Shadow"

Design and engineering

Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I
The design was a major departure from its predecessor, the Silver Cloud.
Several styling cues from the Silver Cloud were modified and preserved,
The John Polwhele Blatchley design was the firm's first single bow model.
More than 50% of its predecessor had been sold on the domestic market.
The original Shadow was 3 1⁄2 inches (8.9 cm) narrower and 7 inches (18 cm) shorter than the car it replaced
It offered increased passenger and luggage space thanks to more efficient packaging made possible by unitary construction.
The Silver Shadow introduced many new features such as:
Disc rather than drum brakes
Independent rear suspension

The Shadow featured a:
172 hp (128 kW) 6.2 L V8 from 1965 to 1969,
A 189 hp (141 kW) 6.75 L V8 from 1970 to 1980
Both powerplants were coupled to a General Motors-sourced Turbo Hydramatic 400 automatic transmission
It used the same 4-speed automatic gearbox as the Silver Cloud (also sourced from General Motors, the Hydramatic).
The car's most innovative feature was:
A high-pressure hydraulic system licensed from Citroën
It had dual-circuit braking
Hydraulic self-levelling suspension
Both the front and rear of the car were controlled by:
The leveling system
The front levelling was deleted in 1969.

Silver Shadow II

The upper front grill of the 1972 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, showing the Rolls-Royce logo and the "Spirit of Ecstasy".
In 1977, the model was renamed the Silver Shadow II
There were several changes including:
Rack and pinion steering
Modifications to the front suspension improved handling markedly
The bumpers were changed from chrome to alloy and rubber starting with the late 1976 Silver Shadows.
These new energy absorbing bumpers had been used in the United States since 1974, as a response to tightening safety standards there.
Deletion of the small grilles mounted beneath the headlamps.
A front skirt was also fitted to the Silver Shadow II and its sister cars.
In 1979 75 Silver Shadow II cars were specially fitted to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the company with the:
Original red "RR" badges front and rear
Pewter/silver paint, gray leather with red piping
Scarlet red carpets,
Silver commemorative placard on the inside of the glove box door
33 75th anniversary cars were designated for and shipped to the North American market.

Long-wheelbase variant

A long-wheelbase variant, some 4 inches longer to provide additional rear seat legroom, was offered in the United States from May 1969.
Some long-wheelbase models were fitted with a privacy glass divider
The cars with a divider were fitted with a separate air conditioning unit mounted in the trunk
The cars with a divider lost the entire gain in wheelbase and was retractable.

Silver Wraith II

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II (North America)
The long-wheelbase model did not have a separate name, but was dubbed the Silver Wraith II.
The 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)
Smaller rear opera-style window
Different wheel covers.
Some Silver Wraith IIs were also fitted with electric divisions which took up the extra four inches of leg room in the rear.

Silver Shadow two-door models

A two-door saloon was introduced early in 1966.
A convertible in 1967
There are two different versions for the two-door saloon:
One by Mulliner Park Ward and
James Young model which was only built in fifty examples.
These comprised 35 Rolls-Royces and 15 Bentleys.
The James Young version was discontinued in 1967, leaving only the curvier Mulliner Park Ward model. The convertible variant was marketed as the Silver Shadow

Drophead Coupé.

Corniche
Rolls-Royce Corniche
In 1971 the Silver Shadow two door models were given the separate identity of Corniche
They went on to outlive the Silver Shadow by some years
Production lasted until 1982 for the coupé and 1996 for the convertible.

Camargue

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

Bentley models

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
Design of the radiator shell
More rounded radiator also required a slightly reshaped bonnet profile
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 was simply called T long-wheelbase or T2 long-wheelbase
Only 9 or 10 examples were built
This was less than 0.4% of the total long-wheelbase production
Most limousine buyers had a preference for the more prestigious Rolls-Royce brand.
All two-door cars were also available as Bentleys.
However, only one example of a Bentley Camargue was ever produced.

Shadow-based Phantom VII

Rolls-Royce considered offering a Phantom VII model, based on the Silver Shadow
It was not pursued.

Silver Wraith II Stretch Limousine

The Rolls-Royce factory built a special stretch limousine in 1979.
It was ordered by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
The religious leader had a collection of 93 Rolls-Royce cars.

Production statistics

Units sold
Silver Shadow 1965–1977 16,717
Silver Shadow II 1977–1980 8425
Total 25,142
Long Wheel Base production
Units sold
Silver Shadow LWB 1969–1977 2780
Silver Wraith II 1975–1980 2135
Total 4915

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