Classic Rolls Royce Silver Shadow I & II

They say you cannot buy class. We disagree. Just buy a classic Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. They are pure class. 

When the classic Rolls Royce Silver Shadow was launched in 1965, it had been 10 years in development, but was probably 30 years ahead of the game. That is definitely one of the many reasons today they make such a great classic car purchase.  

For Rolls Royce, the Silver Shadow represented a giant technological leap forward. The 1940s swooping lines of the previous Cloud had gone. Instead, the Silver Shadow, looked modern and contemporary. The old style set-up of separate body plonked on top of ladder chassis was gone. The Silver Shadow was built as an all new monocoque chassis. The innovation didn’t end there. Four-wheel disc brakes with fail-safe dual circuits were introduced. In a breath-taking move, Rolls introduced front and rear independent suspension with, wait for it, automatic self-levelling. Just say that again, slowly; automatic self-levelling suspension. Wow! It made the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow an absolute dream to drive. The ride was, and remains today, totally unique and truly fabulous. 

The Silver Shadow Engine

A roller would be nothing without its engine. The Silver Shadow will surpass all your expectations here. The 6.2 litre V8 pulls like a steam train. The best comparison we could make is this.  Imagine it snowed heavily and the snow was a foot thick on the roof of your house. But then it started to thaw. Slowly, and silently it would glide. Then once moving, whuuump…it would be travelling quickly, soundlessly, and effortlessly like nothing else. That is what it’s like to drive a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow.  

Moving on to specification, Rolls never quote BHP for their engines, because that is vulgar, of course it is, but experts (not us) say about 200bhp for the Silver Shadow I and bit more again for the uprated 6.8 litre Silver Shadow II introduced in 1977. The Shadow production ran from 1965-80, with just two models really. The Silver Shadow I ended in 1977 it was followed by; you guessed the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II. Not much to choose between the two to be honest. The Silver Shadow II has a bigger engine, rack and pinion steering and some bits of rubber on the bumpers. The afficionados will talk to you all about the specials that were built, such as the Wraith and the Mulliner and the two door coupes. Don’t worry about them.

Owning a Rolls Royce

Are they any downsides? Not really. Rollers, apparently, don’t rust, their structural integrity is impaired with age. Like any classic car, keep an eye on that. Genuine parts if you need them can be a bit pricey, but there are plenty of excellent helpful specialists around. Fuel consumption can be a high, but hey, if that bothers you, buy an electric car. 

If there was a flaw relating to the car, we wouldn’t say it’s the car we’d say it was some of the owners. Some owners don’t love them as they should. We don’t mean spend thousands and thousands; we mean just a bit of TLC. But you’ll soon spot those cars easy enough. If you can, avoid. Other than that, they are essentially a modern car built half a century ago. And because of that, a classic Rolls Royce Silver Shadow is bombproof.