The world's largest collection of historic British cars
The world's largest collection of historic British cars
The Rolls Royce Silver Shadow was produced in various forms from 1965 to 1980. It was the first of the marque to use unitary body and chassis construction and the model has the largest production volume of any Rolls Royce.
Penned by John Polwhele Blatchley it was a major departure from its predecessor, the Silver Cloud. The new car was narrower and shorter but nevertheless offered increased passenger and luggage accommodation.
Rolls Royce fitted the car with dual circuit braking and hydraulic self-levelling suspension using a high-pressure hydropneumatic suspension system licensed from French car manufacturer Citroën. It was said to give the Shadow a ride befitting of the tag: “The best car in the world”. The engine was the 6750cc L-series V8 petrol with around 190 bhp coupled to a GM 400 automatic gearbox.
The 1971 example on display is the original version, retrospectively referred to as the Shadow I. In 1976 The Silver Shadow II was introduced and boasted several major improvements, most notably rack and pinion steering and suspension modifications which together greatly improved handling.
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