Rolls Royce

Rolls Royce
Geoff Wheatley on Rolls-Royce
Published by: All Car Central Publishing
Date published: 19/10/2015

Rolls-Royce

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Inski Cabriolet 1947

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Inski Cabriolet 1947

As some of you may recall I have a soft spot for the Rolls Royce in fact as and when I win whatever that will be the first thing I will buy!! However, If I can't own one I can certainly research the modern history of the breed...(Anything before 1945 would be will out of my reach even when I win lottery!)

The first post war roller was the Silver Wraith that was presented to the public in 1947. (Don't be confused with the prewar Rolls of the same name.) The engine was a post war development of four and a half liters that was by any standards very thirsty. As fuel was still rationed in the early post war years in Britain the car must have spent more time in the county home garage than on the road. A total of 127 of these cars were produced the price being dependent on what special trim the purchaser requested, by trim I mean interior finish that, if required, could be gold plated drink holders in the drink cabinet.

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Saoutchik Sedanca Coupe 1947

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Saoutchik Sedanca Coupe 1947

In 1949 in company with the Silver Wraith Rolls introduced the Silver Dawn. The first RR to be based on a Bentley who by this time had been acquired by RR. By 1953 automatic drive was featured in company with the standard five speed gear shift located on the steering Column. The famous razor edge styling was also featured but was not that appealing to the British buyer therefore many Silver Dawn vehicles were shipped to the USA where they found a willing market. The power unit was the same as the Silver Wraith and just as thirsty. In total 760 were produced but there is no data on how many were exported to the USA. The British government of the day imposed a 35% tax on such luxury cars so that may well have affected U.K. sales.

1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Thrupp & Maberly All Weather,
also known as "The Star of India,"
owned by Yuvraj Saheb Mandhatasinh Jadeja of Rajkot, Gujarat, India

1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Thrupp & Maberly All Weather

During this production period 1950 to 1956 Rolls developed and produced sixteen Phantom Rollers, each one produced by special order and of course paid for well in advance. Rolls spared no cost on the production of these cars, whatever you wanted could be included in the final price. A telephone was a standard feature, quite unique for its time, interior design to fit your wishes including matching rugs carpets, walnut trim and seats made to your own request. I have only seen one example of this car that was once owned by an Indian Prince and had his family crest in gold leaf on the two front doors. It is said but I cannot confirm that the test for these cars was simple. You balanced a coin on its edge on the serving trays located in the saloon of the car and if they fell when the car was being driven at twenty miles an hour the vehicle went back to have the suspension revamped or replaced. (Note there was an eight sided coin in use at this time and I suspect this was the one that was usually used. Each of the eight sides were flat).

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud 1 1959

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud 1 1959

One could almost say that the company went into mass production when the Silver Cloud was produced. I total of 2238 rolled off the production lines between 1955 and 1960. If you look at the Bentley S Type of the same period you would have a difficult task telling one from the other. Slightly larger engine and not quite up to the standard of its predecessors however, a nice car by any standards and with a few modern features as far as the power train was concerned. The fact that over 2,200 was sold indicates that the post war economy was on the rise in the home market as well as the USA. There is no information on the number purchased in America but I am confident that several found a home this side of the Atlantic. Records do indicate that 121 of these cars were sold as Limo's which meant that they were fitted out for commercial use, if you can use the term Commercial when talking about a Roller!

Rolls-Royce Phantom V PV23 James Young Limo 1967

Rolls-Royce Phantom V PV23 James Young Limo 1967

The Phantom Five was the largest vehicle produced by the company in the post war years and was offered to the general public... (The ones with money of course) in the fall of 1960. Production continued through to 1968 which was quite a production run for the company when you remember that at the same time there was another Rolls offered, the Silver Cloud Two. A total of 2,147 left the factory all preordered of course and paid for! This must have been the peak of sales as yet another model was available from 1962 through to 1966 the Silver Cloud Three. Well over two thousand five hundred were produced; the exact figure is somewhat vague as three models were offered...The Standard design, the Limo and Custom made. We do know that the Silver Cloud Three, was a popular export vehicle especially in the USA. I would certainly be remiss if I did not mention the beautiful Phantom Six produced over a ten year period from 1968 through to 1978. In total just over three hundred went to Rolls owners during this period.

The truly interesting thing about this review is the fact that the company was quite willing to produce various models with an overlap of availability. So at any time there could be two or even three versions of this famous car being produced and sold to the Rolls market. In short if you did not like model one, there was another for consideration carrying the Rolls image and of course that special lady in front.
Geoff Wheatley

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