1956 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud Saloon

The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud was the primary model manufactured by Rolls-Royce from April 1955 until March 1966. It replaced the Silver Dawn and was, in turn, replaced by the Silver Shadow.

The design of the Silver Cloud was a major change from the pre-war models and the highly derivative Silver Dawn. The main design work was by J.P. Blatchley. The chassis was a simple steel box section, welded together and very rigid. Construction was still split into chassis and pressed steel and aluminum coachwork (unibody construction did not arrive until the Silver Shadow.)

The engine was a 4.9-liter six-cylinder unit with twin SU carburetors; the transmission was a four-speed automatic. Brakes were hydraulic and assisted by the Rolls-Royce mechanical servo with 11-inch drums and suspension was independent coils at the front and semi-elliptic springs at the rear. Power steering became an option in 1956 along with air conditioning.

The British car magazine Motor tested a standard wheelbase factory bodied Series I in 1956, recording a top speed of 102.9 mph (165.6 km/h) and acceleration from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 13.5 seconds and a fuel consumption of 14.5 miles per imperial gallon.