1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow

The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, employing unitary construction for the first time, was styled by John Blatchley's talented team and broke new ground for the Crewe Company in many key areas, from its fully independent suspension with an advanced self-leveling system to four-wheel ventilated disc brakes. It featured a high-pressure hydraulic system licensed from Citroen with dual-circuit braking and hydraulic self-leveling suspension. Initially, both the front and rear of the car were controlled by the leveling system. Later, in 1969, the front leveling was deleted as it had been determined that the rear leveling did almost all the work. This arrangement gave the Rolls-Royce a high degree of ride quality.

The Silver Shadow came with the prior Silver Cloud III's all-aluminum 6.2-liter V8 engine and four-speed automatic transmission with fluid flying, the only major component it shared with its predecessor. A GM 400 three-speed box replaced the four-speed unit in October of 1968 while the engine was enlarged to 6.7-liters the following year. The interior of the Silver Shadow continued to use traditional materials and Old-World craftsmanship with modern fittings like electric windows. No fewer than eight individual Connolly hides were used to trim the interior of each car. Other niceties included Wilton carpets and burr walnut veneers. Each Silver Shadow employed 20 electric motors, powering all the electrical equipment including the radio antenna and the adjustable individual front seats. Air conditioning remained an option, except in America where it was standard. Seat belts and a clever heating and ventilation system were standard.

The styling was a major departure from its predecessor, the Silver Cloud, although it sourced several styling cues which were modified and preserved. Although the Shadow was 3.5-inches narrower and 7 inches shorter than the car it replaced, it offered increased passenger and luggage space thanks to more efficient packaging made possible by unitary construction.

Each Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow took no less than 12 weeks to build from start to finish. It was also the first Rolls-Royce in fifty years to turn a profit and thanks to strong demand around the world, roughly 16,717 were built before the revised Shadow II was introduced in 1977.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2019