1948 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith

The Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith was produced in 1938 and 1939 before World War II brought production to an end. Instead, the company shifted its efforts to wartime production with its V-12 Merlin engines powering Supermarine Spitfire and North American Mustang fighters in Packard-built V-1650 trim. After the war, the production of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars moved to Crewe where a new philosophy was adopted and a new direction. For the first time in Rolls-Royce history, its products were offered as complete cars wearing factory coachwork. Customers were still able to obtain a car in chassis form and deliver it to a coachbuilder of their choosing, such as Park Ward, Freestone and Webb, H.J. Mulliner, and Hooper.

Note, the first Rolls-Royce car to be offered with a factory-built body - which it shared, along with its chassis, with the Bentley Mark VI until 1952 and then the Bentley R Type until production finished in 1955 - was the Silver Dawn, produced from 1949 to 1955. The Silver Wraith was offered as a chassis for coachbuilders, but it could also be purchased with a Rolls-Royce built Standard Steel body. Most of the bodies selected used 'formal' limousine designs.

The Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith rested on an entirely new 127-inch wheelbase chassis which was considerably different than the pre-war Wraith. It was similar to the new Bentley chassis but seven inches longer. The standard wheelbase measured 127 inches while the longer wheelbase was 133 inches. The Long Wheelbase version was introduced in 1951, with deliveries beginning in January 1952.

Silver Wraiths were built on an improved and strengthened ladder frame, considerably more rigid than its predecessors, and based on that of the pre-war Wraith. The suspension was independent at the front with a conventional semi-elliptic spring setup at the rear along with a live axle. Braking power was provided by a hybrid hydro-mechanical system with hydraulic front brakes and mechanical rears using the mechanical servo system.

The engine was also based on the pre-war Wraith, utilizing a cylinder head with overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves. The 4,257cc straight-six unit produced 135 horsepower. Displacement increased to 4,566cc in 1951, and again in 1955 to 4,887cc. The engines were initially backed by a four-speed manual gearbox with a dry clutch and column shift controls. This was later supplemented by a General Motors Hydramatic automatic option from 1952.

The total production of the 1946 through 1958 Silver Wraith totaled 1,883 vehicles, including 638 long-wheelbase examples.

The Silver Wraith was the first model offered by Rolls Royce Ltd. after World War II and the last Rolls-Royce model that would be delivered in 'chassis only' for completion by independent body fabricators. It marked the end of the coach-built Rolls Royce era, and in the company's own words, the Silver Wraith was 'considered by many to be the most technologically advanced Rolls Royce model in history...an exceptionally graceful and elegant automobile.'

The Silver Wraith chassis was manufactured in lettered series, 'A' through 'H' being short-chassis (200 inches on a 127-inch wheelbase) in the late 1940s and 'A' through 'H' in long-chassis (206 inches on a 133-inch wheelbase) in the 1950s. The short wheelbase version was aptly suited for close-coupled, or sporting models, open or closed, with the longer chassis better accommodated formal sedans and limousines.

by Dan Vaughan

Convertible by Franay
Chassis number: LWAB63
Engine number: W127B

After World War II, Rolls-Royce resumed automobile production with a new model, thee Silver Wraith. This Silver Wraith example was first shown at the 1948 Earl's Court Motor Show without coachwork, after which it was reportedly loaned to an important client of Rolls-Royce, who mounted a rather 'interesting' Sedanca de Ville body on it in time for the Geneva Motor Show in 1949. Joseph Poberejsky, a Parisian stylist, had created the coachwork and it did not receive many favorable reviews. The official press catalogue for the show actually described it as 'Criminal or Pioneer: The ugly Rolls-Royce sedanca of Poberejsky of which it is said it could be a pioneer.' Rolls-Royce management ensured the atrocity would appear only once, and in short order had taken back the chassis, converted it to left-hand drive as LWAB63, and sold it to Mrs. L. Benitez Rexach, who was living in Maisons-Lafitte near Paris.

The French coachbuilder Franay was commissioned to build a two-door, four-seat convertible, which was delivered June 20, 1950. The coachwork featured compound-curved fenders, full rear 'spats', and a long flowing beltline. Parisian dealer Franco-Brittanic Automobiles exhibited it at both the Concours d'Elegance Automobile d'Enghien and the Concours d'Elegance de l'Auto in Paris in 1950.

Mrs. Rexach took delivery of the car on a temporary French registration, valid for only six months. The car did not get fully registered for another 13 years, until July 3rd of 1963.

Seven years after her passing, in 1975, the car was exported to the Dominican Republic, where the Rexachs had a family home, and there it remained until 1998.

Richard Gorman acquired the car on behalf of J. Frank and Milli Ricciardelli, and began a restoration effort. At the time, the car had roughly 17,000 kilometers on its odometer. It was finished in its originals shade of Blue-Grey and trimmed in Champagne Connolly hide. Because of the original show history without coachwork, the chassis and engine carry more polishing and brightwork than is normally found on production cars.

It made its restoration debut at the 1999 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, winning a class away. It returned to Pebble in 2004, earning a Best in Class. Further awards included Best in Class and Best Post-war Restoration at the Unique and Special Ones event in Florence, Italy, in 2010, and Best in Class at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, in both 2004 and 2015.

This car is currently in the care of its third caretakers.

Saloon by Freestone & Webb

From 1946 to 1959, Rolls-Royce produced 1783 Silver Wraiths. Until World War Two, Rolls-Royce produced only the chassis and all of the bodies were added by coachbuilders. After the war, the company's products were much more homogeneous with most bodies being built by Rolls-Royce. The Silver Wraith is the major exception with a huge variety of bodies being build during its production run. Many of the body designs however, were built in batches of between ten and fifty.

This saloon wears a body built by Freestone and Webb, and is one of five such examples produced. Power is from a F-head inline six-cylinder engine that displaces 260 cubic-inches and produces 126 horsepower. The wheelbase measures 127 inches and the car weighs approximately 4480 pounds. The chassis alone was priced at 2035 pounds sterling. With coachwork, this car cost more than 3500 pounds sterling.

by Dan Vaughan

Sedanca DeVille by Mulliner
Chassis number: WZB28
Engine number: W27B

The original owner of this formal Sedanca de Ville was Marie Arnold Chapin, of Syracuse, New York. It is outfitted with coachbuilder H.J. Mulliner's design number 7055. It has an enclosed rear passenger compartment and a sliding hood over the driver's compartment. This was the 44th body installed on the Silver Wraith chassis by Mulliner. It has an aluminum skin body that was fitted over the wooden framework. Mrs. Chapin selected several non-standard items that were bespoke features. Among them included special lock placements, special lighting, export bumpers, fitted luggage suitcases, a pair of cigar lighters, a radio for the passengers, and additional Wilton wool carpeting to upholster two foot hassocks. The car has a glass division window which offered privacy to its occupants, and opera 'occasional' seats which folded out for extra seating. The interior was upholstered in tan leather in the front seats, with luxurious West of England wool cloth in the rear.

Since new, the car has been given a body-off restoration. After the work was completed, it won Best of Show at the 1999 Convention of the Rolls-Royce Owners' Club.

The car still retains its original leather suitcase for the trunk, a compete restored tool kit, an original handbook, and a workshop manual.

by Dan Vaughan

Sedanca DeVille by Mulliner
Chassis number: WFC 28

This car is a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Sedanca de Ville, bodied by H.J. Mulliner. It is one of about 15 built in 1949. It is a full seven-passenger limousine, with division and a convertible driver's compartment. For most of its time in England, the car was owned by a lady in Yorkshire; it was chauffeur-driven, and maintained by Rolls-Royce. It is largely original, with a full body prep and refinished in 2018. It is powered by a six-cylinder engine developed during the war, and backed by a four-speed gearbox. The Silver Wraith was the first model offered for sale by Rolls-Royce after the war. The current owners found the car in 1990 and have done many tours in it, totaling about 18,000 miles over it 29 years with the current owners. All the Wraiths were coachbuilt, and the Mulliner-bodied cars are considered the finest examples of razor-edge styling of the time. The 'Sedanca' design gives it the best of formal limousine styling; with the pleasure of open-cockpit driving.

Cabriolet by Gurney Nutting
Chassis number: WCB50

The first postwar Rolls-Royce offering was the Silver Wraith. It initially had a wheelbase of 127 inches, but over the lifetime of the Silver Wraith (1946-1958), it grew by horsepower and length from a smaller to a significantly larger Rolls-Royce, and it was typically bodied with formal coachwork (Like its prewar antecedents, it was offered only as a chassis for coachbuilders to body).

This extremely handsome and rare early Drophead was bodied by Gurney Nutting, but with a sill plate by James Young, since both companies were owned by the flamboyant London dealer and former 'Bentley Boy' Jack Barclay. It was initially ordered by Cairo Motors Ltd. for H.E. Abdal Hamid Shawarby Bey, but the sale fell through, so it was purchased new by Academy Award-winning actor John Mills. It has been the subject of a comprehensive three-year restoration.

The Silver Wraith, launched in 1947, was an evolution of the pre-war Wraith and was offered in the traditional chassis form ready for the fitting of Bespoke coachwork. The 4,257cc overhead-inlet, side-exhaust engine developed before the war was used, as well as a modified coil and wishbone independent front suspension. Hydraulic brakes were used for the first time on a Rolls-Royce with hydraulic brakes.

The Silver Wraith was constantly refined during its production. The engine was replaced with the 'big bore' 4,566cc in 1951 and automatic transmission was offered as an option in 1952.

Once again the press raved about the car. 'All the world knows that Rolls-Royce carry on an unremitting search for engineering perfection in everything they undertake. The qualities which made their aircraft engines famous, and their cars the finest procurable, are the result of hard work scientifically conducted, and of a painstaking attention to detail from the large to the most minute. And now a new range of cars is about to appear it is believed that the new cars are the best that Rolls-Royce have ever built.'

The Silver Wraith was described like this: 'In common with all Rolls-Royce cars, the Silver Wraith has an indefinable something about it, a delicacy of behaviour, which escapes definition in written words. it is a car for the connoisseur in cars'.

by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

by Rolls-Royce

At a time when most of England was suffering post-war and didn't have much use for a luxury motorcar, Rolls Royce decided to no longer produce cars in strictly separate series. Instead, they would create as many parts of the engine, chassis, and gearbox that would be identical for the different makes, and therefore easily interchangeable. The British economy had suffered due to raw materials shortages, prohibitive purchase tax, and petrol rationing. The Silver Wraith was the embodiment of the new company philosophy of a reliable car with components that could be easily maintained.

Considered by many to be the most technologically advanced Rolls Royce model in history, the Silver Wraith was an exceptionally graceful and elegant automobile. Introduced in 1946 the Silver Wraith was produced at the Crewe factory. The first post-war Rolls-Royce model, the Silver Wraith rode on a 127-inch wheelbase that was based heavily on the pre-war Wraith with coil-sprung independent front suspension and semi-elliptic rear with a live axle. Also based on the Wraith, the engine featured a cylinder head with overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves and an initial capacity of 4,257 cc and 135 horsepower.

The capacity was increased to 4566 cc in 1951, and to 4887 in 1954 on the long-wheelbase models. The Wraith's braking system was a hybrid hydro-mechanical system with hydraulic front brakes and mechanical rears that utilized the mechanical servo from the pre-war cars, which was patented by Hispano-Suiza and built by Rolls Royce under license. For the first time on a Rolls Royce hydraulic brakes were used.

In 1951 Rolls Royce announced the long, 133-inch wheelbase chassis. A total of 639 of these units were produced until 1969. The final short-wheelbase models were made in 1953. At first, only a four-speed manual gearbox was available but in 1952 a General Motors automatic option was added to the list of offerings.

The Silver Wraith was the final Rolls-Royce model that would be delivered in 'chassis only' form with the intent to be bodied by independent coachbuilders. The number of specialist coachbuilders was quickly declining over the years. Many of the Silver Wraith bodies selected used 'formal limousine designs'. The Bentley Mark Vi was offered for customers that wanted to purchase their car with a standard body already fitted. The Silver Wraith differed from the Mark VI in the fact that it wasn't a complete car, merely a rolling chassis. The Silver Wraith outlived the Mark VI and continued to survive until 1959 by undergoing modernizations like automatic gearbox and power-assisted steering. The Silver Wraith would be the final Rolls Royce that showed a vast variety of coachwork styles.

The Rolls Royce Silver Wraith has filled many official capacities over the years including the Royal Dutch State Limousine in 1958, the Royal Danish Ceremonial Car 'Store Krone' also in 1958, the Irish Presidential State Car from 1947 until now. Other official uses include the Ceremonial State Car for the Brazilian President in 1952. The

The Silver Wraith had numerous movie cameos over the years including 1968 'The Love Bug', 1975 'The Return of the Pink Panther', 1989 'Batman', 1992 'Batman Returns' and even the recent 2012 film 'The S

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_Silver_Wraith

http://www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com/wraith/

by Jessican Donaldson