1953 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith

The Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, the company's first post-war model, was produced from 1946 to 1958 alongside the shorter Bentley Mark VI. Both the Mark VI and the Wraith rested on the same chassis, with the Rolls-Royce being larger by seven inches. While the Bentley MKVI pioneered 'standard steel' bodywork, the Wraith continued the tradition of carrying coach-built bodies, with most of the coachwork being 'formal' limousine style designs. The list of coachbuilders included Park Ward, Mulliner, Hooper, James Young, and Freestone.

The straight-six F-head engine had overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves and reshaped combustion chambers. This engine had first appeared in with overhead valve gear in the short-lived Bentley Mark V, produced just prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Powering the Wraith, the engine received a more efficient drive to the timing gear and new main and big-end bearings. It initially retained the Mark V's capacity of 4,257cc, later increasing to 4,566cc in 1951. After the introduction of the Silver Cloud in 1955, displacement rose to 4,887cc. A four-speed manual gearbox was initially offered but was later supplemented by a General Motors Hydra-Matic automatic option from 1952.

The suspension was a coil-sprung independent front with conventional semi-elliptic springs and a live axle setup in the rear. In a similar fashion to the pre-war cars, the braking system was a hybrid hydro-mechanical system with hydraulic front brakes and mechanical rears using the mechanical servo.

In 1951, a long-wheelbase version (measuring 133 inches) became available and was standard by 1952. The final 'short-wheelbase' Wraith was delivered in November of 1953, and 639 long-wheelbase versions would be built with the final example being delivered in October of 1958.

During the 13-year production lifespan of the Wraith, a total of 1,883 examples were built.

by Daniel Vaughan | May 2019