Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow I

Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image

You know the world has gone off-kilter when one of the finest objects ever made on these shores, a leather, walnut and lambskin-lined sanctuary, propelled by a silent giant and hand-crafted by men in coats, that once cost as much as a row of terraced houses, is suddenly available to any Tom, Dick or Harry for a fraction of the price of the flimsiest tin and plastic shopping car.

Launched in 1965, the Silver Shadow was not only the first 'modern' Rolls-Royce with a monocoque body, aluminium doors, boot and bonnet and no separate chassis, it was also the closest thing yet to a stately home on wheels.

Squat and purposeful on the outside, decadently luxurious on the inside, it was perfectly timed to attract the nouveau gentry of the Swinging Sixties who were more likely to have made their money from business, pop or fashion than inheriting it from the ancestors.

Even today, to slip behind the wheel of a well-kept Shadow is to enter a different world where every journey is an occasion and the feelgood factor is off the scale. Beautifully crafted, technically advanced and good to drive, it sold like no Rolls-Royce before or since with 37,000 examples rolling from the Crewe production line before it was replaced by the Silver Spirit in 1980.

Over 2,000 improvements were made along the way, the most important being the introduction of the 6,750cc engine and GM three-speed ‘box in 1970, radial tyres in 1972 and the launch of the Shadow II in 1977, though this rather lost the looks of the earlier car with chunky rubber bumpers in place of the slim and elegant chrome. So sought after was the new Rolls-Royce that demand could not be met, and for a long time there was a two-year waiting list for the sensational Silver Shadow.

First registered in November 1974, this Shadow I has had six owners to date and last changed hands in 2014, the previous owner having kept it for 32 years (1982 – 2014). It has covered only 59,700 miles with around 35 old MOTs to back this up.

Affectionately known as ‘The Duchess’, we are told by the vendor that “she is a lovely old car, nice and solid, and she drives well”. Supplied with an MOT valid until September 2019, she also comes with a handbook and a spare set of keys.