Rolls-Royce Shadow II

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Launched in 1965, the Silver Shadow was the first 'modern' Rolls-Royce with a monocoque body, aluminium doors, boot and bonnet and no separate chassis.

Other innovations included a fully hydraulic braking system, based on Citroen patents, that included four-wheel discs, twin circuits and rear self-levelling suspension. Squat and purposeful on the outside but still aristocratically 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 altogether less characterful 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. This had rack-and-pinion steering rather than recirculating ball, improved air conditioning, a modernised dash and rubber bumpers in place of chrome.

This 1977 Shadow II concorporates these updates and has been with its lady owner for the last four years or so. It has been driven regularly during her ownership (always a good thing with a Shadow) and has covered a modest 101,000 miles in total – an average of just 2,400 miles a year. It is only reluctantly for sale due to loss of storage.

We are told that it comes with lots of service history which will be available to vue at the sale and it has an MOT until November this year, which showed no advisories.

Painted in its distinctive and very attractive shade of Carib Aqua with contrasting cream vinyl roof, the interior looks superb too with cream leather piped blue, smart blue dashtop and blue lambswool over-rugs.

This really is proper champagne motoring on a beer income…