Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III

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The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud replaced the rather staid Silver Dawn in 1955 and very much reflected the times – Britain was finally hauling itself out of post war austerity and a mood of flamboyant optimism was in the air.

Significantly larger than its predecessor, the new car still used a conventional boxed steel chassis so that it could be sold into the coachbuilding trade, however the new body was so good that few were sold without the standard factory offering. The steel body used aluminium panels to the doors, boot lid and bonnet, although the complete car still weighed comfortably over 2 tonnes. Initially fitted with the rugged 4.9-litre straight-six, this was replaced in 1959 when the Cloud II arrived.

Externally similar, the new car used a 6,230cc V8 fitted with hydraulic tappets. These proved somewhat noisy at first, particularly when starting from cold and some felt that the earlier engine offered more refinement. The fact that it transformed performance more than compensated for this, with its maximum speed increasing from 102mph to 114mph. Power steering was also standardised making the Cloud II a major step forwards.

The final version of the Cloud, the Series III had been put on a strict diet, losing 100kgs and 1 ½” in the height of the radiator which necessitated a more sloping bonnet. Quad-headlights further distinguished it from earlier cars and under the bonnet, larger 2” SUs and an increase in compression ratio to 9.0:1 made its output about 7% more ‘adequate’ than it had been previously. It was finally replaced in 1966 by the sophisticated Shadow with its monocoque bodyshell and hydro-pneumatic suspension.

This particular S3 comes with a history file which includes a comprehensive road-test of the car in Popular Classics in January 1993 and a copy of the original factory build book. Originally painted smoke green with green leather upholstery, it was ordered with four electric windows and was road-tested on the last day of 1963. Registered VRN 5 on 20 February 1964, it didn’t surface again until 1979 when it made an appearance at P&A Wood for some service work.

It later went through the hands of Frank Dale, the car spending some time in Holland before being purchased by the vendor through specialist dealer Anthony Copsey in 2000. A year later the vendor had several areas on the bodywork smartened up and commissioned an engine overhaul which included new pistons, liners and valveguides. This work was undertaken when the odometer showed 36,000 miles, a total of just 13,000 miles having been added since. The file also includes 23 old MOTs, its current ticket expiring in August 2015.

The vendor intends to keep the charming photograph of the Duke of Edinburgh saluting the car when it was invited to his 90th Birthday celebrations at Windsor Castle, although a digital copy of the image can be made available to the lucky new owner if they so desire.

There are very few cars on British roads that have anything approaching the road-presence that comes with a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud; the magic carpet ride, sumptuous leather seats and gorgeous walnut veneered fittings continuing to impress on the inside. These later cars with the V8 engine and power steering are easy to live with, as long as you have a big enough garage!