Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith

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Launched in 1946, the Silver Wraith was Rolls-Royce's first new post-war car and was one of the last cars to be supplied in the traditional R-R way as a separate chassis to be fitted with a coachbuilt body of the customer's choice.

A replacement for the pre-war Wraith in the 20hp and 20/25hp sector, it filled the same ‘small car’ slot in the Rolls-Royce range, being more in tune with the mood of post-war austerity than the much larger Phantom which did not resume production until 1950 and even then was only available to special order for Heads of State.

Mechanically the Silver Wraith shared the same 4,257cc straight-six engine as the Bentley MkVI, driving through a four-speed manual gearbox with synchromesh as standard. With a longer wheelbase than the MkVI (127-inch), it featured a massive, box-section chassis equipped with independent front suspension, hydraulic shock absorbers (adjustable to the rear), four-wheel servo-assisted drum brakes and a centralised chassis lubrication system.

Just 1,883 Silver Wraith chassis were produced in total (including 639 in 133-inch LWB form) before it was replaced by the larger Silver Cloud in 1958.

This particular SWB chassis, WYA20, was one of a pair ordered new by Miss Mary T Horn of Fifth Avenue, New York City, in December 1946. According to documents on file, it was initially going to carry a drophead coupe body by Inskip but it seems that this was either never fitted or was removed after a very short time, because in 1948 the car was fitted with an aluminium swept-tail 4-light touring limousine body by Barker & Co instead (body number 7731).

This Barker body had initially been fitted to a 1937 Phantom III (chassis 3CP40) owned by Dr James Craig Joyner of Park Avenue, New York City, from whom Miss Mary Horn bought the car (via Inskip) in December 1946. It seems that she then asked Inskip to transfer the Barker body from the Phantom to the Wraith where it has remained to the present day.

The Wraith spent many years in America before moving to Antwerp in Belgium where the previous owner purchased it in 2008 from a gentleman who had owned it for 15 years. Returning to the UK in May 2008, the car was then acquired by the current owners a few months later with the express intention of driving it all the way from London to Jerusalem in order to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Israeli Declaration of Independence – the Wraith having been built at around the same time as that historic event.

To this end the car was thoroughly gone through from stem-to-stern to prepare it for the 3,000 mile journey which it successfully completed in 18 days of steady driving, the only problem being when the clutch packed up just a few miles from Jerusalem, no doubt having been put under considerable strain while traversing the Alps earlier in the journey!

The Wraith was then flown back to England where it received a second bout of fettling, including the fitment of a new clutch; an overhaul of the gear selector mechanism; rebuilt starter motor and distributor; front brake overhaul; new battery; overhaul of the centralised chassis lubrication system and a very thorough service. Mainly kept in storage since, the car remains in excellent running order and is no doubt capable of making a return visit to Jerusalem should the new owner feel so inclined.

Altogether a nicely preserved Wraith with a fascinating history that is sure to prove a great talking point at any vintage event. The oily precision of the ingenious 'tilt-and-slide' glass division is virtually worth the estimate on its own!