Coys Auction - True Greats
Royal Horticultural Halls
Elverton St
Westminster
London SW1
Thursday 4th December 2008
The arrival of the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and Bentley T series in late 1965 marked a major change in Rolls-Royce motor cars, previously the products of Crewe had employed separate chassis but here was a car using unitary construction of chassis and body. This change, brought about by perceived market demands that considered the upright styling of the Silver Cloud/S series rather dated, inevitably decreed more uniform coachwork compared to the elegant designs that had gone before - but underneath the skin the new Rolls-Royce/Bentley offered even greater engineering excellence and sophistication. At the Silver Shadow‘s heart was Rolls-Royce‘s familiar alloy V8 engine retaining the same 6,230cc as in the Silver Cloud III/S3 and a power output of around 220 bhp. It was in the chassis, however, that important changes were made