Probably in Rolls-Royce history it was the most big step forward to technical terms. Silver Shadow for the first time in the history of the company received load-bearing body and fully independent suspension of all wheels, mounted on separate subframes. It was the famous "Citroen" hydropneumatic suspension with level control both in the longitudinal direction and separately along the axes. For the sake of achieving a unique driving comfort, the British spent a fair amount on the purchase of a license. In 1969, in order to somewhat reduce the cost and simplify the design, level control in the front suspension will be abandoned, since operating experience has shown that this unit, in fact, is used only for rear axle. Under the huge hood was a Cadillac V8 with a volume of 6226 cubic meters, familiar from the time of the Silver Cloud. cm and estimated (according to tradition, the company indicated it as "sufficient") with a capacity of 172 liters. from. A very decent 182 km / h of maximum speed put the stiff limousine almost on a par with sports sedans made by Jaguar. To stop a two-ton hulk rushing at such a speed, all wheels had to be equipped with dual-circuit hydraulic disc brakes (also licensed by Citroen). It turns out that in terms of the sum of indicators Silver Shadow "Mercedes", at least, was not inferior. But did he excel?
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Yes, in accordance with the trends of the times, the car became faster and more maneuverable, but at the same time, that “Rolls-Royce” majesty, characteristic of previous models and putting Crewe cars a step above any potential competitors, disappeared from the appearance of the Silver Shadow. Longtime admirers of the brand openly called new model just a shadow shadow) of the former Rolls, but, on the other hand, the more democratic Silver Shadow found its client among the elite of the industrial bourgeoisie. There was a place for the "Silver Shadow" in the garage big lover cool cars L. I. Brezhnev. In general, sales grew.
The lineup has also expanded. Firstly, like any other Rolls-Royce model, starting from the 30s, the Silver Shadow had a double under by Bentley, called the Bentley T. The list of differences between the Rolls and the Bentley was limited to the figure Spirit of Ecstasy on the hood and subtle nuances in the suspension setup. And if previous models Bentleys received high-speed "compartment" versions, then the T engine was not subjected to additional forcing, even to order. Apparently, they decided to sacrifice the Bentley brand and win over part of its clientele to Rolls-Royce. But for the first time in the history of Rolls-Royce, it was established mass production coupe. There were two versions, developed by different coachbuilders: the well-known version from Mulliner Park Ward and the much rarer one from James Young. At first the car was called Silver Shadow FHC ( fixed head coupe), and from the 71st was renamed Corniche (the name of the highway in the French Riviera). Version from open body debuted in 1967.
In 1970, the engine was bored out to 6750 cc. cm and already gave out 189 forces. At the Corniche, Rolls-Royce engineers replaced the camshaft and exhaust system, as a result, the under-hood “herd” reached a value of 200 “heads”. The same figures were top speed coupe (with a convertible due to worst aerodynamics And greater mass ceiling was slightly lower. At the same time, the four-band automatic transmission gave way to a simpler three-band automatic, because by that time the state-owned Rolls-Royce company was on the verge of bankruptcy. And Silver Shadow had nothing to do with it, just that Britain was already plunging into the abyss of a total crisis that combined political instability with the collapse of the traditional colonial economy. The government was forced to privatize the company's automotive department, leaving behind only the aerospace department, which is still of strategic importance.
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In 1973, the crisis became global, but true to the many years of practice of constant evolution, the British still found the strength to offer new version Silver Shadow. As you know, the 60-70s were, among other things, a time of fruitful cooperation between British car builders and Italian bodywork studios. Especially Pininfarina, Michelotti and Zagato did a lot for the automotive industry of Foggy Albion. It was the Pininfarina designers who in the mid-70s proposed their vision of a large Rolls-Royce coupe. It was a parting chord of many years of Anglo-Italian cooperation. In the future, island automakers will make do with on their own in body design. Cheaper, you know. But back to the coupe. In the 75th, the Rolls-Royce Camargue was launched into the series (named after national park in France) - a huge coupe, made in the Italian flat style that was at the height of fashion. Now Camargue looks strange, but then, apparently, his style was in demand, it is no coincidence that he stood on the assembly line until 1986. In addition to the new body, Camargue could not boast of noticeable updates. And since the car became even larger and more massive than the prototype, Camargue was inferior to the "standard" Corniche coupe in terms of dynamics. It's also worth noting that when adjusted to 2005 prices, the Camargue is still the most expensive Rolls-Royce ever made ($550,604).
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In 1977, the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II was released. The modernization turned out to be quite deep, now a rack-and-pinion steering mechanism was used, the settings of the front suspension were changed. As a result, handling has improved significantly. In addition, in accordance with the new safety requirements, chrome bumpers have given way to light-alloy ones with rubber shock absorbers. In the "second generation" the long wheelbase version got its own name. Now she was called Silver Wraith II. This version is easily recognizable by the vinyl-covered roof. Part of the Silver Wraith II was completed with a bulkhead (with electric drive) between the driver and the passenger compartment. Cars with a baffle are valued by collectors the most.
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For Rolls-Royce, the Silver Shadow model became a landmark phenomenon that determined the appearance of cars of this brand for more than 40 years (something of it remained in
Time Machine
Probably better than Rolls-Royce, maybe only Rolls-Royce. Such as the rare RR Silver Shadow.
There is an interesting composition in the Moscow Wax Museum - Lavrenty Beria plays chess with Malyuta Skuratov, and no less remarkable characters from different historical eras watch the duel ... Not so long ago, a time machine appeared in Riga, capable of placing quite real historical figures on its chairs. personalities representing the most diverse sections of world culture and politics. Behind her glasses, Jose Carreras and Montserrat Caballe were seen. Philip Kirkorov was jumping out of her door. And once the car even got into the retinue of Bill Clinton, who visited Latvia on a working visit.
COMPROMISE. The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow was first introduced to the public in October 1965. The conservative aristocracy, accustomed to the bulky and prim Rolls-Royces, at first took the new model with hostility. Objectively, the "Shadow" was better than the "Cloud" - starting with the design features and the notorious "minced meat", ending with the dimensions that allow the car to maneuver more confidently in the traffic flow. However, needless to say, for RR, one of the main characteristics was still appearance. And then the fans of the brand were ready to cry: almost flat sides, far from the classic rounding, not the most best proportions the bodies made the appearance of the flagship of the British automotive industry box-shaped, reminiscent of the styling of ordinary cars. Evil feathers from the Sunday Times wrote sarcastically that "Rolls-Royce, having decided to greet the onset of the turbulent 60s with a stately nod, received a sluggish handshake instead of a warm hug - society reacted with coolness to its new autocompromise."
SHADOW FROM THE CLOUD. But with their driving performance car to be proud of. Where the body ended and the chassis began, the “shortcomings” invented by the public disappeared: the design of the car contained as many innovations as they were not in any previous Rolls-Royce. In the new model, the company abandoned the archaic frame structure in favor of a load-bearing body with the simultaneous use of an independent suspension rear wheels, which led to unacceptable high level noise in the cabin. Therefore, over eight years of fine-tuning, a system was created rear suspension on subframes with vibration isolation pads, equipped with coil springs and self-adjusting hydraulic shock absorbers. Servo-assisted Girling disc brakes were installed on all wheels, the front discs became ventilated in 1973, and the drive system had three completely independent circuits, which guaranteed triple protection against brake failure. Servo amplifiers were also equipped with a steering mechanism, power windows, and a radio antenna.
The aluminum V8 inherited from the Silver Cloud III was bored out to 6750cc in 1969. see Plus, the spark plugs were no longer located under the intake manifold, but above it. The automatic four-speed box, also left over from the Third Cloud, had an electric shift selector placed on the steering column.
The interior is trimmed with Crewe's favorite walnut paneling, calfskin, natural wool carpets, everything that was familiar to any other Rolls-Royce. But the space in the rear compartment of the body was clearly not enough, and this was already very serious. Silver Shadow has been in the design stage for ten years, and therefore you do not need to be a marketer to come to the conclusion: it should have been produced and sold for a comparable time period. In Crewe, they were somewhat discouraged, and the solution to the problem was found overseas.
REAL LIMOUSINE. It is only among the Germans that it is customary to call any four-door sedan a "limousine", even if it has a 1-liter engine under the hood, and passengers rear seats rest their chins on their knees. True connoisseurs know that a real limousine is an elongated car with six side windows, a glass partition that cuts off the driver's compartment from the VIP rear, and the latter can comfortably accommodate four precious passengers. A real limousine is inseparable from the driver in uniform, as well as the livery footman who helps the gentlemen move from the front door of the mansion to the no less front seat of the car.
It is for such a life that a limousine based on Silver Shadow was created. American coachbuilder Niko-Michael Coachworks Port Washington New York cut a standard four-door sedan in half by welding a 36-inch (nearly meter) wide insert into the body, which made it possible to significantly increase interior space. A button appeared in the folding armrest of the rear seat, allowing passengers to isolate themselves from the driver with a glass partition. The driver, in order to explain himself to the gentlemen, in this case has to use the communication system - when they hear the buzzer, they will pick up or ignore the receiver in the side armrest. From the outside, the passengers of the rear sofa are practically invisible, but they themselves can observe the surrounding reality through glass slots in the vinyl-covered roof, stylized as convertible top levers. If more than two persons are riding behind, then the electric drive will extend two additional chairs. In 1973, probably, all this automation seemed to be something cosmic: here it is equipped with brakes, suspension, air conditioners - more than forty systems in total. Unless the bar with drinks opens manually.
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OWN HANDS. It was this car that was purchased at the auction by Parex Bank, which now kindly provides it to VIPs visiting Riga.
When the ceremonial delivery of celebrities began, the local press literally exploded. First, someone started a rumor that half a million dollars was paid for the car. Then a certain reporter got hold of information that for painting the body it was taken far to the sea on a special platform - so that not a speck of dust would settle. Finally, there were eyewitnesses of how the American president, having thrown his armored Cadillac, flopped into the back seat of the Silver Shadow ... In relation to a car of any other brand, all these stories would look like complete nonsense. In relation to the exclusive Rolls-Royce, they are very organic.
Little has changed here in more than a quarter of a century. Lamp TV. The transistor and cassette recorder are two separate systems located in different parts center console. In the glove box is a heavy volume, printed on coated paper and bound in leather, a manual for operation and repair. With pedantry worthy of our oldest auto magazine, here is how to clean the carburetor and change the spark plugs on a Rolls-Royce on your own.
Probably, the car was once manufactured for an Arab customer - it was mounted in the VIP salon folding table for playing backgammon. Therefore, it is quite possible to imagine how Luciano Pavarotti and Zemfira, for example, are fighting here in the ancient oriental game. And what? Opera prima Caballe sang in a duet with the untied soloist Queen.
"AUTOPILOT", 2000
P.S. Duet luxury cars 70s - newfangled overseas "compact" Cadillac Seville and a symbol of British conservatism RR Silver Shadow.
| MODEL/MODIFICATION | ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER SHADOW LIMOUSINE |
|---|---|
| Year of issue | 1973 |
| Manufacturer | ROLLS-ROYCE LTD. |
| Producing country | Great Britain |
| BODY | |
| Type | sedan |
| load-bearing element | body |
| Number of doors/seats | 4/7 |
| ENGINE | |
| Type | carburettor |
| Location | front, lengthwise |
| Displacement (cc) | 6745 |
| Number/arrangement of cylinders | 8/V-shape |
| Bore x stroke (mm) | 104.1х99.1 |
| Compression ratio | 9,0:1 |
| Power (hp at rpm) | 220 at 4500 |
| Moment (Nm) | 350 |
| TRANSMISSION | |
| Drive unit | on the rear wheels |
| Transmission | automatic 3-speed |
| SUSPENSION | |
| Front | independent on double levers and coil springs |
| rear | independent spring independent? on double levers and coil springs |
| STEERING | |
| Type | ball bearing with progressive servo amplifier |
| BRAKES | |
| front | disk |
| Rear | disk |
| WHEELS | |
| Tire size | 205-15 |
| DIMENSIONS/VOLUME/WEIGHT | |
| Length/width/height (mm) | 6180/1829/1518 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 3945 |
| Track front/rear (mm) | 1460/1460 |
| Fuel tank volume (l) | 107 |
| curb weight | 2980 |
| DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS | |
| Maximum speed (km/h) | 185 |
| Acceleration to 100 km/h (sec.) | 12 |
| ECONOMY | |
| Fuel consumption (l/100 km): | |
| city | 22,0 |
| highway | 17,5 |
The ears of the seasoned automotive enthusiast will be familiar and unstable idling, and the sound of valves, and even the bass exhaust of a typical street "race". But that sound doesn't match the car - almost all of us would expect to hear Monaro or Falcon, but in fact the enigmatic car will be a 1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow chromed in elegant white. Suddenly?
Ben has bought his Rolls since . Moreover, this is a fairly popular solution for such old models - the Chevrolet engine is simple, reliable and much easier to maintain and repair than the native and sometimes problematic Rolls-Royce V8.
The damaged differential was replaced with a short 9-inch Ford F100. Naturally, to install it, it was necessary to modify many elements of the 4-link rear suspension with Watt arms, and at the same time, these Billet Specialties 20x13-inch wheels had to fit in the arches. Working on his own, Ben was faced with the fact that he had to make changes to the body from the rear seats to the suspension in order to fit everything.
With changes to the rear suspension, innovations have also come to the front. The original rack and steering gear have been replaced with a suspension with wishbone built using Southern Rod & Custom parts and subframe, 1980s XF Falcon hubs, BA Falcon big brakes and a BMW 3-Series steering rack. Both front and rear airbags have settled, which are capable of raising large Rolls at any time.
It comes as a surprise to many motorists that these Rolls-Royce Silver Shadows were fitted with a GM TH400 3-speed automatic from the factory. It is thanks to this that the installation of the V8 from Chevrolet became not such a difficult task. And, of course, having such a motor, you cannot leave it without at least some tuning. "Yeah, the engine was screaming for a fix," Ben admits. "It needs an approach!"
The 6.7L V8 - a bored version of the 6.5L small block - fitted to Ben's car now boasts evil Camtech shafts, Dart Sportsman II block heads and a Holley 850 supercharger on a Weiand manifold. Cools the engine with a standard Rolls-Royce radiator, but equipped with three fans.
"I got the motor from a guy from Lithgow who specialized in serious engines for Holden," Ben said. "It was built for the HQ Monaro, but ended up with the LSX."
With all these improvements, the body and interior of the car remained almost in its original form, avoiding many changes. Ben likes their classic and elegant look much more, and even if the exterior and interior are not in perfect condition, but still can please the eye of any motorist.
“This car is very well made,” says Ben, and then casually adds that in the 60s this model received an award Best Car Mira". Well, isn't this the real love of the owner and his creations?
In 1965, Rolls-Royce introduced luxury sedan Silver Shadow is the brand's first monocoque car. Unlike its predecessor - the model - the car had more modern design without protruding wings above the wheels. Among other innovations of the car are disc brakes, an independent rear hydropneumatic suspension (initially, the front suspension was hydropneumatic, but this decision was soon abandoned). An analogue of this model was a sedan, which differed only in emblems and the shape of the radiator grille.
The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow was equipped with a V8 6.2 engine with a capacity of 172 hp. with., but in 1970 it was replaced by a 6.75-liter, developing 189 forces. All cars were equipped with automatic transmissions, the supplier of which was the General Motors concern.
In 1966 in model range a two-door coupe appeared, and a year later - a convertible (in 1971, two-door versions became separate model). In 1969, customers began to offer a long wheelbase version, which has wheelbase was enlarged by about 10 cm.
An updated version of the Roll-Royce Silver Shadow II, which debuted in 1977, featured an upgraded undercarriage and "rubber" bumpers. At the same time, the long-base modification was renamed to .
The production of sedans at a plant in the British city of Crewe continued until 1980, they were replaced by the model. In total, approximately 30,000 Silver Shadows were produced.
Silver Shadow debuted in October 1965. The first copies were sold at a price of 6,556 pounds. The development of the model took several years. At the end of the 50s. Rolls-Royce management realized that it would take several million pounds to convert production to the new model and made two fundamental decisions: to keep new car in production for as long as possible and create a load-bearing body for it. The car was a huge improvement over its predecessors. For the first time, the brainchild of Rolls-Royce was equipped with a load-bearing frameless body, independent suspension, disc brakes on four wheels, automatic suspension leveling and maximum braking force. From 1965 to 1969, a 6.2-liter V8 engine with a capacity of 172 horsepower. From 1970 to 1980 the model was equipped with power unit increased volume 6.7 l / 189 hp Automatic box supplied by General Motors.
An interesting fact, when the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow appeared, the then Minister of the Soviet Automobile Industry A. Tarasov managed to prove the need to purchase several of these cars for review and study. Four cars were ordered through the company "Autoexport". When they were taken to Moscow and shown to L. I. Brezhnev, he was not happy with them. The purchased cars were handed over to ZIL, where one of them was used as the personal car of the then director P. Borodin, while others were constantly filmed in numerous films. One Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow was created in England especially for L.I. Brezhnev
Silver Shadow II was released in 1977. It was an improved version of the previous model. He received a rack and pinion steering and featured a modified body. Other minor changes were made as well. The car was originally conceived as the most advanced, so they tried to collect all the best technologies that existed then. Silver Shadow has been true to the legacy of more early models, but it also contained important technical innovations, for example automatic windows and electrically controlled air conditioning.
The elongated Silver Shadow model received its own name Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II and was introduced in 1977 on car exhibition in Geneva. The limousine had a V - shaped eight-cylinder engine (6.75 liters) and a load-bearing body. The model provided 4 cm more rear passengers, and actually became the successor to the Silver Shadow long wheelbase.
Silver Shadow became the best-selling Rolls-Royce car in the world. It was sold out faster than all previous models of the brand. At the end of the 70s, the production volume amounted to approximately 3.3 thousand pieces annually. In just 15 years, 30,059 sedans were built. The Silver Shadow was replaced in 1980 by the Silver Spirit.
