Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith

Last updated

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith
Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith 1955.jpg
1955 Silver Wraith, body by Hooper & Co
Overview
Manufacturer Rolls-Royce Ltd
Production1946–1958
1883 produced (incl. 639 LWB cars)
Body and chassis
Class Full-size luxury car (F)
Body style Mostly 4-door saloons, but other body styles were erected on this chassis.
Layout Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Related Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn
Powertrain
Engine 4.3 L (260 cu in) I6 (1946–51)
4.6 L (280 cu in) I6 (1951–55)
4.9 L (300 cu in) I6 (1955–58)
Transmission
Dimensions
Wheelbase 3225.8 mm (127 in) (1946–53)
3378.2 mm (133 in) (1951–58)
Chronology
Predecessor Rolls-Royce Wraith (1938)
Successor Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II LWB
1956 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith
touring limousine by H J Mulliner 1956 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Touring Limousine (H.J. Mulliner) (15608899086).jpg
1956 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith
touring limousine by H J Mulliner
Rear of the touring limousine 1956 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Touring Limousine (H.J. Mulliner) (15629885401).jpg
Rear of the touring limousine

The Silver Wraith was the first post-war Rolls-Royce. It was made from 1946 to 1958 as only a chassis at the company's Crewe factory, its former Merlin engine plant, alongside the shorter Bentley Mark VI. The Bentley was also available as a chassis for coachbuilders, but for the first time could be bought with a Rolls-Royce built Standard Steel body. The use of the name "wraith" coincided with the established tradition of naming models after "ghosts".

Contents

It was announced by Rolls-Royce in April 1946 as the 25/30  hp replacement for the 1939 Wraith in what had been their 20 hp and 20/25 hp market sector, that is to say Rolls-Royce's smaller car. The size was chosen to be in keeping with the mood of post-war austerity. Even very limited production of the chassis of the larger car, the Phantom IV, was not resumed until 1950 and then, officially, only for Heads of State. [1]

Improvements announced were: chromium-plated cylinder bores for the engine; a new more rigid chassis frame to go with new independent front suspension; and a new synchromesh gearbox. Chassis lubrication was now centralised. [2]

Engine

The straight six-cylinder postwar engine, which had been briefly made for the aborted by war Bentley Mark V, replaced conventional overhead valve gear with an F-head configuration of overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves and reshaped combustion chambers. There were new main and big-end bearings and a more efficient drive to the timing gear. To this prewar mix Rolls-Royce added chromed bores. Initially, this engine retained the Mark V's capacity of 4,257 cc (259.8 cu in) increased from 1951 to 4,566 cc (278.6 cu in) and in 1955, after the introduction of the (standard wheelbase) Silver Cloud, to 4,887 cc (298.2 cu in) for the remaining Silver Wraiths. [3]

Chassis

1956 Silver Wraith by Hooper clear perspex top for Nubar Gulbenkian 1956 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Gulbenkian (cropped).jpg
1956 Silver Wraith by Hooper clear perspex top for Nubar Gulbenkian

The first cars had an entirely new 127 inch (3226 mm) wheelbase chassis which differed considerably from that of the pre-war Wraith and was much nearer rigid. It matched the new Bentley chassis but with an extra 7 inch section added to the centre. The new chassis had coil sprung independent front suspension, which required a very rigid chassis to function properly, and at the rear conventional semi-elliptic springs and live axle. The braking system was a hydro-mechanical hybrid of hydraulic fronts and mechanical rears using the mechanical servo similar to that of the pre-war cars. [4]

The last short-wheelbase cars were delivered in November 1953. The long, 133 inch (3378 mm), wheelbase chassis was announced in 1951 and the first delivered in January 1952. 639 were made by the time of the last deliveries in October 1958.

This was not quite the last Rolls-Royce model to be supplied as a rolling chassis ready for a wide variety of bespoke coachwork designed and made by a rapidly declining number of specialist coachbuilders. [5] Most of the bodies selected used "formal" limousine designs. [5]

From 1949 until 1955 customers wishing to buy a Rolls-Royce fitted with a much smaller standard steel body could purchase the Silver Dawn. It rode on a chassis seven inches shorter than the Silver Wraith, and was almost identical to Rolls-Royce's Bentley Standard Steel saloon available alongside the Silver Wraith since July 1946.

Automatic transmission

Initially only a four-speed manual gearbox was offered, but this was supplemented by a General Motors Hydramatic automatic option from 1952.

Official uses

Film appearances

State cars

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud</span> Luxury saloon produced by Rolls-Royce

The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is a luxury automobile produced by Rolls-Royce Limited from April 1955 to March 1966. It was the core model of the Rolls-Royce range during that period. The Silver Cloud replaced the Silver Dawn and was, in turn, replaced by the Silver Shadow. The John P. Blatchley design was a major change from the pre-war models and the highly derivative Silver Dawn. As part of a range rationalisation, the Bentley S1 was made essentially identical, apart from its radiator grille and badging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow</span> Car model

The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow is a full-size luxury car produced by British automaker Rolls-Royce in various forms from 1965 to 1980. It was the first of the marque to use unitary body and chassis construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn</span> Motor vehicle

The Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn is a full-size luxury car that was produced by Rolls-Royce at their Crewe works between 1949 and 1955. It was the first Rolls-Royce car to be offered with a factory built body which it shared, along with its chassis, with the Bentley Mark VI until 1952 and then the Bentley R Type until production finished in 1955. The car was first introduced as an export only model. The left hand drive manual transmission models had a column gear change, while right hand drives had a floor change by the door. In the British home market the Silver Dawn only became available from October 1953, with the introduction of the model corresponding to the Bentley R Type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentley Mark VI</span> Motor vehicle

The Bentley Mark VI is an automobile from Bentley which was produced from 1946 until 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentley R Type</span> Motor vehicle

The Bentley R Type is the second series of post-war Bentley automobiles, replacing the Mark VI. Essentially a larger-boot version of the Mk VI, the R type is regarded by some as a stop-gap before the introduction of the S series cars in 1955. As with its predecessor, a standard body was available as well as coachbuilt versions by firms including H. J. Mulliner & Co., Park Ward, Harold Radford, Freestone and Webb, Carrosserie Worblaufen and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Phantom IV</span> Ultra-luxury flagship automobile in its fourth generation

The Rolls-Royce Phantom IV is a British automobile produced by Rolls-Royce. Only eighteen were made between 1950 and 1956, sold only to buyers whom Rolls-Royce considered worthy of the distinction: the British royal family and heads of state. Sixteen are known to still exist in museums as well as in public and private collections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Phantom I</span> Ultra-luxury flagship automobile in its first generation

The Rolls-Royce Phantom was Rolls-Royce's replacement for the original Silver Ghost. Introduced as the New Phantom in 1925, the Phantom had a larger engine than the Silver Ghost and used pushrod-operated overhead valves instead of the Silver Ghost's side valves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Phantom II</span> Ultra-luxury flagship automobile in its second generation

The Rolls-Royce Phantom II was the third and last of Rolls-Royce's 40/50 hp models, replacing the New Phantom in 1929. It used an improved version of the New Phantom engine in an all-new chassis. A "Continental" version, with a short wheelbase and stiffer springs, was offered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentley Speed Six</span> Motor vehicle

The Bentley 6½ Litre and the high-performance Bentley Speed Six were rolling chassis in production from 1926 to 1930. The Speed Six, introduced in 1928, became the most successful racing Bentley. Two Bentley Speed Sixes became known as the Blue Train Bentleys after their owner Woolf Barnato raced the Blue Train in 1930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bentley 4 Litre</span> Motor vehicle

The Bentley 4 Litre was a motor car built on rolling chassis made by Bentley Motors Limited. The 4 litre chassis was conceived and built in a failed attempt to restore Bentley to a good financial state. Announced 15 May 1931, it used a modified four litre Ricardo IOE engine in a shortened 8 litre chassis at two-thirds of the price of the 8 Litre in an attempt to compete with the Rolls-Royce 20/25. Instead, Bentley went into receivership shortly afterward, from which it was purchased by Rolls-Royce Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce Wraith (1938)</span> Car model

The Rolls-Royce Wraith was built by Rolls-Royce at their Derby factory from 1938 to 1939 and supplied to independent coachbuilders as a rolling chassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce 20/25</span> Motor vehicle

The Rolls-Royce 20/25 was the second of Rolls-Royce Ltd's pre-war entry level models. Built between 1929 and 1936, it was tremendously popular, becoming the most successful selling inter-war Rolls-Royce. Its success enabled Rolls-Royce to survive the economic difficulties of the Great Depression years and remain one of world's great brands. A total of 3,827 20/25s were produced, of which over 70% are still on the road today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolls-Royce 25/30</span> Motor vehicle

The Rolls-Royce 25/30 built between 1936 and 1938 is an updated version of the 20/25 with larger engine to provide more power, as over-large bodies had often been fitted to the earlier model leading to complaints about its performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humber Pullman</span> Motor vehicle

The Humber Pullman is a four-door limousine which was introduced by the British Humber company in 1930 as a successor to the Humber 20/65 hp and long-wheelbase version of the Humber Snipe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Danish Ceremonial Car "Store Krone"</span>

The Royal Danish Ceremonial Car "Store Krone" is a 1958 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith limousine. It has served since new as the official state car of the Danish head of state, currently King Frederik X of Denmark. The name "Store Krone" refers to the car's number plate, which consists of a large royal crown on a white background.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vauxhall B-Type</span> Motor vehicle

The Vauxhall 27, 30 and 35 h.p. is a large six cylinder car manufactured by Vauxhall from 1910 to 1914. The 27 h.p. was Vauxhall's first six-cylinder car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Dutch State Limousine</span>

The Royal Dutch State Limousine is the former official state car of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, based on a custom-built 1958 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith Limousine Landaulette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daimler DE</span> Motor vehicle platform

Daimler DE was a series of chassis made by the Daimler Company from 1946 until 1953. DE chassis were the basis for Daimler's largest and most expensive cars at the time. There were two versions: the short-wheelbase DE 27 with the Daimler Twenty-seven six cylinder engine, and the long-wheelbase DE 36, the last Daimler Straight-Eight, with the Thirty-six straight-eight engine. Daimler DEs, especially the DE 36 Straight-Eight, was sold to royalty and heads of state around the world, including British royalty under the royal warrant that Daimler had held since 1900.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State and royal cars of the United Kingdom</span> Official royal street vehicles in the UK

The state and royal cars of the United Kingdom are kept at the Royal Mews, Buckingham Palace, where a wide range of state road vehicles are kept and maintained. The vehicles also are stored at other royal residences as required.

References

  1. Peter Pugh The Magic of a Name: The Rolls-Royce Story, Part 2: The Power Behind the Jets 2015 Icon Books. ISBN   1848319630, ISBN   9781848319639
  2. News in Brief. The Times, Thursday, 4 April 1946; pg. 2; Issue 50418
  3. Culshaw & Horrobin 2013, pp. 252.
  4. "Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum - Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith 1". Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum . 2008. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2011.{{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
  5. 1 2 "Spring Collection: Selection of new models announced at this week's Geneva Show". Autocar : 22–24. 19 March 1977.

Sources