Style - Rolls Royce Silver Wraith II	Elegance - Rolls Royce 20/25	Glamour - Bentley Series 3

STYLE - 1979 ROLLS ROYCE SILVER WRAITH II

This is a marvellously civilised car – whisper quiet as all Rolls Royces are, the rear passenger compartment is very roomy and comfortable, upholstered in soft black leather.  Longer than the equivalent Silver Shadow, the Wraith is ideal for brides with long or elaborate gowns.  The car is also equipped with efficient automatic air conditioning, which can be absolutely vital on hot summer days.  The car is painted Georgian Silver, a discreet metallic shade which is perfect for catching the light on bright days.  The overall colour scheme of silver, black and sparkling chrome is stylishly formal, reminiscent of the elegant Savile Row tailoring of a gentleman dressed for Ascot (in fact, this colour scheme on earlier cars was known as the ‘top hat’ look).  The car is set off perfectly by its private number plate.  You can be assured of a stylish arrival in this car, and it will blend in with many occasions, looking equally at ease in a traditional church setting, outside a civil ceremony, or parked outside the best reception hotel.

The Rolls Royce Silver Wraith II

Rolls Royce had offered a Long Wheelbase version of the Silver Shadow since the late 1960s, with the car having an extra 4 inches of legroom in the rear.  When the Silver Shadow II was introduced in 1977, the LWB model got its own model name, the Silver Wraith, recalling an earlier generation of pre-war cars with the same name.  All Silver Wraiths had a vinyl ‘Everflex’ roof covering, a slightly smaller rear window, ‘Rolls Royce’ badges on the quarter panels, and ‘Silver Wraith’ badging on the boot.  The Silver Shadow is so familiar now that it is easy to forget what an impact this car made in the mid 1960s – Rolls Royce’s first monocoque design was a world away from the tradition of the Silver Cloud model, and the car was brimming with cutting edge technology, including its famous Citroen-like hydraulic suspension and braking system.  
By 1977 the car had already been improved over the original, but the Mk II version was a better car all round.  The original rather vague steering was replaced by an excellent rack and pinion system, but perhaps the most significant change was the superb automatic heating and air conditioning system.  Deceptively easy to operate, the system was very complex with a multitude of sensors and motors which all combined to offer a marvellously cool, dehumidified atmosphere inside the car.  Our car was built in 1979, just before the model was superseded by the Silver Spirit range, and is a desirable ‘wash-wipe’ car, so called because of the headlamp wash system introduced by Rolls Royce on the last few cars.  The car was restored by the well known specialists Royce Service & Engineering, with over £12000 being spent on the suspension, brake and air conditioning systems to bring it to the condition it is in now.

















Technical Specification

Engine:	6750cc all alloy V8
Transmission:	General Motors GM400 3 speed automatic
Length:	17ft 3.5in
Width:	5ft 11.7in
0-60 mph:	10.1 sec
Max speed:	119 mph
Average fuel consumption:	14.5 mpg
UK price on introduction (1977):	£26887 inc taxes.