MARQUES & MODELS ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER SHADOW
For much of its existence Rolls-Royce had a rather uneasy relationship with innovation. It wasn’t a firm to push the boundaries of technology – the boundary it pushed was in the execution of existing technology to hitherto-unknown levels of quality and reliability. Whenever it was deemed necessary to make advances, they were introduced after years of analysis, development and testing, at a pace that would not be rushed.
Which made the arrival of the Silver Shadow in 1965 all the more shocking, since this was not only the most innovative car ever to come from Rolls-Royce, but it marked an entirely new approach to both design and marketing at Crewe. The Shadow positively bristled with the very latest engineering and design the industry had to offer – not since the days of the Silver Ghost had a Rolls-Royce been so close to the cutting edge of automotive development. And while it seemed that this technological marvel had appeared virtually overnight, of course that was decidedly not the case. The project which ultimately resulted in the Silver Shadow had taken four years, but that was building on various projects and proposals that had been in train since 1953.
The impetus for what would become the Shadow was a sense that Rolls-Royce was at risk of being left behind by a technically-advancing mass market. By 1950 even cheap cars like the Morris Minor and Ford Consul boasted unitary construction, independent front suspension, hydraulic brakes,
