AN ANATOMY OF THE… SILVER CLOUD & S-SERIES

The Silver Cloud and accompanying Bentley S-series were transformative cars in Rolls-Royce’s history. When they began life in 1955, they were still much in the mould of what had gone before, with traditional-looking curvaceous bodies mounted on a separate chassis. As the years passed, however, they received changes and modifications that pointed the way towards the direction that Rolls-Royce would take in the 1960s and beyond, with the Silver Shadow. The switch from a six-cylinder engine to a V8 for the Silver Cloud II and S2 was regarded as quite radical for such a conservative manufacturer, while the later appearance of quad headlamps on the Silver Cloud III and S3 no doubt caused the moustaches of a few upright old Colonel types to bristle.

The reality, of course, was that although the Silver Cloud had to be the epitome of understated British elegance for its home market, it also had to appeal to the United States – a vital market for the marque – at a time when V8 engines and glitzy, brash looks were all the rage there. The Silver Cloud trod a fine line between the two; it was undoubtedly stylish and graceful, in a best of British manner, but there were just enough glamorous