ARolls-Royce Silver Shadow is a vehicle of innate gravitas and style. When new in 1965, it was the ideal conveyance for gentlemen of leisure and film directors alike. This was the Rolls-Royce that was as suited to the MD’s parking space when attending the races at Goodwood as it was for transporting a producer to Pinewood Studio. A fashion designer with a suspiciously Dick Van Dyke 'Cockney' accent might also find the Silver Shadow perfect for Carnaby Street. Today, it is possibly one of the finest conveyances for making an arrival in Henley- on-Thames discreetly, elegantly and with dignity.
As John Antonaki, the owner of our 1973 test car, reflects: ‘I am not a dyed-in-the-wool fanatic of the marque, but the Silver Shadow is one of my childhood dream cars that I can afford, unlike a Ferrari Daytona or a Mercedes-Benz 600. I used to avidly look at images of Rolls-Royces in Ladybird books, the Matchbox die-cast models, and of course I owned Dinky’s FAB 1 from Thunderbirds. Then one day my elder sister told me: 'There’s a new Rolls-Royce!' and cut out a picture from a newspaper for me. The Silver Shadow looked so different from a Silver Cloud, yet
