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Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith
(1946 - 1958)

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, 1949, #WDC35, H.J. Mulliner Sedanca de Ville. This Silver Wraith is listed in H.J. Mulliner's files with body no. 4914 and was built to design no. 7055.

In April 1946 the first post-war model from Rolls-Royce had been revealed to the public: the R-R Silver Wraith. Following their pre-war tradition of manufacturing a rolling-chassis only, Rolls-Royce delivered these cars to be bodied by independent coachbuilders. Some rationalization however was apparent because the sister model Bentley Mark VI incorporated into a 7 inches shorter frame the same major technical components. The Silver Wraith outlived the Mark VI and in fact survived until 1959 having been modernised step by step with vital improvements like automatic gearbox becoming an option in 1952 and power assisted steering in 1956. An engine bored out to 4,566 cc had been phased in in 1951 and in 1954 capacity was increased to 4,887 cc. The Silver Wraith was the last Rolls-Royce model to show a vast variety of coachwork styles.

R-R Silver Wraith, 1952, #LWOF35 This left hand drive H.J. Mulliner Limousine was originally delivered to Italy.

Technical Data:
6 cylinder in-line engine, bore x stroke 88.9 x 114.3 mm (3 1/2 x 4 1/2 in), capacity 4,257 cc (from 1951 bore x stroke 92.08 x 114.3 mm (3 5/8 x 4 1/2 in), capacity 4,566 cc; from 1954 bore x stroke 95.25 x 114.3 mm (3 3/4 x 4 1/2 in), capacity 4,887 cc); cast iron cylinder block, aluminium alloy cylinder head, Stromberg carburettor (from 1951 Zenith carburettor, from 1956 twin SU carburettors); single dry plate clutch; 4-speed gearbox (from 1952 4-speed automatic gearbox optional), hypoid bevel final drive, independent front suspension with coil springs, semi-elliptic springs rear; drum brakes servo-assisted; wheelbase 3,225.8 mm (127 in)(from 1951 wheelbase 3,378.2 mm (133 in); tyre size 6.50 x 17 (from 1951 tyre size 6.50 x 16, for export cars tyre size 7.50 x 16 optional, for long wheelbase cars standard);

R-R Silver Wraith, 1952, #LWOF35 A special coachbuilder's drawing how to attach shield and flag for use on formal occasions is available from the archive

No. made: