The Car That Saved Rolls-Royce - The Silver Spirit Story

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  • čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
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    / @rorymacve
    Hello again! :D
    Though often bemoaned for its somewhat bland exterior when compared to other Rolls-Royce and Bentley models, the SZ Range, which gave rise to the Silver Spur, Silver Spirit, Mulsanne, Turbo R, Brooklands and Eight, proved to be one of the most flexible car platforms in the company's history, forming the basis of dozens of offshoots either sold in quantity or created bespoke for individual clients, the car, when launched in 1980, being a breath of fresh air for not only Rolls-Royce itself, but the ailing Bentley brand, which was brought back from the brink of discontinuation after years of irrelevance when the sporting prowess of its heritage was injected into its many SZ-based cars.
    Chapters:
    0:00 - Preamble
    0:51 - Troubled Times
    3:37 - An Understated Entry
    6:24 - Sharp-Suited Luxury
    8:15 - Bring Back Bentley
    10:58 - A Car for Commerce
    12:24 - Going Turbo
    14:28 - The Continental Concept
    17:20 - Out of Hand and Out of Season
    21:33 - Conclusion
    Written permission allowing me to discuss the Silver Spirit and the Rolls-Royce brand has been generously granted by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, and I greatly appreciate their candour in presenting me the opportunity to discuss one of my personal favourite cars.
    All video content and images in this production have been provided with permission wherever possible. While I endeavour to ensure that all accreditations properly name the original creator, some of my sources do not list them as they are usually provided by other, unrelated CZcamsrs. Therefore, if I have mistakenly put the accreditation of 'Unknown', and you are aware of the original creator, please send me a personal message at my Gmail (this is more effective than comments as I am often unable to read all of them): rorymacveigh@gmail.com
    The views and opinions expressed in this video are my personal appraisal and are not the views and opinions of any of these individuals or bodies who have kindly supplied me with footage and images.
    If you enjoyed this video, why not leave a like, and consider subscribing for more great content coming soon.
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    Thanks again, everyone, and enjoy! :D
    References:
    - AROnline (and their respective sources)
    - Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit (and their respective sources)
    - Wikipedia (and its respective references)
  • Auta a dopravní prostředky

Komentáře • 80

  • @fredburley9512
    @fredburley9512 Před 4 dny +52

    Dated looks only in the minds of those swayed by fashions. Classic cars are timeless, sirrah.

    • @paulschneider9286
      @paulschneider9286 Před 2 dny

      I’ve never really been into RR and went off them when I saw all the Jimmy Saville footage with his and his. In terms of aesthetics, I can’t help but feel that from the mid 70s to the early 90s, the best looking ‘British’ cars were designed by Jaguar. Just more elegant, in my eyes 😅

    • @Mark-jz5ye
      @Mark-jz5ye Před 2 dny +1

      Over styled cars date badly. A good design will never date.

    • @dayalanvelan3070
      @dayalanvelan3070 Před 2 dny +1

      Absolutely agree. The shape is classic and timeless.

    • @nick2128
      @nick2128 Před 2 dny +1

      I think the 1st gen phantom that came out in the 2000s looks cheap now . That’s probably how they felt about the silver shadow, they weren’t a classic at that time .

  • @eroche913
    @eroche913 Před 3 dny +5

    The SZ is the quintessential RR for me. I recently drove a Spirit I and it was exactly the experience you'd want it to be.

  • @radudeATL
    @radudeATL Před 4 dny +18

    Love the car videos.

  • @UncleJoeLITE
    @UncleJoeLITE Před 4 dny +15

    The Bentley is my favourite 2 ton personal transport. Sure beats a Ranger/Hilux!

  • @igormac88
    @igormac88 Před dnem +1

    I think that the separation of Rolls-Royce and Bentley should have it's own episode to be thoroughly explained. It's such a corporate weirdness the way all things happened

  • @francisnewmarch6837
    @francisnewmarch6837 Před 4 dny +6

    Highly interesting film, superbly researched, composed and presented.
    Thanks and regards

  • @user-yc2oz8kc5k
    @user-yc2oz8kc5k Před 4 dny +4

    The Continental R 2 door is a total standout. Seen a few tooling around NYC.

  • @fhwolthuis
    @fhwolthuis Před 4 dny +6

    Beautiful documentary 😀

  • @loopwithers
    @loopwithers Před 4 dny +5

    A great video for research despite failing to mention the barge - like handling and alcoholic thirst which left them in the dust behind Merc and BMW

    • @ivanfernyhough3851
      @ivanfernyhough3851 Před 3 dny +3

      They're no where near as bad as you imagine.my silver spirit is far more economical than my v12 jaguar I had before it and regards handling,theyre actually pretty good for something that weights 2.25 tonnes.more than enough poke to keep up with modern traffic and besides that's not what they're for.the whole idea of a rolls royce is to waft majestically to ones destination not go hooking around corners and racing away from traffic lights.you leave that to those cheap ass mercs and bmws lol.😂

    • @archiegoodwinjr
      @archiegoodwinjr Před dnem

      @@ivanfernyhough3851 My uncle was so proud of his new Corniche that he urged me to drive it. I lived near a lake and the winding road (and my insanity) "upset" the car's poise. The Rolls was beautifully proportioned and detailed but I was used to tossing around my nimble BMW sedan. Then, encountering two Arnages in Hong Kong converted me instantly. The wide stance, subtle curves, mesh grill, diamond pattern upholstery, and tasteful colors (one in BRG and one in burgundy; both with biscuit interiors) made me realize these were on a different level than any other car. After the acrimonious takeover by German makes (and Piech's revenge), I must admit to becoming a fan of Rolls and not Bentley.

  • @warringtonminge4167
    @warringtonminge4167 Před dnem +1

    I watched this because I bought a Spur recently.
    Leaving aside the R-R prestige, reputation, image and aristocracy/celebridee image it is the most comfortable, smoothest quietest, least stress inducing drive i've had going back to being brought up on a diet of Jaguars and Silver Ghosts.
    And, little hint, it cost me less than 1/3rd (one third) of the base price of a "normal" 4-door family saloon.

    • @gulfstream7235
      @gulfstream7235 Před dnem +1

      And it will cost you the price of a four door saloon to fix it in the near future.

  • @darrensmith6999
    @darrensmith6999 Před 4 dny +4

    Superb video thank you.

  • @pcno2832
    @pcno2832 Před 4 dny +5

    7:57 I see the Silver Spirit still had crescent-shaped PRNDL window on the steering column that had all but disappeared from most other makes. After Cadillac was the first to move it to the instrument panel in the mid 1950s, the last U.S. model with it on the column was the 1989 Chrysler 5th Avenue. RR finally moved it to the dashboard for 1990, probably due to the bulk of the airbag, but a vestigial lump the same shape as the window remained on the steering column through 1993.
    PS: One other unusual feature of these cars was the wipers, which are retracted, with the motor reversing, when the switch is shut off, but are not hidden at all by the back edge of the hoo ..., eh, I mean bonnet.
    The only other cars I can name with that combination are GM's mid-sized FWD "A" body cars of the 1980s, though the previous generation RR might also have it; the wipers seem to park fairly low on those as well.

  • @shaheenal-asadi
    @shaheenal-asadi Před 4 dny +4

    Great Video as always, love the historic analysis of the design and engineering of such fine automobiles

  • @stephenberry1205
    @stephenberry1205 Před 2 dny +1

    Hooper Coachbuilders offered 2 door conversions of both the Silver Spirit and Bentley, plus their 40 inch longer Emperor Limousine.

  • @Rom3_29
    @Rom3_29 Před 2 dny +1

    Nice cars and used one go above $30,000. Biggest headache is the mineral oil leaks.

  • @ladderman2255
    @ladderman2255 Před 3 dny +2

    YOU GOT A NEW MIC!! Fantastic :))
    Massive massive improvement

  • @00Zy99
    @00Zy99 Před 4 dny +9

    Congratulations on being acknowledged by RR itself!
    And a good job with the vid. Its one of my favorites too. I just love the understated styling. An especial thanks for talking about my favorite limos (though I could listen to you talk for a couple hours about them). It would have also been nice to see the Brunei specials discussed a bit, but then the algorithm would have been unhappy with the runtime, and they really do deserve an episode of their own (if enough information could be found).

  • @nlpnt
    @nlpnt Před 14 hodinami +1

    I wouldn't think RR would've been that affected by the oil crunch - anyone who could afford a new Rolls could afford to have an assistant line it up for fuel. If anything you'd think it would've boosted their sales in the Middle East.

  • @scofab
    @scofab Před 3 dny +3

    Fascinating as always, thank you again.

  • @nlpnt
    @nlpnt Před 14 hodinami

    The resemblance to the '77 GM B bodies and '79 Ford Panthers meant that what was on the face of it (and in its' home market) a *very* in-your-face display of wealth, had the understatement Americans expected from British ultra-luxury goods in context of our streets filled with Chevy Caprices and Ford LTDs.

  • @aerotube7291
    @aerotube7291 Před 3 dny +3

    Great vid!

  • @john1703
    @john1703 Před 3 dny +3

    For me, you cannot beat the style of a Silver Shadow Corniche. See the Bond film OHMSS (the DBS was good too).

  • @hs1296
    @hs1296 Před 4 dny +2

    What a splendid looking car! And the old cressida / crown had similar rear ends too lol. Timeless designs. Thanks for the great video!

  • @Mr_Spliffy
    @Mr_Spliffy Před 3 dny +2

    Another great quality presentation

  • @russellhammond4373
    @russellhammond4373 Před 2 dny +1

    Great video. Loved it.

  • @TheHylianBatman
    @TheHylianBatman Před 3 dny +1

    I love British luxury cars, so it's always a treat to see them here!
    Thank you, sir!

  • @pdsnpsnldlqnop3330
    @pdsnpsnldlqnop3330 Před 4 dny +9

    At Pressed Steel the Montegos and Maestros would get their panels to be made, fitting perfectly. Meanwhile, for Rolls Royce, an army of men with hammers would have to bash the pressings into shape.

  • @user-kw5qv6zl5e
    @user-kw5qv6zl5e Před 4 dny +7

    Back ends look like Toyota Cresida

  • @chuckselvage3157
    @chuckselvage3157 Před 3 dny +1

    The Continental R Turbo is a beast. 0-100 k in under 5 secs.😲

  • @captiannemo1587
    @captiannemo1587 Před 23 hodinami

    Even then the RB-211 almost didn’t make it… it took hauling in retired RR engineers to pull it off.

  • @runoflife87
    @runoflife87 Před 4 dny +3

    Well, sofar most of those cars suffered from major quality issues, they couldn't reach MB or even BMW cult level.

  • @ckyliu
    @ckyliu Před 3 dny +1

    The marques were NOT split; VW got everything apart from the Rolls Royce name (factory, IP, staff). BMW got rights to the name as RR Aero were wooing BMW into the BR715 turbofan project, plus rights to continue building cars for a few years based on what was now Bentley tech.

    • @john1703
      @john1703 Před 3 dny +3

      Yes, VW got the whole Crewe factory. The thorn in the side was that the Silver Seraph used a BMW V12 engine, and the Arnage used a BMW V8. The Bentley had to be revised to re-use the old RR V8. BMW had to build a whole new factory, for completely new cars.

  • @_knotgood_1371
    @_knotgood_1371 Před 12 hodinami

    “Credit _ Own Work”…Just appreciating ❤

  • @brad4057
    @brad4057 Před 4 dny +9

    RR RB211, there's a good idea for a video

  • @andyd747
    @andyd747 Před dnem +1

    Silver shadow saved them

  • @michaelpielorz9283
    @michaelpielorz9283 Před 2 dny

    Hmm, it was the first Volks-Royce?

  • @RedArrow73
    @RedArrow73 Před 4 dny

    Maybe, "Badge-Swapped"?

  • @RedArrow73
    @RedArrow73 Před 4 dny +1

    Reference-Grade content again from Rory.

  • @rovercoupe7104
    @rovercoupe7104 Před 4 dny

    Why not mention the XJ? M

  • @Bod8998
    @Bod8998 Před 4 dny

    Love rollers specially from the shadow to the 80s new ones not interested in.the American look is crap in my opinion with twin headlights same with the XJS and mercs

  • @anthonyg638
    @anthonyg638 Před 4 dny +2

    Not one of their better efforts. Looks like it was designed by Lego .....

  • @Mancozeb100
    @Mancozeb100 Před 4 dny +2

    Front just looks like a Mk1 Granada with a Rolls grille ! A bit like the Allegro with the Vanden Plas grille! Was horrified when I saw it first. Camargue design always looked awkward. Not that I was ever going to be buying one !

  • @johnwolffe8473
    @johnwolffe8473 Před 4 dny

    Lots of crappy footage in this episode

    • @josephwhyman9515
      @josephwhyman9515 Před 4 dny +11

      It’s circa 40 plus years old what do you expect 😂

    • @jeffreyhunt1727
      @jeffreyhunt1727 Před 3 dny +1

      If you borrow a time machine maybe you can go back to the 1980s and shoot some better video for us

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    @aaron___6014 Před 15 hodinami

    Are you using an AI voice?

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