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ALL THE MAJOR MODELS ILLUSTRATED
Part 3: 1980 to 2002
Silver Spirit, Bentley Mulsanne, 1980-1997
The
Silver Spirit was a straightforward facelift
and update of the proven Silver Shadow platform. It was a little lower, a little
wider and a little longer, and just as strongly built. The technical updates were
incorporated into the Corniche models which were still being built, and which
continued in production into the 1990s. The Spirit and the equivalent Bentley
Mulsanne came in a bewildering variety of models during their 17-year
production run. Most radical was the Bentley Mulsanne Turbo, with a 50%
increase in power. This evolved into the Turbo R
(R for Roadholding), and the RT (T for Transient, a system which allowed the turbocharger
to exceed its normal pressures for short bursts under heavy accelleration. The
Turbo R is now a cult car, a Rolls-Royce with attitude.
A handful of R-R owners objected to having the doors sucked off their Silver Spirits and Silver Spurs by overtaking Bentley Turbos, so some 50 Rolls-Royce Flying Spurs were built, essentially long-wheelbase Silver Spirits with the full Bentley Turbo engineering. These were the fastest production Rolls-Royces ever, good for 145 mph. An even longer wheelbase Spirit, with raised roof, division, and jump seats, replaced the big Phantoms, and was called the Touring Limousine.
Towards the end of the model run, most cars were long wheelbase variants. All later cars were turbocharged, the Rolls-Royces with "light pressure" turbos intended to give a modest increase in bhp but a substantial lift in torque. The new Bentley Continental coupe and Azure convertible was introduced, successors to the former Corniche and Camargue models, but neither were offered as Rolls-Royces. The Company was rebuilding the Bentley brand: the R-R was stately, the Bentley fast.
Click to enlarge
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| Rectangular
headlights and squarer lines marked new Silver Spirit. 6.75 litre alloy
V8 continued from Shadow series. | Bentley
equivalent, the Mulsanne, had traditional Bentley grille, rectangular lights.
After 1985 came 7 inch circular headlights | This
is a late Turbo R. Painted radiator shell is a clue, but many non-Turbos
had them too. | Bentley
Continental R (1988-2004) was the successor to the Corniche two-soor saloon;
Bentley marque only. |
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| Bentley
Azure replaced Rolls-Royce Corniche convertible. Also only a Bentley
| Bentley
Brooklands replaced the Mulsanne as the non-turbo model |
The Silver
Spur had a longer wheelbase for more rear legroom. A chauffer division was
optional. | Park
Ward built these large limousine versions with division and jump seats, called
the Touring Limousine. |
Five Variations: The Phantoms 5 and 6, the Camargue, and the Royal Bentley
The Phantoms 5 and 6 were entirely coachbuilt parade limousines, and between them overlapped the Silver Cloud, Silver Shadow and Silver Spirit eras. They were built on a substantially longer and slightly wider Silver Cloud chassis, and the front styling was similar to the contemporary Clouds. The Camargue was a flagship luxury coupe styled by Pininfarina and built in very small numbers at a very high price. The Phantom 5 was introduced in 1959 to replace both the Silver Wraith and the Phantom 4. The Phantom 6 came in 1968, after the introduction of the Silver Shadow, but continued to use the older Cloud-based separate chassis and running gear. It was finally discontinued in the late 1980s. The Camargue was introduced in 1975 and ceased in 1985.
For the Queen's 50th anniversary, a new hand built processional limousine was constructed by Park Ward, the first Royal Bentley. It was used for the opening of the Manchester Games. It was based on a lengthened and widened Arnage platform, and powered by a Zetec-developed edition of the familiar 6.75 litre V8.
Click to enlarge
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| The
Camargue Coupe, basically Silver Shadow underpinnings. Fewer than 600 built. |
Phantom
5, 6.23 litres, 8 seats, Park Ward body; Cloud 2 underpinnings. |
Phantom
6, Mulliner Park Ward body. Replaced by Silver Spirit based Touring Limousine |
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| Phantom
5 by James Young. Very elegant, rare, much sought after. |
The
Royal Bentley was handbuilt for H M the Queen 50th anniversary |
This is
actually a "clay" buck, but until you try to open the door, you can't
tell! |
The Silver Seraph 1997-2002 and Bentley Arnage 1997 -
These two complementary models were the last 4-door saloons to be offered by Rolls-Royce while R-R and Bentley were still one manufacturer. Since 2003, Rolls-Royce and Bentley are separate companies making quite different vehicles. The Seraph / Arnage was a new design, and for the first time came with engines of non R-R manufacture, both being fitted with BMW power units. The Azure and Continental R continued using the familiar 6.75 litre Rolls-Royce / Bentley V8. They were joined in 2002 by a small batch of Rolls-Royce Corniche convertibles developed from the Azure, very collectible and known as the End-of-Line model.
A long-wheelbase version of the R-R, the Silver Seraph Park Ward, and the Bentley equivalent the Arnage Mulliner, were also offered. The Rolls-Royce version was discontinued at the end of 2002. To keep their presence in the top end of the limousine market in the face of the forthcoming Rolls-Royce Phantom, Bentley also offered a very long wheelbase version of the Arnage Mulliner Limousine, with division, jump seats and all the goodies. This was the successor to the Silver Spirit Touring Limousine, but was not available as a Rolls-Royce.
Officially, the last Rolls-Royce built at the Crewe factory was a Corniche. After the R-R brand ceased production at Crewe, the Bentley Arnage continued, with an additional "red label" model using the trusty twin turbocharged 6.75 litre V8. There is now also a much longer wheelbase Touring Limousine version of the Arnage.
Click to enlarge
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| The
Silver Seraph, last Rolls-Royce 4-dr sedan to come from the former R-R factory
at Crewe. | The
Bentley Arnage is still in production at Crewe. This is the 6.75 litre
V8 twin-turbo Red Label model |
Adapted
from the Bentley Azure shell, the Last of Line Rolls-Royce Corniche
used the 6.75 engine. |
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| The
long-wheelbase Silver Seraph Park Ward and Bentley Arnage Mulliner Limousine
replaced the Silver Spur | A
stretched version of the Arnage Mulliner Limousine is also available. One was
on show at the 2004 RREC Rally. |
Interior
of the stretched car is characteristically sumptuous. There was no Rolls-Royce
equivalent of this model |
