Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith
1955 Silver Wraith, body by Hooper & Co
Overview
Manufacturer	Rolls-Royce Ltd
Production	1946–1958 1.883 produced (incl. 639 LWB cars)
Assembly	United Kingdom: Crewe, Cheshire, England
Body and chassis
Class	Full-size luxury car (F)
Body style	Mostly 4-door saloons, but other body styles were erected on this chassis.
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Related	Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn
Powertrain
Engine	4.3 L (260 cu in) I6 (1946–1951) 4.6 L (280 cu in) I6 (1951–1955) 4.9 L (300 cu in) I6 (1955–1958)
Transmission	4-speed manual with synchromesh 4-speed Hydramatic automatic optional from 1952
Dimensions
Wheelbase	3225.8 mm (127 in) (1946–1953) 3378.2 mm (133 in) (1951–1958)
Chronology
Predecessor	Rolls-Royce Wraith (1938)
Successor	Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II LWB

The Silver Wraith was the first post-war Rolls-Royce. It was made from 1946 to 1958 as only a chassis at the company's Crewe factory, its former Merlin engine plant, alongside the shorter Bentley Mark VI. The Bentley was also available as a chassis for coachbuilders, but for the first time could be bought with a Rolls-Royce built Standard Steel body. The use of the name "wraith" coincided with the established tradition of naming models after "ghosts".

It was announced by Rolls-Royce in April 1946 as the 25/30 hp replacement for the 1939 Wraith in what had been their 20 hp and 20/25 hp market sector, that is to say Rolls-Royce's smaller car. The size was chosen to be in keeping with the mood of post-war austerity. Even very limited production of the chassis of the larger car, the Phantom IV, was not resumed until 1950 and then, officially, only for Heads of State.^[1]

Improvements announced were: chromium-plated cylinder bores for the engine; a new more rigid chassis frame to go with new independent front suspension; and a new synchromesh gearbox. Chassis lubrication was now centralised.^[2]