Silver Spirit was released in 1980 as a replacement for Silver Shadow. The development works on the model were even suspended in 1972. However, they resumed production later against all odds: the energy crisis could not stop the release of the brand’s new luxury car.
Source: Drom
The development of Silver Spirit began in the early 70s but was suspended due to financial difficulties and the global fuel crisis. The work was delayed until 1977, while the “new and exclusive” Camargue (the company’s marketing ploy) was produced in parallel with the Silver Shadow. However, the serial production of the new model resumed in 1980. The conservatism of the British luxury automaker was legendary: Rolls-Royce rarely changed the generations of its cars. For example, the new model’s direct ancestor – the Spirit Shadow, was produced for 15 years and enjoyed popularity. Therefore, it was decided to borrow almost everything from it. Thus, the new automobile appeared, was built, and modernized four times lasting nineteen years.
Source: Historics Auctioneers
The new automobile, which succeeded Silver Shadow in 1980, was created in the “image and likeness” of its predecessor. Introduced at the Paris auto show, it featured the same forms of the classic sedan as its predecessor, with the added gloss created by the Austrian design engineer Fritz Feller. The monumental front in the style of the exclusive Camargue was trendy. The car became longer and wider, the glazing area increased by 30%, and the ride and such features as stability, and security, were significantly improved, despite the new body being a little more spacious and heavier. The exterior was stylish and trendy for its time, emphasizing its owner’s status and financial state.
Interestingly, changes in the safety law made the company redesign the famous “Spirit of Ecstasy” figure so that, upon impact, it could hide in the radiator case. Interior trim was made in the best traditions of the brand – luxurious in every detail. Expensive leather seats provided incomparable comfort and the feeling of exclusivity. Later, the company introduced the ABS and the Bosch injection system into the model’s engine, which had previously been installed only on copies supplied to the USA. Despite the difficult situation of Rolls-Royce and the British economy in general in the early 80s, sales were going well. From 1980 to 1989, 8129 copies of the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit of the first series were produced.
Source: Supercars.net
Released in 1980, the model was introduced under the internal index SZ, including the Silver Spur sedan and their counterparts Bentley Mulsanne and Eight. All these cars featured a typical design that reflected the main trends of the early 80s, which was highly influenced by then-famous American automobiles of the luxury class. Despite its conservatism, the company allowed Fritz Feller to abandon the outdated exterior elements entirely and leave only the massive radiator grille. The double-round headlights were replaced by one-piece rectangular blocks, although the American modification was fitted with two pairs of rectangular headlights following legal requirements. The aluminum overhead valve V8 engine with a volume of 6750 cm3, with one lower camshaft and two SU carburetors, developed a “sufficient” power in the 200-250 hp range.
Source: IMCDb.org
According to the IMCDB, the first Silver Spirit of 1980 release was desirable in the 80s. This particular model has ten pages on the website! The Chinese especially loved it and shot this model in countless of their action films with unpronounceable names. The well-known films where the first model was shot were “The Jewel of the Nile” – the sequel to “Romancing the Stone”- the 1985 classic movie starring Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito.
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