![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Rolls-Royce_Silver_Wraith_1955.jpg/640px-Rolls-Royce_Silver_Wraith_1955.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith
Motor vehicle / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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".
Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith | |
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![]() 1955 Silver Wraith, body by Hooper & Co | |
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Rolls-Royce Ltd |
Production | 1946–1958 1883 produced (incl. 639 LWB cars) |
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 (1946–51) 4.6 L (280 cu in) I6 (1951–55) 4.9 L (300 cu in) I6 (1955–58) |
Transmission |
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Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 3225.8 mm (127 in) (1946–53) 3378.2 mm (133 in) (1951–58) |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Rolls-Royce Wraith (1938) |
Successor | Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II LWB |
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/1956_Rolls-Royce_Silver_Wraith_Touring_Limousine_%28H.J._Mulliner%29_%2815608899086%29.jpg/640px-1956_Rolls-Royce_Silver_Wraith_Touring_Limousine_%28H.J._Mulliner%29_%2815608899086%29.jpg)
touring limousine by H J Mulliner
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/1956_Rolls-Royce_Silver_Wraith_Touring_Limousine_%28H.J._Mulliner%29_%2815629885401%29.jpg/640px-1956_Rolls-Royce_Silver_Wraith_Touring_Limousine_%28H.J._Mulliner%29_%2815629885401%29.jpg)
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]