09/09/2026
1980 Silver Wraith II
Four extra inches in the wheelbase, incorporated into the rear-door area, set this long-wheelbase Rolls-Royce apart from the standard Silver Shadow II. The increase was nearly invisible from outside, while a smaller, limousine-style rear window and standard Everflex vinyl roof marked it as the more formal of the two, built for owners who preferred to be driven rather than drive.
Rolls-Royce's in-house coachbuilder, H. J. Mulliner, Park Ward, built the longer body by cutting a standard Shadow II body shell and welding in the extra length; a separate long-wheelbase chassis was never developed for the range. The car launched alongside the Shadow II in 1977, inheriting that year's power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering, improved air conditioning, and revised instrumentation.
Power came from the same 6.75-liter V8 used across the Shadow II range (enlarged from 6.2 liters in 1970), paired with a GM-sourced 3-speed automatic and Rolls-Royce's self-leveling hydraulic suspension. A Silver Wraith II without a division listed at £26,887 when new, about 18 percent above a standard Silver Shadow.
Rolls-Royce built 2,135 Silver Wraith IIs between 1977 and 1980, when the Silver Spur succeeded it as the long-wheelbase flagship. Throughout its run it remained the most formal car in the lineup, favored for chauffeur-driven and official duty over private motoring.
