Classic Car Classifieds > Rolls Royce Silver Wraith 4.5 Litre

The Silver Wraith was the first post-war Rolls-Royce. It was made from 1946 to 1958 as only a chassis at Rolls-Royce's former Merlin engine plant, their Crewe factory, alongside the shorter Bentley Mark VI. The Bentley was available as a chassis for bespoke coachwork but also could be bought with a standard steel body.

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, their Phantom, was not resumed until 1950 and then, officially, only for Heads of State.

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.