Vintage Luxury: A Closer Look at the 1960 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Saloon

Rolls-Royce made a strategic shift toward V8 power as the 1960s approached. This was done in reaction to the increasing rivalry from speedier competitors as well as the inevitable obsolescence of its old six-cylinder engine. Rolls-Royce, which is based in Crewe, naturally looked to American designs, particularly those from Chrysler and Cadillac, for inspiration because of the V8’s popularity in the United States, which is the company’s most important export market.

 

Both the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II and the Bentley S2 were introduced in the autumn of 1959, and both vehicles maintained an exterior appearance that was identical to that of their predecessors, the ‘Cloud and the S-Type. The performance of the pair, on the other hand, was significantly improved after the introduction of the brand-new aluminum-alloy V8 engine with a displacement of 6,230cc.

 

Although it was wider and shorter than the’six’ that was replaced, the new power unit was able to incorporate itself into the engine compartment without any noticeable disruptions. This is because the Silver Cloud was initially intended to accept a V8 engine.

On the outside, the new models maintained an essentially identical appearance. On the inside, however, Rolls-Royce’s proprietary four-speed automatic transmission became the only available choice, and power steering was finally included as a standard feature.

Both the Silver Cloud II and the Bentley S2 continued to be manufactured until the autumn of 1962, during which time they achieved tremendous success on a global scale as well as in the United States.

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