Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit / Silver Spur History

The Silver Spirit replaced the Silver Shadow in 1980 with crisper, more angular styling but the same underlying engineering — the 6.75-litre L410 V8 and a GM-sourced automatic. The long-wheelbase version was sold as the Silver Spur, the platform also spawning the Bentley Mulsanne.

It was the first Rolls-Royce with a retractable Spirit of Ecstasy mascot, which sinks into the radiator shell if disturbed. The Silver Spirit ran through 1997 and the Silver Spur through 2000, the line ultimately replaced by the BMW-powered Silver Seraph and the Bentley Arnage.