If you want the best luxury car in the world, it’s either a Rolls-Royce or a Bentley. If you’re the sort who enjoys being driven, Rolls-Royce is your port of call with their excellent vehicles such as this 1972 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow from Utah that we have for sale today. The Silver Shadow ran between 1965 and 1980 across two generations as the brand’s full-size saloon and convertible. With 105,000 miles on the clock, this example has seen some use but it’s evident from the photos that it’s been well looked after, the current owner reportedly purchased it from a Ferrari dealership.

Exterior and Interior

Identifiable as no other, a Rolls-Royce is always striking from the first appearance. The iconic ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’ hood mascot stands proudly atop the majestic chrome radiator grille, whilst four headlamps stare you down. As it glides by, you get a sense of opulence and charm that’s almost nautical, and as it departs, the clean lines of the rear flanked by the tail lamps and turn indicators leave you in no doubt as to its parentage. This 1972 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow wears all those cues in a brown and tan two-tone paint job with wheel rims sporting chrome hubcaps with a brown accent. Whitewall tires complete the look of elegance and charm. Venture aboard and it’s more elegance and charm with an inviting tan-colored interior that sports wood accents too. Just gaze upon that generous rear space and those seats that you could just fall asleep in, with their stowed footrests in the front seatbacks. In the meantime, the driver gets comprehensive instrumentation upfront and actuates the automatic gearbox via a steering column-mounted lever. This car sports power windows and mirrors, as well as air conditioning to keep all occupants at optimal operating temperature. The sound system has seen a modern upgrade in the shape of an Alpine single-DIN unit with CD player and Bluetooth compatibility as well. Look further down the center console and you can find the original push-button radio remains installed for that added bit of originality.

Engine

A Rolls-Royce must glide as smoothly and softly as a cloud, but not appear to strain or struggle. Thus, the manufacturer ensured to fit suitably large displacement V8 engines to its cars, and continues to this day, with V8 and V12 powerplants. This 1972 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow is driven by the brand’s long-serving 6.75L L410 V8 that is rated to put out just 189hp and drives the rear wheels via a GM Turbo-Hydramatic THM400 automatic gearbox. Don’t let that low power output fool you, as these engines are more focused on low-end torque for effortless drives. Anyway, this car is not meant to burn rubber and light up dragstrips. Disc brakes and independent rear suspension with hydraulic self-leveling suspension are the stopping and handling innovations that this car came with.