The Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph was a

large Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms ( ...

luxury automobile A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars. The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the ...

produced by

Rolls-Royce Motors Rolls-Royce Motors was a British luxury car manufacturer, created in 1973 during the de-merger of the Rolls-Royce automotive business from the nationalised Rolls-Royce Limited. It produced luxury cars under the Rolls-Royce and Bentley brands. ...

from 1998 to 2002. First unveiled on 3 March 1998 at the Geneva Motor Show, it replaced the Silver Spirit, which ended production in 1997. Silver Seraph production was discontinued when the licence to use the Rolls-Royce marque was sold to BMW, which began manufacture of an unrelated line of vehicles under a new corporation,

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is a British luxury automobile maker which has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW AG since 2003 – as the exclusive manufacturer of ''Rolls-Royce''-branded motor cars. The company's administrative ...

Development

Development of the Silver Seraph began in the late 1980s, with design work commencing in October 1990. By April 1991, the conceptual design was frozen and approved by the management in June 1991. After several refinements were made, the definitive design was reached in 1994. On 28 July 1995 design patents were filed for both the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph and

Bentley Arnage The Bentley Arnage is a full-size luxury car manufactured and marketed by Bentley Motors in Crewe, England, from 1998 to 2009. The Arnage and its Rolls-Royce-branded sibling, the Silver Seraph, were introduced in the spring of 1998. They wer ...

utilizing production design prototypes as representations. Development concluded after nearly a decade in late 1997, with pilot production models being produced into early 1998 bearing R396 DTU registration plates. The Silver Seraph was launched at the 1998 Geneva Motor Show.

Description

Aside from the radiator grille, badges and wheels, the Seraph was externally identical to the contemporary

, sharing both its platform and body shell. It was powered by the

BMW M73 The BMW M73 is a naturally-aspirated, SOHC, V12 petrol engine which replaced the BMW M70 and was produced from 1993 to 2002. It was used in the BMW E38 7 Series, E31 8 Series and Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph. Design Compared with its M70 prede ...

engine, a 5.4L aluminium alloy

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The f ...

coupled to a 5-speed

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving ...

, making it the first twelve-cylinder Rolls-Royce since the 1939 Phantom III. The car conforms to the

Euro III emission standards The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a seri ...

. The body was 65 percent stiffer than that of its predecessor. Standard electronics included digital engine management, adaptive ride control and anti-lock brakes. The exterior was available in one and two-tone finishes. Inside, the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph and the Bentley Arnage were similar yet distinct. The Seraph's gear selector was column-mounted, and gauges followed a traditional Rolls-Royce layout. In both cars, the seats and dashboard were upholstered in

Connolly Leather Connolly Leather Limited was a British company that supplied highly finished leather primarily to car manufacturers. Founded in 1878, it went out of business in that form in 2002. A successor firm, Connolly Brothers, UK, has resumed producing ...

, with dashboard trim and folding picnic trays for rear passengers faced with glossy burl

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

veneer. The Seraph was known for its relatively limited acceleration and comfortable handling, in comparison to the Arnage, which had a twin turbocharged V8 of its own design and firmer suspension. However, the Seraph still had a top speed of . The RAC gave the car a rating of 7.6/10, stating "The Silver Seraph marks a new start for Rolls-Royce in their quest to once more be recognised as manufacturers of the world's best cars. And it's quite a credible effort.

Production

All Seraphs were hand-built at the

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

factory in Crewe,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The car had a base price of £155,175 in the UK and $220,695 in the US. It was second in cost and exclusivity only to the

Rolls-Royce Corniche The Rolls-Royce Corniche is a two-door, front-engine, rear wheel drive luxury car produced by Rolls-Royce Motors as a hardtop coupé (from 1971 to 1980) and as a convertible (from 1971 to 1995). The Corniche was a development of the Mulliner ...

, though it was the cheapest Rolls-Royce ''per se'' after the discontinuation of the Silver Spur. A total of 1,570 Silver Seraphs were produced before manufacture ceased in 2002.

Park Ward model

An extended wheelbase 5-passenger version of the Silver Seraph called the Park Ward debuted at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show. Introduced for the 2001 model year, it had added to the size of the doors (mostly the rear), resulting in more leg room for passengers. Rolls-Royce initially planned to build 200 of the model. However, it was discontinued after 2002, with a total of 127 having been produced. It was the last model to use the Park Ward label.

Gallery

File:DTW LITC 067 gen98.jpg, Press presentation, Geneva 1998 File:Rolls Royce Silver Seraph.jpg, Silver Seraph quarter front view File:RR Silver Seraph.jpg, Silver Seraph quarter rear view File:Rr silver seraph interior.jpg, Interior

References

External links

Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph

Silver Seraph Reviews
{{Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph Full-size vehicles Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sedans 2000s cars Cars introduced in 1998 Limousines