Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I cars in South Africa (1955 to 1959)
The April 1955 launch of the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and Bentley S series marked yet another important change in the company’s strategy. For the first time the two cars were, apart from the radiator, the exact same machines. The new Silver Cloud was henceforth to be seen as the equal, in performance terms, of what had once been the “silent sports car”, while the image of the Bentley was now seen as matching that of Rolls-Royce.
In an October 1955 road test The Auto Car summed it up beautifully; “When a model is offered at such a high price the smallest detail that is not of the very highest standard must be criticized. The Bentley was all the more impressive, therefore, for proving to be remarkably free from the minor defects that are frequently overlooked by even the most thorough manufacturers. The latest Bentley model offers a degree of safety, comfort and performance that is beyond the experience and perhaps even the imagination of the majority of the world’s motorists”
The Autocar added; “The interior is utterly silent at 100mph when the windows are closed. One is conscious of the speed only by watching the speedometer or the rapid approach of the horizon, the occupants of the car conversing in drawing-room tones, marveling at the almost eerie silence”
1956 Silver Cloud I Chassis no: SBC28
1957/58 Silver Cloud I Chassis no: SFE203
1957/58 Silver Cloud I Chassis no: SFE331
1958 Silver Cloud I Chassis no: SGE358 First owner: Delivered in May 1958 to Sydney Press/United Purchasing Co. South Africa
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