Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud

Royalty and rock stars alike loved the last and best of the great traditional Rolls-Royces. Now you can sample the same high life for as little as £20k

Hailing from a time when Britain wanted to forget about austerity, the Silver Cloud also represents the era when Rolls-Royce (and everyone else) believed that it built the best cars in the world. The really rich lapped them up. In fact, it’s hard to buy a Silver Cloud or Bentley S- Series that hasn’t got some celebrity or dignitary’s name in the logbook, be it John Lennon, Peter Sellers, Elton John or all manner of Lords, Earls and Viscounts.

It was barely developed over its decade of production, but the truth is, Rolls-Royce was simply too busy building them at the previously unheard-of level of more than 30 examples a week.

What’s more, the Cloud’s image was never tarnished in the same way as the later Silver Shadow’s, too many of which fell into the hands of medallion-sporting slum landlords, bookmakers and Arthur Daley-esque ne’er-do-wells. Silver Clouds and their Bentley-grilled ( but otherwise identical) compatriots maintained the sort of decorum that puts other road users in their place and makes car park attendants stand briskly to attention. Although a Cloud is extremely forgiving of minimal maintenance, keeping one in tip-top condition – and in doing so securing its value in the long-run – requires generous regular maintenance. All the more reason, then, to buy a good one to start with, and not begin your relationship by spending money that previous owners should, by rights, have spent. Here’s what to look for.

‘It maintains the sort of decorum that puts others in their place’