1988 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur

Description

Let's cut right to the heart of the matter: if you show up in this 1988 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur, you are well and truly The Man. Nobody will check the production date and nobody will care about anything other than the famous grille and Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. And with those features so prominently displayed, nobody will realize that they could own this A-list Roller for the price of a garden-variety Chevy Malibu.

Rolls-Royce is a company dictated by tradition, which was why styling changes so seldom. As a result, the cars always look big and impressive with a presence that no other manufacturer has ever been able to match. And clad in black, driving this car is like wearing an Armani suit everywhere you go. Fit and finish are, of course, extremely good with the paint showing a few signs of age but still worthy of the finest motorcar in the world. A black Everflex top (which is a very British way of saying "vinyl") adds an air of formality to the big Silver Spur and improves the already impressive levels of quiet inside. The chrome is of a quality that most motorists have never seen before, and even after several decades it shows a brilliant luster and depth that befits a car that originally cost more than an average American home. Euro-style headlights were one of the few visible signs that Rolls-Royce was adapting to changing styles and technology, but they look great flanking the German Silver grille.

Acres of tan leather are really the reason you buy a Rolls-Royce. No other car in the world can offer this one's combination of natural materials and meticulous hand assembly. The seats in particular look spectacular, with virtually zero wear on any of the seating surfaces, including the driver's. That's real burled walnut on the dash, a single piece of wood perfectly cut, polished, and varnished like a fine piece of furniture, and the carpets are wool, not some synthetic fiber. There's an impressive array of instrumentation and switchgear, all of it designed to be satisfying to the eye and the fingertip, and even though it was built in 1988, there's not much plastic outside of the Delco-sourced AM/FM/cassette stereo which is to be expected (Rolls-Royce wasn't in the radio-building business, after all). The rear compartment is as decadent as you'd expect, with limousine-like legroom and a full bar behind the front seats complete with crystal decanters and glasses. The massive boot is superbly finished and quite cavernous, so no need to pack light for road trips.

Rolls-Royce's "six-and-three-quarter" litre V8 is smooth and torquey, moving the big sedan with the fluid ease of a master butler. With appropriate maintenance, these are quite reliable machines and paired with a GM 3-speed automatic transmission, it's no more expensive to own and operate than any other luxury machine. Suspension, exhaust, brakes, and other mechanical components are all carefully engineered to be unobtrusive yet supremely competent and the hushed V8 tones of the exhaust system whisper with power and distinction. Subtle hubcaps and 235/70/15 Michelin whitewall radials belie the car's stature, but that's entirely the point-no need to show off, my good sir!

We won't tell anyone how affordable this Rolls-Royce is and you can merely let them speculate at the rich and famous who might be riding with you. Call today!