Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit / Silver Spur

Probably the best selling Rolls-Royce after the Silver Shadow, the Silver Spirit is undoubtedly a car that was most commonly used by royals in Malaysia in the 80s and 90s. It was always the automobile of choice whenever they attend functions as it oozed class when parked as well as when on the move. The Silver Spirit was produced between the years 1980 – 1999 and there were about 20,000 units built during that period. There was also a long wheel base version of the Silver Spirit which was known as the Silver Spur. A notable feature of the Silver Spirit was that it had rectangular headlamps and it was a first for Rolls-Royce. It was also the first model to feature the retractable ‘Spirit of Ecstasy’.

At the time when the Silver Spirits were produced, Rolls-Royce and Bentley still belonged to the same parent company as Bentley. I had a write-up on this is one of my earlier posts titled ‘The difference between a classic Rolls-Royce and a classic Bentley’. The similar platform was used by Bentley to produce their models in the same era which included the Bentley Eight, Mulsanne as well as the Bentley Turbo models. Of course, the differences were only cosmetic and naturally they were carrying different badges. 

The super-luxurious interior

All models were powered by the 6.75 litre V8 engine and being a huge car it certainly needed a big heart to move it from one place to another. Over the years they had done some facelifts to update the car as well as introduce new suspension systems, the introduction of ABS as well as fuel-injecting the later models. The initial models were twin-carburetor powered. And coming to the transmission, the earlier models has a 3-speed automatic gearbox mated to the enormous 6.75 litre V8 but in the 90s, a 4-speed automatic was adopted which personally I think was a good move.

Below is the long wheel base Rolls-Royce Silver Spur which happens to be a very rare model. It was spotted at one of my visits to a friend of mine. It wasn’t really in fantastic condition but it was a Silver Spur. It’s really a stunner if you like big cars like me. Buying one in Malaysia is not too expensive and it’ll cost you about RM 80,000 onwards for a good example but maintaining it with the road tax and general maintenance of course is not that cheap. The full road tax for this model is almost RM 20,000 per year unless of course your car is more than 25 years old and you’ll be eligible for the 80% discount of which the road tax will be RM 4,000. It’s a lot of difference but it’s still a lot of money!! But sitting in one will definitely make u feel like a king.. haha..

Below is a video of a 1989 UK Rolls Royce Silver Spirit

Classic Jaguar S-Type

Well, July has already come and we are at the 3^rd quarter of the year already and before I forget, Happy Fourth of July to our readers in the United States of America and thanks for your support. As the first write-up for the month, I will feature another rare Jaguar. A rather interesting Jaguar that I came across recently was a Jaguar S-Type. This S-Type is not to be mistaken with the new Jaguar S-Type. This S-Type was built from 1963 – 1968 and there were about 35,000 units built of which they came in two engine variations which were the 3.4 litre and the 3.8 litre. They were both inline 6 cylinder engines and they were similar to those in the Jaguar Mark 2.

The S-Type was a car caught between the two worlds of the Jaguar Mk 2 and the Jaguar Mk 10 of which I’ve done write-ups on previously. For those of you who know the Jaguar Mark 10, the S-Type will definitely look very familiar as it’s basic shape and design is similar to the Mark 10 but with a front similar to a Mark 2. The design of the two tailpipes were also similar to that of the Mark 10. Even the interior layout was similar to that of both the Mark 2 as well as the Mark 10. Just have a look at the photos and you would know what I mean.

A very rare car (at least in Malaysia), the S-Type is not an easy car to spot here in Malaysia. It is almost as rare as the Mark 10 when compared to the Mark 2 which you can still find quite a number running off and on. And of course when I came across this S-Type it certainly attracted me as Jaguars are rare and finding a S-Type in good condition is even rarer. I’m sure if you are a Jaguar person you would know what I mean. The car had an air-condition unit as well as a radio added on but other than that it was a very very original car with a beautiful interior. Below are shots of the car I was mentioning and below I’ve attached a video for you to have a good look at the S-Type. Do enjoy.

A brief walk with the Jaguar S-Type below

Classic Ford Mustang

A little away from our usual British and German automobile write-ups, today we are a looking at probably the most iconic American sports car to come out, the Ford Mustang. Trust me, even if you were to ask a kid, chances are he/she knows a Ford Mustang. It’s been the dream of many around the world to own the Ford Mustang. The Mustangs have been attracting attention right from the start of it’s production which was in 1964. There were five generations of the Ford Mustang from 1964 up to the present time and the sixth generation is due to be launched next year but the most iconic generation was definitely the first generation. The Mustang models came in hard-top coupes (below), fastbacks (above) and convertibles (below).

Hard-top Coupe

Convertible

The launch of the Ford Mustang created a generation where other American automobile manufacturers such as Chevrolet and Pontiac too started building cars of similar level of which they were eventually known as ‘American Muscle Cars’ or just simply ‘Muscle Cars’. Chevrolet created the Camaro and Pontiac on the other hand created their Firebird and later the Trans Am. All these cars were FR cars, meaning front engine rear wheel drive. I’m going to be emphasising more on the first generation cars as they were my favourite and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Eleanor

Of all the years, the most notable model was the ’67 Mustang. It shot to fame in the movie ‘Gone is 60 seconds’ which starred Nicholas Cage and the car was nicknamed ‘Eleanor’(pic above). The particular model used was a Shelby model known as the Shelby GT500. Here in Malaysia there are actually quite a number of Mustangs that have been brought in. I’ve personally got close to a Shelby GT 500 ‘Super Snake’ which was just brought in to Malaysia. It was certainly a sight to see the car in person of which I also got the opportunity to sit in it. The pics below are of a ’67 Mustang fastback with a Cobra engine. And the best part is, it’s for sale. Do contact me on the ‘Contact Us’ page... So that’s all from me for today as I’m having a slight cold so obviously concentration is a problem. Haha.. Anyway, enjoy the pics and the video below.

Here I leave you with an ‘Eleanor’ excerpt from ‘Gone in 60 seconds’

Fiat Coupe

Well, here’s another Italian automobile that I’ll be writing about, the Fiat Coupe. Recently I posted an update about a Fiat Coupe for sale and I decided why not write about this car which I was not very impressed with at first. It was produced by Fiat from 1993 to 2000 and there were about 70,000 units built. Being a unique car with it’s angular designs which one would not mistake even when seen from a distance, it’s exterior design was surprisingly not by Pininfarina. This time they were only confined to design the interior of the car.

Looking at the shape itself will somewhat tell you that this car is a fast car. There were a few engine variations available. There were three 4 cylinder engine variants available of which they were the 1.8 litre 16 valve, 2.0 litre 16 valve and the 2.0 litre 16 valve Turbo. There were two 5 cylinder engines available which were the 2.0 litre 20 valve and the 2.0 litre 20 valve Turbo.

The turbo versions came with a limited-slip differential (LSD). I’ve personally driven the 2.0 litre 20 valve Turbo and I must say it was pretty impressive. This very original car came with a 6 speed manual gearbox and being a very well maintained car it felt great. It also came with push start button to start the car. The 20 valve Turbo as it is popularly known has an impressive figure of 220 bhp and it does 0-100 km/h in 6.3 seconds which is not bad for a 2.0 litre car. 

After all that, I must say that I’m hooked onto the 6 speed manual as most people who know me would certainly be surprised knowing that I’m more of an automatic cruiser, if you know what I mean.. haha.. If you are looking for one, do not hesitate to look up our ‘Cars for sale’ page to check this car out. The car has been maintained by a car enthusiast and is also in very original condition, trust me on that. You’ll probably not find one as original and well taken care off as that.