In Rolls-Royce’s pre-BMW days, every car was a story of evolution rather than revolution. If you wanted the finest car in the world, then what you got was a concept that had been continually refined and evolved rather than a car that would set the world on fire.

The Silver Spirit was a case in point. Launched in late 1980, its angular styling, square headlamps and flat, slab-sided appearance were an entirely new direction for Rolls-Royce, bringing the brand kicking and screaming into a dynamic new decade. Yet beneath the sharp new suit, the Spirit was largely based on the Silver Shadow it succeeded, using the same floorpan, Citroen-derived hydraulic suspension and 6.75-litre L410 V8 engine, coupled to a GM four-speed automatic gearbox that had its roots in a 1960s Cadillac.

What Rolls-Royce didn’t know at the time was that the Silver Spirit and its sister car, the long-wheelbase Silver Spur, would go on to enjoy a 20-year production run, by which time the car was a glorious anachronism. 

This particular example is especially interesting as it is in launch specification - a wonderful amalgam of the classic and modern, as although it has the sharp square-edged styling of the original Silver Spirit, it also has a very traditional wood and leather trimmed cabin.

LDA 703W was first registered in February 1981 and remained with its original owner for over 15 years before changing hands in the summer of 1996. 

During that period, the car was maintained by Rolls-Royce main dealerships and specialists having been supplied new by Broughton’s of Cheltenham, which serviced it for the first three years of its life. The Rolls-Royce then appears to have moved to London where it was looked after by a very well-known Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialist.

Since 1996 it has had a further five owners, the most recent being the vendor, who acquired the car last year after a modest lay-up and has spent some time getting it back into good, serviceable, running condition. Although the car is now MOT exempt, he made sure that a new test was put in the car in October to prove its roadworthiness.

Included with the Rolls-Royce are the original owner’s Operations Manual and Service Book, stored in a brown leather wallet embossed with the Rolls-Royce logo.

The service book itself contains annual stamps through until 1996, by which point the car had covered less than 60,000 miles. After that, there are individual receipts from specialists and a substantial pile of bills from Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialist Flying Spares. There are also over £2,000 worth of recent receipts from Flying Spares to document work carried out to recommission the car by the vendor. 

The current MOT certificate runs until October 2022 and the car comes with a UK V5C.

This is one of the more sober colours found on the Silver Spirit, and is a dark solid hue known as Exeter Blue. 

It suits the car’s sharp and handsome lines and appears to be mostly the original paint. At some point, chrome wheelarch trims have been added and these will be an acquired taste, but aside from a little bit of corrosion towards the rear of the back wheel arches they don't appear to be hiding anything nasty and could easily be removed.

Critically, there is no record of any corrosion advisories or welding on the car’s MOT history and the vendor reports the underside of the car is very solid.

There are a couple of minor things to note, including a few light scratches on the nearside of the car, a small rust bubble on the offside rear door and a missing headlamp wiper for the new owner to add to the snag list.

Being an early Silver Spirit, this one has pretty much a carryover interior from the Silver Shadow Series II, meaning it feels a lot more old-fashioned and traditional than the car’s square-edged styling would imply.

The seats are finished in Oxblood leather and are in very smart and presentable condition, with matching door cards and red woven carpets. The cabin has a charming patina although there is some cracking and ageing to the dashboard veneers that a new owner may choose to repair.

All of the controls appear to operate as they ought to, including the integrated push-button radio and separate Blaupunkt cassette player, that are a glorious period feature.

Under the bonnet, you'll find Rolls-Royce’s venerable 6,750cc V8 engine, for which no official power output was ever quoted – Rolls-Royce brochures simply described it as “adequate”. Being an early car, this one comes with a General Motors three-speed Hydramatic transmission, which can trace its roots back to the 1950s but is renowned for being pretty much unbreakable.

The vendor has just put the car back on the road after a three-year lay-up and in the process he’s renewed the carburettor and the entire ignition system, as well as treated the car to a thorough service. 

It now runs well. We were able to conduct a short test drive of the vehicle and can confirm that it drove smoothly with no untoward noises, whilst the brakes are powerful and the finger-light power steering makes manoeuvring a doddle. Indeed, from behind the wheel it's very easy to forget quite how large this car is. 

Right now, the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit represents absolutely astonishing value for money and is a massive amount of car for what you’ll pay – in its day, it was one of the most expensive cars on sale and, as Rolls-Royce said in its advertising, the quality remains long after the price tag is forgotten. 

Given that prices of good Silver Shadows have been rising for some time now, a good, launch-spec Silver Spirit promises to be a terrific investment opportunity as well as a car you can thoroughly enjoy for its unbeatable character and luxury.