The Magic of a Shadow

Even today, when prices for a good Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow have risen to a level vaguely commensurate with their stunning quality, these are still hugely undervalued cars - victims of their own success, because lots of them are still around.

- MARK DIXON

So it's hardly surprising that until now we've not had a high-end, top-quality book devoted solely to the model. Now, we have.

It was actually a 1980 Shadow II, owned by a friend's father when the author was growing up in Italy, that kindled his interest in the marque and led to him founding his own publishing house in 2014 devoted to Royces and Bentleys (its name, Nubes Argentea, is Italian for 'Silver Cloud'). Eleven years later he has come full circle to his first love – and done it proud.

Besides the Shadow, he covers its sister Bentley models, plus the Corniche, Carmargue and the various special versions that were based on it.