2008 SEMA - Rolls-Royce - Pass the mustard and step on it

Rolls-Royce once advertised their cars as being so settled that the loudest sound was a ticking of the clock. Clearly, their marketing types weren’t envisioning either the digital age or the possibility somebody might yank the hand-built V8 out of a 1970 Silver Shadow and replace it with a blown 572 cubic-inch Chrysler engine cranking out 1350 horsepower. But SEMA probably wasn’t on the radar of the marketing types either.

We didn’t hear this Silver Shadow run, but odds are the noise of the clock isn’t much of a concern. In fairness to the folks responsible for putting the loud behind this Roller’s loud pedal, fit and finish appear to be at least at the level that one would expect from a respectable sedan from Crewe, and there’s probably more leather lining the interior now than when it left the factory.

And yes, there’s a jar of Grey Poupon on the console between the rear seats.

—Jim Travers

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Comments

[Cale]

Caviar tacos!!!

[Steve P]

I heard this car run on the day that all the cars were leaving. At idle, the car was camming like crazy with a deep and angry rumble. When the car was leaving, it was preceded by one of the many Mustangs at SEMA, and that Mustang revved up (perhaps for the crowd?). In response, the driver of the Rolls unleashed a sound so loud and viscerally pleasing that I was surprised it did not tear a hole in reality.