1993 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur III

This regal looking Silver Spur III hails from the very start of third generation Spur production. Despite Silver Spur production being nearly double that of the Silver Spirit at this time, our car is drawn from a mere 320 produced for the 1994 model year. Just 125 of those being right hand drive models like this one. Who knows how many of those were specified in the striking Wildberry Burgundy over Slate Connolly leather with St James Red piping like our example. This could very feasibly be the only one. 

Our car has been owned and enjoyed by nine former keepers across its 30-year life. Current owner Les acquired the car in July 2023 via auction on our very own site to become the tenth. With the Spur having now covered around 119,000 miles this equates to an average ownership period of three years and an average annual mileage of around 4,000 miles.

On a car nearly 5.4 meters long, the extra 10 cms that differentiates the Spur from the Spirit doesn’t immediately make itself obvious externally. Luckily there are some other give aways marking this out as the senior partner in the Spirit / Spur partnership. Most obvious is the Silver Spur III boot lid badge and least obvious are the special Spur wheels trims with body coloured painted centre rings.

In this case those rings are colour matched to the striking Wildberry Burgundy paintwork which seems to suit the impressive bulk and slab-sidedness of the Spur so well. Those sides together with other panels all seem to exude a deep and lustrous shine throughout. Given this is a thirty-year-old car, however, there are inevitably some marks, imperfections, and lacquer deterioration in places. These have been photographed for your review.

The iconic, Patheon-inspired grille dominates the front profile of the car and in the Spur was the first of its kind to boast the much vaunted, spring-loaded retracting Spirit of Ecstasy. On the Spur this dominating feature is offered some competition from the large, oblong headlamps. The remainder of the car is punctuated with just the right amount of chrome to add interest and further enhance the car’s luxury credentials.

The steel wheels are well disguised by those special chrome and Wildberry Burgundy Spur wheel trims and appear to be in fair condition for their age. They work very effectively with the 70-profile Avon Turbosteel tyres which are dressed with white-wall aping rubber beauty rings to effectively round off the car’s highly distinctive look.

Sadly, we must confirm that the Canada Goose is not included in the sale nor is he / she available by separate negotiation!

The cabin of this Silver Spur is no less distinctive than the outside with, seemingly, acres of Slate hued Connolley leather in evidence. These sublime hides are accompanied by deep woollen Wilton carpets in red and original, fitted lambswool rugs in scarlet. A thicket’s worth of walnut veneer adorns dash panels and door cappings to provide a true “special occasion” environment that’s hard to beat.

Upgraded seats were fitted in the Spur III adding additional lumbar and side support and making headrests standard for the first time. Needless to say, every required adjustment is made courtesy of quiet electric motors. The central, padded box pleats of the seats are accompanied by very striking St James Red piping, delineating seat edges and panel extremities.

The expansive walnut veneer dash panel houses all required instrumentation, deeply chromed “eyeball” heating vents and air conditioning and audio units. The fold down armrests between the front seats conceal a very 1990’s style surprise, too, in the shape of a Motorola International 2700 hardwired car phone.

It’s in the rear cabin, however, where the magic of the Silver Spur really shines. Suddenly it becomes very obvious where that extra 10cms in length has got to. In the Spur III the rear passengers get electrically adjustable seats, too. The leg room is long wheelbase appropriate, and wedge shaped carpeted adjustable footrests are fitted. Burr walnut and chrome picnic tables fold out of the rear of the front seats and twin, illuminated vanity mirrors grace the generous C pillars.

The commodious boot is of a scale that compliments the rest of this behemoth and is as exquisitely fitted and finished as the cabin. Jack, wheel brace and tools have their own compartment and CD changer, and other audio paraphernalia is concealed behind a false, carpeted bulkhead at the back of the compartment.

To help compensate for any lingering disappointment regarding the Canada Goose an agreement over the Hits 99 double cassette can most likely be arrived at.

By the time the Spur III was released the earlier cars’ mechanical specifications had benefitted from some useful and notable upgrades. The long-serving L-series 6.75L V8 engine had gained Bosch MK-Motronic fuel injection back in MKII guise but it now had a revised inlet manifold and cylinder head heads increasing power and improving economy. The smooth shifting automatic gearbox was now a four-speed GM unit with Shift Energy Management (SEM) to further blur the ratio changes. Rolls Royce were traditionally coy about power outputs and the like, but the received wisdom suggested somewhere between 240 and 280 bhp and oodles of accompanying torque. 

Of course, a cossetting and pillowy ride is at the heart of the Rolls Royce offering and the Spur is well equipped to deliver that in spades. From the MKII cars all were equipped with "Automatic Ride Control,” a fully automatic system that adjusts dampers on all four wheels in real time.

Lifting the counterweighted acres of bonnet on our example reveals another MKIII “innovation” – copious plastic engine covers. Not cutting-edge technology but certainly effective at tidying up the car’s engine bay significantly. The condition of what can be seen hints at the maintenance history that we will learn more about next. The underside of the car looks commensurate with a car of this age and mileage. No significant corrosion was noted, and all appears leak and damage free. 

Our Silver Spur comes with an impressively complete archive of paperwork. The V5 registration document is present in the name of the owner. The current advisory free MoT is also present in hard copy and documents validity until April 2025.

The original Rolls Royce service booklet is on hand and documents 13 services covering mileages from 2,957 to 118,650. These have been performed by a mix of Rolls Royce franchised dealers and specialist independent practitioners.

The remainder of the archive consists of numerous invoices detailing maintenance work undertaken and parts procured by a number of owners. It is reported that well over £5,000 has been expended by the current and previous two owners keeping the Spur in the manner to which it should be accustomed. 

It should come as no surprise that the Spur was outselling the Spirit by two units to one towards the end of the model’s life. That extra 10cms in the rear doors and footwells truly gives the Spur the rear space owners deserved to expect when spending close on £130,000 on a luxury saloon car. To think that entry to that exclusive club of Rolls Royce Silver Spur owners can now be attained for around 10% of that original price tag remains an astounding and thrilling thought.

This example presents in a charming, very Rolls Royce colourway and comes with the reassurance of a full and documented service history. Surely there can be few more alluring and better value ownership opportunities for the lover of sublimely luxurious saloon cars than this one.

We are happy to offer this vehicle for auction with an estimate in the range of £10,000 - £14,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are strictly by appointment.  To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.