Photo: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce is one of the last automakers that have yet to embrace electrification, but we know that the Brits are planning to introduce an EV by the end of the decade. It will be called the Silent Shadow, a modern twist of the iconic Silver Shadow nameplate, but it seems Rolls-Royce is planning to revive one more model from the past.
The luxury carmaker filed trademarks for two different names with the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office in February 2021, as CarBuzz reports. One of them is for the Silent Shadow, believed to be used for the first all-electric Rolls-Royce, while the second one is for the Seraph name. Just like the Silent Shadow, the Seraph filing covers "automobiles and their parts."
The Seraph name isn't entirely new. Rolls-Royce first introduced it in 1998 for a full-size, 5.4-meter sedan that replaced the iconic Silver Spirit. It was actually called the Silver Seraph, and it emerged in an era when Rolls-Royce and Bentley were being operated by the same company. The Silver Seraph was identical to the Bentley Arnage save for the front grille and the engine.
While the Arnage featured a twin-turbo V8 unit, the Silver Seraph was fitted with a 5.4-liter V12, which made it the first 12-cylinder model from the brand since 1939. The Silver Seraph remained in production for only four years, being discontinued when the license for the Rolls-Royce marque was sold to BMW, which created the modern Rolls-Royce Motor Cars company.
The trademark suggests that Rolls-Royce plans to bring the Silver Seraph back to life. However, it's not yet clear where such a model will fit into the lineup. You see, the Silver Seraph was replaced by the Ghost, and Rolls-Royce just unleashed the second-generation model in 2020. The current Ghost isn't going away for a few good years, so the modern Seraph is unlikely to return as a replacement.
Rolls-Royce could actually use the name for a different model, such as a replacement for either the Dawn or the Wraith. Both are fairly old as of 2021 and will be redesigned soon. Of course, the Seraph could also return as a special-edition version of an existing Phantom or Ghost model. Or, if you're up for wilder speculation, maybe Rolls-Royce is prepping a second SUV alongside the Cullinan?
Either way, of all the iconic Rolls-Royce nameplates from the past, Seraph seems like a weird choice. A company like Rolls-Royce would normally look to distance itself from the years it operated under the same roof with Bentley, but maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way.
The Seraph name isn't entirely new. Rolls-Royce first introduced it in 1998 for a full-size, 5.4-meter sedan that replaced the iconic Silver Spirit. It was actually called the Silver Seraph, and it emerged in an era when Rolls-Royce and Bentley were being operated by the same company. The Silver Seraph was identical to the Bentley Arnage save for the front grille and the engine.
While the Arnage featured a twin-turbo V8 unit, the Silver Seraph was fitted with a 5.4-liter V12, which made it the first 12-cylinder model from the brand since 1939. The Silver Seraph remained in production for only four years, being discontinued when the license for the Rolls-Royce marque was sold to BMW, which created the modern Rolls-Royce Motor Cars company.
The trademark suggests that Rolls-Royce plans to bring the Silver Seraph back to life. However, it's not yet clear where such a model will fit into the lineup. You see, the Silver Seraph was replaced by the Ghost, and Rolls-Royce just unleashed the second-generation model in 2020. The current Ghost isn't going away for a few good years, so the modern Seraph is unlikely to return as a replacement.
Rolls-Royce could actually use the name for a different model, such as a replacement for either the Dawn or the Wraith. Both are fairly old as of 2021 and will be redesigned soon. Of course, the Seraph could also return as a special-edition version of an existing Phantom or Ghost model. Or, if you're up for wilder speculation, maybe Rolls-Royce is prepping a second SUV alongside the Cullinan?
Either way, of all the iconic Rolls-Royce nameplates from the past, Seraph seems like a weird choice. A company like Rolls-Royce would normally look to distance itself from the years it operated under the same roof with Bentley, but maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way.
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