Pick Of The Day: 2000 Rolls-royce Silver Seraph

The Silver Seraph was the final Rolls-Royce model built at the old Crewe factory. It was a completely redeveloped car from the Silver Spirit and Spur that preceded it, and was a well-executed and much-needed update. As such, the model holds an interesting place in the history of Rolls-Royce. At the time it was built, the Crewe factory was owned by Volkswagen. Despite that, Rolls-Royce cars built at that location were not the property of VW but, rather, BMW. Our Pick of the Day is one of these fascinating cars, a 2000 Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph listed for sale on ClassicCars.com by a dealership in East Petersburg, Pennsylvania. To find out how something this weird actually happened and learn more about this magnificent car, keep reading.

The story sounds more like the plot of the next “Oceans 11,” but what happened to Rolls-Royce in 1998 represents what is likely the best automotive heist in modern times. BMW and Volkswagen made bids to buy Rolls-Royce Motors. At the end of the discussions, BMW bid £340 million, but VW made a higher bid of £430 million. After the money changed hands, however, VW found out it had rights to Bentley, with its worn-out Crewe factory. On the Rolls side all they got was the marque’s iconic Parthenon grille and Spirit of Ecstasy mascot. This was because the name Rolls-Royce was not owned by Rolls-Royce Motors but instead was still owned by Rolls-Royce Aviation. BMW shrewdly made a deal with Rolls Aviation, purchasing the Rolls-Royce naming rights for £40 million. There was yet another snag for VW: BMW had been providing the engines for new Bentley Arnage, and the new VW-engine-powered Bentleys were not close to being ready. In desperation, VW made a deal: If BMW would continue selling them the V-8 engines for the Arnage, VW would hand over the rights for the Rolls-Royce grille and mascot to BMW. In essence, VW ended up paying BMW to take those iconic items off its hands.

Today, Rolls-Royce cars are now built in a state-of-the-art factory in Goodwood, England, that cost BMW £60 million to build. So, if you do the math, the £40 million BMW paid for the Rolls-Royce name (about the same cost as two McLaren F1s) and the £60 million to build the factory adds up to less than a quarter of what VW paid for the Bentley name, the Rolls-Royce grille and mascot it gave to BMW, as well as a very old and worn-out factory. Oh, and don’t forget VW still had to buy 59 V-8 engines from BMW for its Bentley Arnage Green Label (it did switch back to the old 6.75-liter V-8, even though it was a very old and outdated engine). If you’re keeping score, that’s BMW for the win.

Like all Silver Seraph models, this example is powered by the award-winning BMW 5.4-liter aluminum M73 V-12 engine backed by a five-speed automatic transmission. Widely thought to be one of the finest V-12 engines ever produced, it is renowned for both its durability and ultra-smooth power delivery.

The car’s exterior is finished in its original hand-applied Silver Pearl paint, and all the body panels and brightwork look to be in exceptional condition. Total mileage on this Rolls is 73,000, which is a very good thing as these cars are quite complex and are better when driven.

The interior is finished in Cotswold Ivory Connolly leather hides with French Navy piping and features walnut burl trim and rear picnic tables. The entire interior looks as good as when this stunning Rolls left the factory, with literally no crazing or cracking on the wood or noticeable wear to any of the leather. The cabin of a Silver Seraph is the absolute height of early 2000s luxury; no other car from the era (apart from the Bentley Arnage) even comes close.

The engine compartment also looks as good as it did when new, with no dirt seen anywhere on or around the V-12. These cars are expensive to maintain, so it is awesome to learn from the seller that this Silver Seraph just underwent a $15,000 service at Rolls Specialist shop Palma Auto Repair in Audubon, New Jersey.

I have driven several of these cars, and they absolutely deliver on what you would expect from a Rolls-Royce: They are smooth, ghostly quiet, and ride like the best car in the world (which they were at the time). All this came at a pretty steep price at the tune, as the MSRP for a Silver Seraph with options like this example was in excess of $220,000. Due to the cruel mistress that is depreciation, this beautiful 2000 Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph with a completely up-to-date service history is being offered for only $34,900. If you want what was truly the best luxury car money could buy in the early 2000s, then you probably want this Rolls-Royce in your garage. With a total of only 1,570 examples built, it is an amazing and rare motorcar — and it also represents one of the more fascinating car company stories in history.