Rolls-Royce may be reviving the “Shadow” name, previously used on the Silver Shadow in varying forms from 1965 to 1980. BMW – Rolls-Royce’s parent company – has trademarked “Shadow” with the European Intellectual Property Office, sparking speculation over what it could be. But a key element of the filing may give away Rolls-Royce’s intention to launch a second SUV in its lineup, succeeding, or even living alongside, the Cullinan Series II.
The Silver Shadow nameplate, for reference, was applied to a four-door sedan and subsequent two-door coupe and convertible derivatives. It was succeeded by the Silver Spirit and Silver Seraph, eventually becoming the contemporary Rolls-Royce Ghost sedan.
New SUV To Wear The Shadow Badge
Filed under a single classification (12) reserved for vehicles, the trademark filing specifies “Automobiles; sports utility vehicles,” as the purpose of the filing. When a name is trademarked with this level of specificity, it usually indicates a greate intention for a production model, as opposed to BMW and Rolls-Royce merely keeping the rights to the Shadow name on ice until the time comes to use it.
So what form could the Rolls-Royce Shadow take?
Rolls already has an SUV in the shape of the Cullinan, which was recently updated and given the name Cullinan Series II. This means it won’t be replaced for at least another five or six years. So, if it’s not a replacement for Cullinan, then what?
Well, Rolls-Royce has begun its evolution to a manufacturer of ultra-luxury EVs, with the Spectre being its first production model not to use a combustion engine. It stands to reason that a second EV would need to be one with relative mass appeal, and in the current automotive climate, nothing has greater ultra-luxury appeal than an SUV.
It’s thus most likely that the Rolls-Royce Shadow would be an electric equivalent to the Cullinan, albeit with its own distinctive styling. It may also be a more compact model, which makes sense when Rolls’ chief rival, Bentley, has just announced its first EV will be a sub-Bentayga crossover self-styled as “the world’s first luxury urban SUV.”
Shadow Name Likely For Rolls-Royce, Possible BMW Connection
While the likelihood is high this will be a Rolls-Royce, one cannot rule out BMW use entirely. BMW has used various related names previously, specifically the use of the term “Shadowline” to refer to the black-out treatment of its exterior chrome across a variety of models.
BMW also previously sold a limited edition X7 known as the X7 Dark Shadow Edition in 2020, so may have another SUV in the works with a similar title. With the XM struggling to sell in the numbers BMW had hoped, a special edition may help drive demand, possible using the Shadow name.
However, this remains unlikely, and we expect the Shadow to be a Rolls-Royce model before decade’s end.
