Coke-bottle hip line
The two-door added a Coke-bottle hip line over the rear wheel area while retaining Silver Shadow mechanicals.
People
Bill Allen
Rolls-Royce stylist behind the Corniche two-door
The record
A senior stylist at Crewe and deputy to John Blatchley, Bill Allen shaped the two-door Silver Shadow while Blatchley was away. The design was later renamed Corniche.
Allen's documented work appears in the Corniche II project, the forerunner of the Bentley Continental. A drawing dated 11 September 1950 bears the initials of Ivan Evernden, Bill Allen and Cecily Jenner; a drawing dated 27 February 1951 is signed by Allen. The material records his participation, but does not establish sole authorship of the Continental's final shape.
Before the Silver Shadow was complete, Allen was instructed to create a two-door version while Blatchley was away. Martin Bourne, who worked alongside him, recalled that the wax model was complete after six weeks and that the design went straight into production. It retained the Shadow's mechanicals but added a Coke-bottle hip line over the rear wheel area.
Mulliner Park Ward built the two-door, launched at the 1966 Geneva motor show; a drophead followed in 1967. In 1971, the two-door range was relaunched as the Corniche. Bourne recalled that Allen thought the design would never sell because it looked terribly old-fashioned. The convertible continued until 1995.
Six-week wax model
Martin Bourne recalled that Allen was instructed to create the two-door design in Blatchley's absence and completed its wax model six weeks later.
The house
Credited through Rolls-Royce.
In the register
One file carries this name
The files above are the register's own record of this name. The people index holds everyone the register credits.