Mar 20, 2020
I think one brutal truth about Rolls-Royce cars is that they are so well built that an eBay bought 1969 Silver Shadow bought for £4,100 with only a minor service then done on it can make it to the Arctic circle with very little trouble.
Please see my answer to this question originally asked and answered on Quora below.
If you are well prepared a Rolls Royce car will look after you.
Bear in mind that this is a 1960’s British made car, and overall 1960’s British cars to be kind don’t have the best reputation for build quality and reliability although this never really applied to Rolls Royces and we will soon see why.
Also bear in mind that this is a car that was relatively new to the owner/driver in this story, so it wasn’t a car he intricately knew the maintenance history of, or had looked after like a “baby” for years before this trip.
Text from You Should Drive A Vintage Rolls Royce To The Arctic Circle, Just Because You Can but it is well worth watching the original Youtube videos that I will link at the end of this answer.
In a recent two-part YouTube special, Harry Metcalfe took his 1969 Rolls Royce Shadow, which he’d purchased for four-thousand pounds, from its home in the UK up and around to the tippy top of Norway to see the Northern Lights. Would you have the balls to do the same?
The first video in the pair shows the car making it to the Arctic Circle with minimal trouble. Harry does use a navigation system, but he relies heavily on proper old-school paper maps to do a lot of his routing. It’s an endearing quality that matches the vintage Rolls quite well. By the end of the first video, Harry has visited Hell in a literal sense, and continued on to the marking of the start of the Arctic Circle.
Picking up where the first video left off, the second piece of the pie features the drive further north to see the Northern Lights and snap some gorgeous photography. From there, it’s just a turn around and go home situation.
Harry’s trip is inspirational. I might have to pack up and head out for the open road again soon. Maybe I’ll head to the northern tip of Alaska just to say I’ve done it.
The owner/driver bought the car for £4,100 performs a minor service and then sets off to the arctic circle and the Rolls Royce makes it with minimal trouble. Now this exceeded even the driver’s expectations and I think most of the viewer’s expectations as he does fill the car with a lot of spare parts and tools in preparation for a 1960’s British built car breaking down and otherwise not coping with Arctic circle conditions but being a Rolls Royce it made it with essentially no trouble.
Youtube Video Link -> Driving a ’69 Rolls Royce Shadow to the Arctic in the middle of winter
If you like this answer you may also like some of my other answers below.
Alastair Majury’s answer to What are some cool facts about the SR-71 Blackbird?
Alastair Majury’s answer to Is SR-71 a stealth aircraft?
Alastair Majury’s answer to What did it feel like to fly an SR-71 Blackbird?
Alastair Majury resides locally in the historic Scottish city of Dunblane, and is a Principal Consultant and a Senior Regulatory Business Analyst working across the country. Alastair Majury also serves on the local council (Stirling Council) as Councillor Alastair Majury where he represents the ward of Dunblane and Bridge of Allan, topping the poll.
Alastair Majury, is also a director of Majury Change Management Ltd is a highly experienced Senior Business Analyst / Data Scientist with a proven track record of success planning, developing, implementing and delivering migrations, organisational change, regulatory, legislative, and process improvements for global financial organisations, covering Retail Banking, Investment Banking, Wealth Management, and Life & Pensions.
For several years now, Alastair has worked extensively with a variety of financial institutions in order to offer the utmost comprehensive services. As a data scientist/business analyst, Alastair Majury is expected to find intuitive and sensible solutions to complex problems.
As a data scientist/business analyst, Alastair Majury has worked closely with several high-profile businesses, such as BNP Paribas, National Australia Bank, Standard Life and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.A graduate of University of Glasgow, Alastair Majury earned his M.A. in Economics with Business Economics. Since then, Alastair has undergone several training sessions and earned multiple certifications for a variety of skills. More specifically, he has earned certifications in IAQ, risk management, resource management, and a bevy of other areas. Alastair Majury thoroughly enjoys his work.
What excites him most about being a data scientist/business analyst is that every problem has a variety of solutions. This allows for a great deal of creativity on his part. Providing ingenious solutions to his customers’ problems provides a great deal of satisfaction to Alastair Majury. Every single day can be a new and challenging problem.
Although he is a fierce and determined worker, Alastair also manages to find free time to embrace his hobbies and interests. Alastair is a major proponent of philanthropy and charitable endeavors. He constantly finds new and exciting ways to promote charities and philanthropic organizations in his community. He also tries to donate time and funds to said organizations whenever he can. Alastair Majury firmly believes that if we all work together towards a common goal, we can find peace.
