What side of Jodie Kidd’s personality do you prefer? The supermodel, the pro racing driver, the TV star, or the pub owner? The Brit seems to be juggling all of those, while expressing her passion for all things automotive via her YouTube channel—the name says it all, since this is labeled “Kidd in a Sweet Shop”. And the latest piece of mechanical candy to have fallen into Jodie’s hands is a 1958 Rolls-Royce that’s been restomodded by Los Angeles-based, Icon-owned Derelict.
We first came across the Derelict 1958 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud back in 2017, when the Californian specialist reimagined the luxury sedan. The idea behind Derelict is to have these technically revolutionized classics that don’t show it. It sounds simple and makes for many people’s dream, but it’s one hell of a job, which the specialist nails.
The not-completely-unrusty body of the RR now rides on an Art Morrison chassis with independent front suspension and triangulated four-link rear suspension. There are massive Brembo brakes all-round, all-new wiring, and a myriad of small details that may escape an untrained eye.
The party starter? A Chevrolet Performance LS7 7.0L V8 with over 550 hp on tap, which is mated to a GM 4L80E 4-speed overdrive transmission. The motor sits low and far back in the engine bay, while packing custom valve covers that would easily trick non-car people into believing this is a Rolls engine. The custom stainless steel exhaust? Well, with the engine running, it’s the opposite of what this lavish four-door was built for and in a different manner than this 1960s Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud dually truck conversion.
Rolls-Royce itself gave the Silver Cloud a V8 back in the day
Speaking of which, as mentioned in the title, the Silver Cloud, which was Rolls-Royce’s core model between 1955 and 1966, was always looking for the low-end torque of a V8. And it got that from the factory—once production of the Series 1 ended in 1958, the original 4.9L (300 ci) straight-six, which made less than 200 hp, was replaced by a 6.2L V8, albeit one developed by the British automaker itself.
And while purists of the day complained about the V8 missing the smoothness and the whisper-like aural side of the L6 it replaced, the performance was simply on another level. And yes, the factory spec also included a GM-licensed four-speed automatic.
The cabin has also been redone, from the veneer on the dash to modern A/C and navigation, plus some custom leather that skips the UV treatment for an accelerated aging process that should bring it on par with the classic car expectations one might have for such a contraption.
The history of the Derelict Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I
The RR, which came to Derelict as some sort of barn find (it was a neglected departure gift for the CEO of a British wine and dine company that went out of bussiness) was built for an Australian aficionado named Justin. And you can see Icon president Jonathan Ward giving Jay Leno a thorough tour of the work in the second video below, on-lift assessment included.
Meanwhile, a British collector named Eliot (aka fossilfurious on Instagram) took the right-hand drive Silver Cloud into his garage, which is how Jodie found her way into the driver’s seat.
She describes the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I as a muscle car and we lost count of how many times she leaned on that LS7, giggling her way around at rapid pace, as you’ll notice in the first clip below. Oh, and if you’re enjoying this sort of RR tomfoolery (we sure are!), perhaps the Hellcat-swapped 1978 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow built by Hoonigan will also be to your liking (spoiler alert: it’s called Slay Poupon).
