Re-posted from Automobiles de Luxe

By Gunnar Heinrich

BMW execs might not be aware that when they purchased Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, they also inherited an old liability.

In mark 1 Silver Spurs and Spirits (1980-1989), brakes would operate only if the engine was turned on.

In most cars pushing the brake pedal will still operate the stoppers even if the engine is not running. However, in the Silver Spurs & Spirits of that generation this wasn't the case as the brakes functioned via a fully hydraulic system - e-brake included!

In certain circumstances, the driver might also have to wait after turning on the car for the hydraulic pressure to build - an indicator on the instrument panel illuminates and then switches off when the system's ready.

This delightfully quirky design has resulted in some rather un-pretty disasters with high "oh-#$@!" factors for the uninformed or forgetful. Consider this recent story from the Halifax Evening Courier of one owner's Silver Spirit rolling on top of his Peugeot.

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Where's the Rolls Royce dear? ... It's on top of the Peugeot

11 October 2007

By Carmel Harrison

A ROLLS Royce is not for rolling - just ask blushing David Bull.

He sat in his 23-year-old Silver Spirit and tried to roll it off a drive in the Dordogne - but the hydraulic brakes don't work until the engine is started.

"I jumped in it and instead of starting the engine I put the car into neutral," said David, of Rishworth.

"By the time I got the engine started it was too late." His Roller demolished a wall before coming to a halt on top of his Peugeot parked below which was written off.

But the £6,000 Rolls reinforced the reliability of the famous cars as it suffered only a broken tail light and covered hundreds of miles back to Calderdale without a hitch. Mr Bull was with his wife Angela, a Halifax accountant, at their holiday home in France when the accident happened.

Angela said if the Peugeot had not been parked where it was the damage could have been much worse. The Rolls hit the wall at an angle which minimised the damage. Its sturdy bumper took the force of the impact and it only had a broken tail light.

"The Rolls can't have been that badly damaged as it got us home without a hitch," said Angela. A local farmer pulled the Rolls off the Peugeot with his tractor to the relief of David - an expert driver and vehicle renovator who has driven vintage cars across Asia, Australia and South America.

He blamed his misfortune on his wife asking him to move the two vehicles while he was watching golf on television. "She was hurrying me along and I was still thinking of the golf," he said. "I got a few funny texts from my mates when they learned what had happened."

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[Source: Halifax Courier News via Automobiles de Luxe]