This nameplate does not belong to Bentley as a marketed production model. The Silver Seraph was a Rolls-Royce luxury saloon built in Crewe, and Bentley’s own heritage catalogue identifies it separately as a Crewe-built Rolls-Royce rather than a Bentley. Rolls-Royce launched the Silver Seraph in 1998 as the successor to the Silver Spirit, and the model remained in production until 2002. It was developed during the period when the Rolls-Royce and Bentley operations were still linked at Crewe, which is why it appears in Bentley heritage records alongside contemporaneous Bentley models from the same factory era.
Historically, the Silver Seraph is significant because it marked a major transition for Rolls-Royce. It was the first Rolls-Royce designed with CAD and the first powered by a BMW V12, making it a bridge between the pre-Goodwood and modern Rolls-Royce eras. A long-wheelbase derivative, the Park Ward Rolls-Royce Touring, followed in 2000. Although the car has strong ties to Crewe and therefore to Bentley’s heritage archive, it should not be confused with a Bentley nameplate, trim, or platform. For cataloguing purposes, it is best treated as a Rolls-Royce model that happened to be built in the shared Crewe period rather than as a Bentley model.