From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Poor performance reports on the Bentley V trials car and the suggestion to take it off the road.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 88\2\ scan0288 | |
| Date | 18th July 1940 | |
| To Cx.{Major Len W. Cox - Advertising Manager} from Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD}5/KW.18.7.40. [Illegible handwritten note] re Bentley V.{VIENNA} Thanks for letting me see the two reports from Jack Barclay and Sclater Booth. I sent these along to Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} as I thought he ought to read them. He says that they have heard unofficially that the London trials car in no way compares with Lp{Mr Lappin}'s car with regard to smoothness, silence and suspension, and he goes on to suggest that if it is going to get the B-V a bad name, it had better be taken off the road as they have no facilities for dealing with it at the present time. Except for this report of Sclater Booth's, I have not seen any criticism of it other than Professor Dodds' report, I suggest that you should arrange with Lp.{Mr Lappin} to let you try the car he uses, and if you find the trials car is definitely bad in comparison, and therefore not representative of the type, it looks as if we had better take it off the road because in any case the taking of orders is out of the question at the present time. Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} | ||