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).
Confirming modifications to the Continental Bentley specification for the 1939 Motor Show.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 97\3\ scan0010 | |
| Date | 30th November 1938 | |
| Secret H50c. Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} from Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} c. Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}2/R.30.11.38. CONTINENTAL BENTLEY. Further to Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}1/R.25.11.38., this is to confirm that as a result of the discussion which took place between Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} By and Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}, it was decided to modify the specification of this car slightly, owing to the fact that it must, without fail, be available for the 1939 Motor Show as a high-performance Bentley car. The features which were considered to be doubtful are:- (1) Pressure-cooled radiator. (2) Hydraulic Front brakes. (3) Mechanical petrol pump. (1) Pressure-cooled radiator. It was agreed that 'pressure-cooled' was an unfortunate name for the proposed radiator, and that this would not represent any form of advanced experiment. (2) Hydraulic Front Brakes. It was pointed out that we had done a considerable amount of work on Bentley II which anticipated the design completed for B.V., and that, therefore, we did not expect any serious trouble. It was agreed, however, that we leave these off the specification for the Continental Bentley, unless we obtain sufficient running before the car goes to France to inspire confidence in their reliability. With this object in view, we are proposing to send the first B.50 to France with hydraulic brakes. There can be no advantage in continuing to run the mechanical brakes as these are directly applicable to B.50 and will, we hope have covered about 50,000 miles by March next year. | ||