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).
Secret memorandum concerning the provision of a Bentley V car for a continental trial by Geoffrey Smith.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 90\2\ scan0113 | |
| Date | 19th July 1939 | |
| 2619 SECRET. W/S. C. from Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}1/R.19.7.39. TRIAL OF B.V. CAR BY GEOFFREY SMITH ON THE CONTINENT. Originally we understood that Mr. Smith wanted to go away almost immediately, in which case we had no car available. He now tells us that he is going away in the middle of August. If this is so, we shall have a car available which we think he could take with advantage. This car is 12.B.V., and is a Bentley V.{VIENNA} with a 3½-litre engine in it. Actually, it is testing a number of 'Ripple' parts, but these are not discernible unless the car is taken to pieces. In view of the fact that we have never officially stopped making a 3½-litre Bentley, we do not see that the fact that this unit is fitted should be a disability. We could tell Mr. Geoffrey Smith that the car was being run with a smaller displacement in case the demand for a 3½-litre Bentley should arise at some future date. We shall want all the publicity we can get with our new models, and Mr. Smith has been very helpful in the past, and we should, therefore, like to accommodate him if this is possible. The car, in any case, will probably be on the Continent in August. Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||