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).
Timeline and costs of the Phantom III chassis development, refuting claims from a previous communication.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 148\5\ scan0119 | |
| Date | 9th September 1936 | |
| To Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} re Chassis Costs. Sg{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD}8/El.9.36 Many thanks for sending me Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}10/KW.25.8.36 which is very interesting and I hope to be able to make use of certain parts. I think, however, that one or two of his remarks are not quite accurate nor even fair comment. For instance on Page 1 he says: 'We say that the basic fault here is that we should be in such a position that there is no alternative but to produce a completely new car at short notice.' The first P.III experimental car was on the road in August 1934. The first P.III production car reached the customer August 1936, two years after. I have not looked up the dates prior to that but I think it would be enlightening to do so. R.{Sir Henry Royce} died April 1933 and I know that I had been worrying WW long before that for a new engine and chassis to replace P.II. Speaking from memory I think it would be no exaggeration to say that over 4 years elapsed between the day we started and the day the first production chassis reached the customer. On the question of our not knowing in advance that the chassis was going to cost much more, you might tell him that, if he will refer to the Minutes of Derby Conference dated 23rd May 1935, he will see that I was told officially that, so far as they had gone at that date – (and this is nearly a year after the first experimental chassis had been made) – the costs appear to be rather less than those of the P.II. It is true that later on, i.e. October, I was told it was going to be an expensive chassis but it was then too late because we were committed between May and October to the policy of showing the P.III at Olympia 1935. | ||