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).
Correspondence page from a motoring magazine discussing various topics including car performance and wartime driving restrictions.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 160\5\ scan0179 | |
| Date | 5th February 1941 | |
| The Motor Publicity File: 1378 February 5, 1941. Contd. Correspondence present aid which we are receiving from the U.S.A. I worked and lived in Manchester for many years, and among the treasures of Britain destroyed is No. 36, George Street, a lovely old Georgian house with the furniture of its period, which contained the original apparatus and manuscripts of Dalton and Joule, as well as the desk of Isaac Newton. The results of the labour of these three men seem to me fairly modern. The mechanical equivalent to heat and the laws of motion would suggest that even the driver of a runabout car might feel some gratitude to past generations, even if we omit the atomic theory and the infinitesimal calculus. I once took a wandering and strange American visitor through this building. All he remarked was: ''Thank God for England.'' ''Contact's'' suggestion that Roman London might be restored is an attempted sarcasm which indicates its superficiality. Most of Roman London consisted of single storey wattle and daub buildings with thatched roofs. It is not a question of whether London will be ruined in the fancied interests of motorists. It is much more probable that in certain streets, at certain hours of the day, private cars will be prohibited. They are not needed there. The Tube is good enough for the people who do most of the work. W. B. FARADAY (Recorder of Bideford and Barnstaple). Silverton, Devon. Engine Size and Performance Characteristics The Bentleys on a Trick Course YOUR correspondent, J.{Mr Johnson W.M.} P. Bennett, asks if I consider that the Lycett Bentley would be faster over the T.T. course than the fastest-blown Bentley. I assuredly do. It has better brakes, better road-holding, better acceleration, and it is not much larger. The fact that the 8-litre can beat the 3 1/2-litre on a trick course like Shelsley shows how incomparably faster it would be over a normal road circuit. The 8-litre is at a double disadvantage at Shelsley. First, the difficulty of getting such a large weight off the mark quickly and, secondly, that the somewhat low-geared and heavy steering leaves no room for acrobatics in the esses. This combination of low ratio and heavy steering is, I suggest, the one serious fault of this car. Under racing conditions, the size of the Bentley and its non-independent suspension would tell against it, but they do not prevent it from being driven round corners on the open road as fast as safety permits, and this fact, in conjunction with its superb brakes and superior acceleration, appear to me to justify its claim to be the paramount road car. ''H.C.H.'' draws attention to its old-fashioned suspension, but it must be remembered that independent suspension is not so essential on a large or heavy car as it is on a light car, as the proportion of unsprung to. spring weight is so much more favourable on a large vehicle. That the Bentley urgently called for independent suspension is certainly true, and in the new I.F.S. Mark V it possesses one of the finest systems available. London, W.11. CECIL CLUTTON. The Results of Progress IT is no reflection on the pioneers that design progresses. The deceptive part of the present-day Bentley is its silence and the fact that its steering, brakes and suspension are all in keeping with its acceleration and maximum speed. The Ards circuit is a course ''par excellence'' for the car that has no weak feature, and that is where the 10 m.p.h. increase in average speed comes from. The speed quoted by Mr. J.{Mr Johnson W.M.} P. Bennett was not a flash in the pan, as I believe at a later date a 4 1/4-litre Bentley achieved the record speed for the race of over 80 m.p.h. As an indication of how progress is achieved, could Mr. Laurence Pomeroy analyse the modifications that have been made to the design of the old Bentley chassis in order to improve its performance so vastly? What a pity that the latest Bentley cannot compete over the Ards circuit to show the benefit of independent suspension in m.p.h. Chester. RICHARD F.{Mr Friese} SUMMERS. [This correspondence is now closed. —ED.{J. L. Edwards}] Over 100 m.p.h. on Pool MAY I, as a private owner of both Types 328 and 327 B.M.W. cars and who has no connection at all with the makers, endorse the remarks of W. H.{Arthur M. Hanbury - Head Complaints} Aldington (The Motor, January 15)? It may be remembered that my wife was to have run the Type 328 in the 1939 T.T. race at Donington, under the regulations of which standard pump fuels only were permitted. In order to learn something about the car, also to test it, the car was raced at Brooklands, Crystal Palace and elsewhere on pump fuel, with reasonable results. It put in a couple of laps on the Brooklands outer circuit at 108.97 m.p.h. (with wings, officially timed). Like everyone else, we were forced on to Pool petrol after the outbreak of war; although performance is not so high as it was on pre-war fuel, 100 m.p.h. is definitely obtainable, and the car runs on it without difficulty. Also, I would mention that my Type 327 B.M.W. saloon, which is fitted with a Type 328 engine, has been in everyday use for a good many months on Pool, is perfectly tractable, and in every way pleasant to drive, which only goes to show the advantages of efficient cylinder head design. E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} M.{Mr Moon / Mr Moore} THOMAS. Barnsley, Yorks. This One-sided Legislation BEING a motorist, I am immediately suspected by the ordinary pedestrian of being unintelligent and lacking any idea of fair play. Amongst all the compulsory restrictions that have been imposed through war requirements, the motorist seems to have suffered most. Apart from present-day circumstances, we have to pay a hefty tax and insurance before even venturing on to the road, and now our lamps must be dimmed and masked, bumpers painted white, our petrol consumption cut to the minimum, and so many restrictions placed on parking, etc., after black-out time, that the nocturnal use of a motorcar becomes an absolute nightmare. In spite of all this, it is considered beyond the realm of decency to compel pedestrians, for their own safety, to wear a white arm band or reflector after dark. It is merely put to them as a suggestion would be made to an erring child. If this is an example of fair play and intelligence, I must be the most bigoted and unintelligent person in existence. W. WEBSTER. London, N.W.2. [Cartoon] Panel 1: [Sign on wall] FIRE FIGHTER WANTED Panel 2: [Sound effects] DING DONG CHANG 428 | ||