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).
Pros and cons of various engine configurations, including 8-cylinder Vee and 12-cylinder Vee engines.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 21\6\ Scan128 | |
| Date | 1st February 1934 | |
| - 2 - of independent front wheel suspension, permitting a forward position of the engine, this objection would be overcome. With regard to the 8 cylinder Vee, we think this engine is right out of the picture. With the overhead valve gear such as we prefer the engine is so wide that it will not go under the bonnet. It is also impossible to get a good steering angle and pedal position with the conventional form of steering box. Ford has side valves on his 8 and even with this the steering position is very upright and the column is definitely in between the feet to enable the steering to be in such a position that the cylinder head may be removed. We have reason to believe moreover that the 8 cylinder Vee may not be as smooth on the pickup as the straight 8. Ford has had some trouble with distribution when he seeks to get more power out of the engine and has gone to a special form of induction. The 8 cylinder Vee is also not a very pleasing installation job from the point of view of accessibility of the accessories owing to the wide angle between the cylinders. With regard to the 12 cylinder Vee, I think the situation has changed somewhat since the matter was last discussed and since we have tried the Essex Terraplane. There is no doubt that a small 12 of about the size mentioned in E.3/HP.6.10.33 would have certain advantages over a straight 8 layout but with independent front wheel suspension as previously mentioned some of these would disappear, and there is the fear that this engine might be too expensive to produce to allow a reasonable margin of profit on the smaller chassis as it would be found to require almost the same degree of complication as the SpectreCodename for Phantom III. Another important point is that it would be impossible to fit completely dual ignition on the small 12 as we are only just able to do this on the SpectreCodename for Phantom III whereas there would be no difficulty in providing dual battery ignition with two sparking plugs per cylinder on the straight 8. Another point is the question of taxation as this would be greater for the engine having the larger number of cylinders given equal capacity and similar stroke for ratio. On the other hand we should remember that by putting out a small 12 we should be going one better than our competitors, and the increased speed range and lighter weight would give us advantages in respect to performance which we might be very glad of, having regard to the fact | ||