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).
Continued assessment of the Burney car's design features, comparing them to conventional car capabilities.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 24\1\ Scan072 | |
| Date | 1st January 1932 | |
| E.2/ADS.1.32 contd. -2- The accessibility of the engine is an improvement over what we have now and there appears to be no objection to the transmission layout provided the clutch and flywheel be not separated. The rear wheels are independently mounted and sprung as also the front, and power is transmitted to the former by transverse shafts and mechanics universal joints from a central worm drive. These joints are working under more arduous conditions than on the usual propeller shaft but are reported to give no trouble. With regard to the independently sprung wheels, Sir Dennistoun Burney stated that this is not an essential part of his scheme but was included as being the latest development in suspension. Nevertheless, this feature may contribute materially to the result obtained and it is equally applicable to our own chassis. The same may be said of a low centre of gravity and it is pointed out that with independent springing on the conventional type of car the centre of gravity can be got down nearly as low as on the Burney. Such a car would have decidedly attractive road holding characteristics and could probably be arranged with a load distribution more on the lines of the Burney to improve the riding, without bringing up tail wag and bad cornering. In this particular we wonder whether the Burney value of AB/K² = 1 is as ideal for cornering as the low CG and good adhesion. In conclusion we should certainly agree that the development of the Burney car should be closely watched, but we consider that the conventional car is capable of a considerable amount of improvement along the same lines in respect to independent springing, lower centre of gravity, improved weight distribution and stream lining, without departing necessarily from the present accepted position of the engine. E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} | ||