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).
The performance and issues found during a 500-mile road test of car 21-G-IV.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 5a\4\ 04-page038 | |
| Date | 4th April 1934 | |
| Y5840 To Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} E.3/HP.4.4.34. re 21-G-IV. I ran 21-G-IV just over 500 miles during the holiday and added half a gallon of oil yesterday to bring the finger back to where it started, which was slightly less than the maximum indication. There were very pronounced petrol fumes in the body which is due to this car not having proper ventilation scheme fitted on yet. The trouble was immediately remedied by propping open the petrol filler door with a piece of wood. The engine started without faltering every time using full mixture strength and half throttle. The clutch jaggered rather much on engaging and this feature became worse. There was a leak of oil from one of the drives on the engine and the car left a small pool of engine oil when standing. Most of the running was done with full damping on and there was pronounced knocking on rough roads, presumably from the bonnet. The damper control seems very useful and effective in the front seats. I did not ride in the back but found full damper control fairly effective in stopping nausea with sensitive rear seat passengers. The driving vision is extraordinarily good and seems most unnatural on a Rolls-Royce car. The steering position is most comfortable but possibly the seat would be a little too high for some people. I found at times that my foot fouled the steering column when I wished to use the brakes and this is likely to be disconcerting in an emergency. Presumably the pedals are absolutely standard, but this is a feature we may have to watch. E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} CGC | ||