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).
Strategy and specifications for the 'Bensport' car project.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 3\4\ 04-page171 | |
| Date | 31th January 1933 | |
| To Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} From Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}1/WJ.31.1.33. BENSPORT. If we decide to go ahead at once with the Bensport car we should like to get it clear what we hope to achieve, and on what lines we should work. As we see it the position is, the Bensport can no longer be looked upon as being cheaper than a Rolls-Royce car. It will be made entirely of Rolls-Royce parts, the only exception being the carburetters. We quite anticipate the fact that we are fitting two S.U. carburetters and that we shall demand a good finish, but there will be very little saving in this over our present single carburetter. We want to accept that the car will be built of R.R. pieces. If they are R.R. pieces we cannot make two different qualities of parts so that they will be equal in every way to those fitted to R.R. cars. We quite expect, because of the higher engine revs. and the higher output the engine may demand to be of higher quality than the present 25 HP. For instance, we are insisting that Bensport must have hardened shafts. Although these are desirable on the 25 HP. they are not so essential. On the chassis side, we are going to ask a chassis which is very much lighter than the 25 HP. to give the same degree of reliability and expect it to run fast over rough roads without any trouble, so that we can expect nothing from cheaper materials. If possible, the materials may have to be even better. The point we are leading up to is that we shall have a car which is R.R. design, R.R. parts, R.R. material, made in the R.R. factory, and it cannot be anything else but an R.R. car. We are absolutely certain that we shall have to pay the same attention to the Bensport as regards getting silence and comfort as we do any of our other products. We can, without sacrificing any performance, very considerably improve the silence of the Bensport car as you tried it. By the time we are delivering Bensport cars to customers other makers will have realised the amount of unnecessary noise which could be got rid of without any sacrifice in performance. We have no monopoly on this point. | ||