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).
Braking performance and handling issues of the 34-EX Phantom III model.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 123\4\ scan0279 | |
| Date | 28th July 1936 | |
| X1042 W/S - C. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}7/KW.28.7.36. 34-EX. With reference to C.7/C.24.7.36, we do not think there is anything wrong with the brakes of 34-EX. We believe from Fraser's remarks that he was travelling at a much higher speed than he realised, and the result was that when he applied the brakes severely the car tended to get out of control. Briefly, this condition arises because in the Phantom III we have produced a town carriage with a performance equal to that of the 4 1/4 litre Bentley. A top-heavy Limousine with soft suspension is fundamentally a difficult thing to handle in an emergency at the sort of speeds at which one habitually cruises on the Ph.III. This is a basic difficulty, and the only solution as we see it at present is to educate drivers so that they realise that they must not drive in such a manner that they rely on their brakes to avoid accidents at high speeds. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||