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).
Review of a competitor's car design, focusing on its features, performance, and business potential.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 179\2\ img018 | |
| Date | 7th December 1931 guessed | |
| (3) One of the troubles they have had is with the cool-ing and on the later cars they have a conventional radia-tor at the front of the car besides the radiators at the rear. The radiator in front also provides them a means of getting very good interior heating. They are also alter-ing the shape of the car and making it rather conventional in front. Another trouble they had was the wind screen quickly became covered in mud and owing to it being a long way away from the driver it was very difficult to get the re-quired view. The latest car they are building has very attractive body space. The rear compartment will seat five comfortably, the forward seats being complete arm chairs facing either direction. We should quite expect the riding qualities and the improved body space alone to be very attractive to owners who only use the back of the car. Although the car is low, the head room is except-ionally good. The car with the big body is long 19ft. overall. We believe this is a little longer than P.2 with two wheels at the back. On the other hand the steering lock is very good and from figures we were given the turning circle was practically the same as our 25HP. As regards the streamlining effect of the car, this of course would be more appreciated when we came to the higher speeds. Actually the performance of the car we were on was supposed to be 80 m.p.h. We should doubt this unless we saw it actually timed. I think we have got to accept the position that we cannot laugh at Sir Denistoun Burney's effort. He himself is very capable and he appears to have got some very wealthy people interested such as the Courtaulds and Lord Cowdrey. They have no intention of producing cars for sale, their business is to sell licences. Actually we do not know what their patents are. Sir Denistoun suggested that they had got the master patent for the engine at the rear of the back axle, but I believe this has already been done by Rumpler. He did state that the 'Rover Scarab' is licenced by them. The mechanical details of the car could easily be im-proved upon. The weight of the car was 30% at the front and 70% at the rear. On the later cars they are aiming at 33% front and 66% rear. The car is reported to be re-markably free from absence of skidding due perhaps to the better road adhesion. We think our attitude should be that we should continue to take a friendly interest in Sir Denistoun Burneys effort. He is visiting Lord Vernon just outside Derby in ten days' time and we have invited him to call at the works. Ha. | ||