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).
Recalculating Phantom III experimental expenses by reclassifying demonstration chassis as experimental cars.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 148\5\ scan0106 | |
| Date | 3rd February 1936 | |
| CEP see me x300 To Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} re P.III Experimental Expenses. Sg{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD}4/El3.2.36 You will remember handing me a sheet as per the attached copy. I had not intended to raise this matter but, as you have done so, I have had the figures looked at carefully. I note that you deduct from the normal experimental expenses as compared with the P.II a total sum of £34,327 for the 9 dummy chassis and 3 demonstration chassis. In doing so I am afraid you have overlooked the fact that the 3 demonstration chassis have more or less only been so in name. We had the 3 for a very short time indeed and for a great many weeks we have only had one. It really, therefore, means that the other two have become experimental cars. If one takes the value of the Dummies at £400 each, it brings the £34,327 to £30,727. If one then deducts two-thirds of this for two of the three chassis which have really become experimental, it means that that sum of approximately £20,484 should be added to your other figure of £39,542, Experimental Chassis, giving a total of £60,026 for the 5 Experimental chassis which you really have got, as compared with £36,119 for Experimental P.II. I do not think that any good purpose would be served at the present time by going into the matter further but it will be interesting, when we have finished the major experimental work on P.III, to see how it really compares with P.II, but on the face of it it certainly looks very much heavier at present. Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} Enc. | ||