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).
Private letter discussing a proposal to fit a streamlined body to a 4 1/4 litre Bentley for a client named Mr. Embiricos.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 161\1\ scan0058 | |
| Date | 17th February 1937 | |
| Private. To Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} 1380? Levallois Sr3/ET.17.II.37 Dear Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}, I received your private note concerning the stream-lined Bentley and I am glad you are satisfied with the wind tunnel performance, or shall we say the wind tunnel results. My proposition is as follows: Mr. Embiricos has a perfectly good 4 1/4 litre Bentley in Paris, but being a go ahead and sporty type of individual, he would be quite prepared and in fact pleased to have a streamlined body, like the one in question, fitted to his chassis. This would perhaps be the best solution, for the following reasons: If we have to trade in his car and supply him with a new chassis, you will obviously, or the Company, have to modify this chassis to bring it up to stream-line specification, whereas, if we send you over Mr. Embiricos' chassis, you can carry out the necessary modifications to the radiator and steering column, brakes, gear box or back axle. For obvious reasons we should prefer the gear box to be "over drive", as this would maintain the acceleration and still give us the peak speed. For all these modifications, and this is the important point, Mr. Embiricos would be prepared to pay, though I would naturally expect the Company to charge him reasonably. Therefore, apart from the actual work of bringing this chassis up to required specification by the Experimental Department, there would be no expenses whatsoever incurred by the Company. This I feel sure you will agree is the best solution and I have Mr. Embiricos' full agreement on this point. If on the other hand he must have a new chassis, I do not feel that Mr. Embiricos will be disposed to spend extra money on this particular chassis in order to bring it up to specification, in view of the fact that he realises that we are all interested in the final results. I have sent a memo round to all and sundry, a copy of which you have probably received, but I have not clearly stated the position in that memo, as I am now doing, because I had not gone into all the pros and cons at that moment. I note what you say about the under-shield. M.{Mr Moon / Mr Moore} Paulin, however, points out that removing this will also reduce the speed by 12 to 15 Kms. per hour. Let me know whether you think I should write to Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} on the lines of this memo or whether you will discuss the matter personally with the people interested at Works. [Signature] | ||