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).
Options for a lightweight steering wheel for a Bentley car.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 154\3\ scan0206 | |
| Date | 24th April 1934 | |
| X3861 Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} To Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} from E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} E.5/HP.24.4.34. c. Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} re Bentley Steering wheel. Replying to your memo Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD}15/E.23.4.34, our point is that it should be possible to get a light spring wheel for the Bentley with a thin rim. The Dover people supply a spring wheel weighing 3.1 lbs, a number of which we have fitted to the 20/25 at customers requests. It therefore seems wrong to fit a wheel weighing 6½ lbs to a Bentley as we are doing at the present time, and we would suggest that the Bluemel people if approached on the matter could give us an article as light as the Dover wheel. American cars are not fitted with heavy accessories and our feeling is, on a sports car, if we keep on adding 3 lbs here and 4 lbs there the total effect will soon begin to tell on acceleration, because a heavy load requires a heavier car to carry it. E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} | ||