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).
Letter detailing a road test and first impressions of a new 3.5-litre Bentley model.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 88\1\ scan0055 | |
| Date | 12th February 1934 | |
| COPY. Dex Garages Limited, New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne 2. February 12th 1934. Major L.W.Cox, Messrs Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd. 16, Conduit Street, London, W.1. Dear Major Cox, As a member of the staff of the old Bentley Company for over nine years, I have, naturally, been looking forward to the time when I should be able to handle one of the new 3 1/2 litre models on road A.1. from London to Newcastle-onTyne, every mile of which is so familiar to me. Now that I have covered 1,000 miles on our demonstration car, I think you might be interested to learn my impressions. It being a new car, I did not set out to break any records, but taking every due care and consideration, I took automatically (it is the only word which describes it) 30 minutes off my usual time from London to Newcastle. Only once have I covered the journey quicker, and then on a car of very much higher horse power and with the definite intention of getting to my destination in the minimum of time. When the speedometer registered 1,000 miles I tested the performance of that comparatively small horse powered engine and attained 95 m.p.h. in a very short distance. All this was accomplished with a petrol consumption of nearly 18 m.p.g ! The car's silence is almost uncanny when one considers its performance. The unobtrusiveness of this sports car may not, at first, appeal to some motorists, who have learnt to judge their speed rather by the noise of the engine and exhaust than by the speedometer. What an out-standing asset, however, is this silent speed in these days of the "anti-motorist campaign" ?. (contd) | ||