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).
Future strategy for the existing Bentley car model, weighing performance against comfort for different markets.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 83\3\ scan0055 | |
| Date | 20th August 1937 | |
| By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} from Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} c. to Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} c. to Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} c. to Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} c. to Mx.{John H Maddocks - Chief Proving Officer} c. to Sr. FUTURE OF EXISTING BENTLEY CAR. Whilst we were in Paris, we took the opportunity of discussing the future of the Bentley with Sr. We accept that the Continent are biased in favour of performance at the expense of comfort. Sr. takes the view that complaints about the Bentley suspension have been greatly aggravated by the car being over bodied. Where the coachwork weight has been kept down to the minimum, he considers that the Bentley is still a magnificent car for fast Continental touring. We agree with him; the Paris trials car is a revelation as to how well a Bentley fitted with the right body can behave, even on Continental roads. Sr. never has a second hand Bentley on his hands for more than a very short time. We indicated to Sr. that the replacement Bentley, in the interests of the general demands of the British market, would be more comfortable, have a higher centre of gravity and provide more room than the present car. That this would inevitably mean more weight and that the performance would therefore inevitably be reduced somewhat, as no increase in engine dimension could be contemplated. Sr. considered that even with such a car available, there would still be a market for the existing Bentley, if the performance could be slightly improved as a counter attraction. If Bentley III. is as good as it ought to be, we doubt if it will be easy to sell Bentley II, even with a better performance, in parallel with it in England. Sr's opinion, however, encourages us to believe that the present car is not as out of date as we are inclined to think, and that if the performance side is slightly over-stressed together with other refinements that are available (see specification), the existing car can be sold until we are fully ready to put Bentley III. on the market at the right price and free of service troubles. Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||