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).
Improving acceleration by reducing windage for competition work, referencing wind tunnel tests.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 90a\2\ Scan083 | |
| Date | 11th July 1934 | |
| -2- Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}6/KW.11.7.34. We have talked the matter over with Em., who emphasized that maximum speed would not be obtained for anything but brief periods during the race, and that acceleration was the most important feature. However, our point is that even at 80 m.p.h. the acceleration would be improved 10% by equalling B-23-AE's windage. We believe that we can get a better aerodynamic shape without appreciable weight increase. We are therefore carrying out tests in the wind tunnel on an open car, parallelling the figures we have previously obtained on the Saloon car so that we shall be in a position to say what is the best that can be done when anybody wishes to use a Bentley for competition work. It will be observed that in the recent French grand prix all the cars were carefully streamlined. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||