Article from 'The Motor' magazine about a road test of Forrest Lycett's 8-litre Bentley.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 160\5\ scan0018 | |
| Date | 30th October 1940 | |
| The Motor 284 October 30, 1940. A Record Breaker on the Road The Terrific Accelerative Powers of Forrest Lycett’s 8-litre Bentley Which Will Average 55.6 m.p.h. for the Standing Quarter Mile: On the Road, for “Ordinary” Motoring, It Is One of the Most Delightful Cars to Handle BY LAURENCE POMEROY, JUNR. JUST about two years ago I had a motoring experience which really merited that oft misused word “unforgettable.” I joined Forrest Lycett for a Brooklands test of the 8-litre Bentley, a car known, I suppose, to every enthusiast who is familiar with English speed trials and hill-climbs. During the course of the afternoon times were recorded which had never been equalled by any other car which The Motor has road-tested. There is good reason to suppose that it is not possible to beat them with any normal production model which has so far been produced. Even over a quarter-mile, for instance, the Bentley takes half a second less to do the standing distance than its nearest rival. In point of fact, it will average 55.6 m.p.h. for the standing quarter, and if one then goes on to complete half a mile the last quarter will be covered at an average speed of 100 m.p.h. These terrific accelerative powers bore fruit just before war broke out in breaking the English Class B standing-mile record at an average speed of 92.8 m.p.h., the car doing approximately 130 m.p.h. as it went over the finishing line. The full list of records now to the credit of the car are:— British Class B standing kilo. at 81.5 m.p.h. British Class B standing mile at 92.8 m.p.h. Brighton sports U/S, unlimited c.c., at 64.75 m.p.h. Lewes sports cars, any type, in 20.17 secs. Shelsley Walsh, Class 7, in 44.08 secs. Having, I suppose, rather a statistical and technical approach to motoring, these figures were well in my mind as I motored out into the country not long ago with a view to doing some “ordinary” motoring on the King’s highway in this car. It must be remembered that it is not a racing car used on the road. It is a road car which has been developed over a period of years to a point where it takes high place amongst racing models, as can be seen from the fact that the previous holder of the mile record was none other than J. {Mr Johnson W.M.} G. {Mr Griffiths - Chief Accountant / Mr Gnapp} Parry Thomas on his Leyland Thomas single-seater. The developments, incidentally, have been largely towards the reduction in weight. I described them at length in The Motor, November 8, 1938, and all I will do now is to remark that Lycett and Mackenzie who has been responsible for carrying out the work, have in their pursuit of perfection followed fully in the footsteps of John Caius, about whom the Elizabethan, Fleming, wrote, “To the utter accomplishments of whose desire he spared no study, withdrew himself from no labour, repined at no pains, forsook no travail and refused no endeavour.” In consequence, the all-up weight of the car to-day with comfortable doorless two-seater body is less than the standard 8-litre Bentley chassis. Furthermore, the power output has been increased very considerably beyond the 180 b.h.p. or so which this engine originally developed. The triple S.U. carburetters have a special system of throttle slides in place of butterflies, the camshaft is of the Speed Six type, the pistons, which are 1/4 lb. lighter than standard, are of Mackenzie design and the compression ratio has been raised by milling the cylinder block and crankcase, the head, of course, being non-detachable. One, Three, Nought on the Clock The results on the road are magnificent—80 to 90 m.p.h. is, so to speak, always on tap, it being possible to reach the latter figure in 8 seconds from a cruising speed of 60 m.p.h. In this, however, the car is perhaps not wholly exceptional, although it is rare indeed to find any model even with the latest system of suspension which has such perfect road-holding and that is so steady under braking. Although fundamentally of standard design, very stiff aluminium brake drums have been fitted with steel liners, and the shoes in these can be expanded really hard at any speed without deflecting the steering and without causing any perceptible degree of commotion. A stunt stop including the locking of the wheels leaves four perfectly even black stubs on the road. The safety given by these anchors, coupled with the great restraint invariably shown by Lycett when driving, gives one entire confidence even when unique speeds are attempted and achieved. I say “unique” purposely, for in the course of an evening’s run, it was fortunate enough to see the speedometer needle moved to the 130 m.p.h. mark, and although there was a slight error, due to varying tyre sizes, I knew that we were covering the ground at a rate well in excess of two miles a minute. This, of course, was the high spot of the day, but 100 m.p.h. was frequently obtained, in many cases up hill, and 110 was by no means uncommon. These, obviously, are main-road speeds. No less impressive is the handling of the car on the smaller by-roads that are so characteristic a feature of the English countryside. One wheels round a sharp bend in second gear, a tremendous impetus to reach 70 m.p.h. in a matter of yards. From the passengers’ seat a point of interest is seeing acceleration backwards. One looks out over the bulbous tail at the corner and the trees and stones surrounding it, and watches them diminishing with almost incredible rapidity. It is just like looking through the wrong end of a folded telescope and then moving it like a trombone! And yet with all these vivid qualities of high speed and high acceleration this 10-year-old design retains a town-carriage-like flexibility. The engine is geared to give about 35 m.p.h. in 1,000 r.p.m., but it will run down at high gear to 10 m.p.h. on this ratio with the crank rotating at less than 300 r.p.m. Image Caption: “ . . . not a racing car used on the road . . . a road car which has been developed to a point where it takes high place amongst racing models.” 285 The Motor Thus whereas in its vigour it evokes “Bring me my bow of Burning gold, Bring me my Chariot of fire,” in its suitability for quiet ways and country roads it brings to mind the lines of Shelley, “Awake! Arise! And come away! To the wild woods and the plains And the pools where winter rains Image all their roof of leaves.” Nor is this tractability, or for that matter the high speed, obtained as a result of excessive fuel consumption. Between 13 and 14 m.p.g. can be realized, despite the 8-litre cylinder capacity and the 45 h.p. R.A.C. rating. This, of course, is a figure more usually associated with much smaller cars, and despite its considerable overall dimensions the Bentley does not feel at all exaggerated. Steering is certainly heavy, and the Shelsley time is a tribute to Lycett’s strength as well as his skill; but the brakes do not require undue pressure despite the fact that they no longer have the original vacuum servo, which has been removed to save weight. Their efficiency is, no doubt, largely due to the great rigidity conferred by the large-section aluminium drums with their comparatively deep ribbing. In so far as the other controls are concerned, the clutch, of course, has had to be designed in the light of the very large torque given by the engine, and the accelerator pedal has a two-stage movement. A light spring controls the initial slide opening, which has a downward movement adjacent to the needle to give good diffusion. When the initial travel has been taken up on a slotted link the main slides open up to give full power. It is interesting to note that about 70 m.p.h. can be comfortably obtained on the pilot system, and that a single-slide proved itself insufficiently responsive at low speeds. The whole thing is controlled simply from one pedal, the action being in some ways similar to the engagement of the blower on the supercharged Mercedes cars. The main difference is that the acceleration of the Bentley is much greater and that the blower whine of the Mercedes is avoided. A point which interested me in particular was absence of chassis whip over bad going. This car has orthodox channel section frame with tubular cross-bracing. It is very much stiffer than the older-type Bentleys, which under load would rival “Haw-Haw” in departure from the truth. Lycett’s car is quite steady, with no shake on the radiator or scuttle. Nor was there evidence of the frame being weak as a beam from stern to stern. One often feels a kick in the pants on large cars, due solely to the flexing of the side members in a vertical plane. The springing of the car is an exceedingly good compromise—it is dead firm in the higher ranges and very reasonably comfortable even at the slowest speeds. In figures, it is, of course, “harsh” by modern standards, the deflection of both front and rear springs being about only one-third of that used on modern racing cars. Nevertheless, because the springs are well matched, there is an absence of pitch and, because of the great weight of the car and corresponding high ratio of sprung to unsprung weight, the ride is quite satisfactory. Incidentally, a combination of both friction and hydraulic shock absorbers are used, the latter being of B. and D. {John DeLooze - Company Secretary} manufacture. There is certainly nothing violently heterodox or striking in the design— B8 B9 | ||
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).