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 from the Experimental Department requesting various tests on a car, including wind resistance and body analysis.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 90a\4\ Scan288 | |
| Date | 10th June 1936 | |
| X762 Exptl. Dept. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}3/KW. 10th June, 1936. E.R. Hall, Esq., Hotel de Paris, Le Mans, FRANCE. Dear Hall, Will you complete the wind resistance tests on your car before you bring it back ? I do feel that at the present moment, having two cars with different types of body on and the same power unit we are at last in a position to get some accurate full-scale figures on windage. You have spent a considerable sum of money on wind tunnel work, and on making a body for your car, but we still do not know what it is actually worth. If you take the two cars to Montlhery (getting a figure of merit for the two exhaust systems, which is the only difference between the two cars), you can tell us exactly. You can also fit the undershields and settle once and for all whether these are worth anything. Another thing you could get, in conjunction with Vanvooren's, would be a weight analysis of the body. Vanvooren's could also tell you exactly how much they could save by making the same shape and wing construction. It might not be worth doing, but it would be nice to have the information. Another thing that could be done now is to try covering in the front end of the car as originally suggested, and measuring the increase in speed, if any, and the effect upon the handling of the car. Vanvooren's could, I am certain, without any difficulty, fit this up with aeroplane fabric, using the existing wings as supports, and we could get the result at very small cost. | ||