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 Richard Summers to W. A. Robotham expressing dissatisfaction with Bentley cars and rumours of a new V.12 engine.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 89\1\ scan0240 | |
| Date | 22th March 1938 | |
| TELEGRAMS: SUMMERS, CHESTER. TELEPHONE: 200 CONNAH'S QUAY (10 LINES). JOHN SUMMERS & SONS, LIMITED. MANUFACTURERS OF GALVANIZED CORRUGATED AND PLAIN STEEL SHEETS. BLACK SHEETS FOR ALL PURPOSES, &C. LONDON OFFICE: 34, LIME STREET, E.C. GLOBE IRON WORKS, STALYBRIDGE. LIVERPOOL OFFICE: 14, CHAPEL STREET. MANCHESTER OFFICE: 33, BRAZENNOSE STREET. BIRMINGHAM OFFICE: EXCHANGE BUILDINGS. ALL QUOTATIONS UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED ARE SUBJECT TO REPLY BY RETURN OF POST. REFERENCE R.F.S./C. 261s CODES USED: BENTLEY'S; BENTLEY'S 2ND PHRASE, A.B.C. 6TH (5 LETTER) EDITION, MARCONI INTERNATIONAL. WESTERN UNION. BIRCHWOOD'S. LIEBER. Hawarden Bridge Steel Works, Shotton, Chester. 22nd March, 1938. W. A.{Mr Adams} Robotham, Esq., Messrs. Rolls Royce, Ltd., DERBY. Dear Bill, I am sending you copies of correspondence I have had with Bleaney. There are rumours going around that you have now got a V.12 of a suitable design to put in a Bentley chassis, but what worries me most is the discomfort and the rattles that go with the existing Bentley suspension. Neville having had a Packard for some months now finds it very difficult to pluck up sufficient courage to take the Bentley out. I have recently purchased a Talbot which in many respects is much nicer than the Bentley, and I could buy four of them for the price of a Bentley. It is true to say that I could only drive one of them at a time, nevertheless we are all coming to the conclusion that there is nothing to be gained now by having a Bentley, only that we are about £1,000 down the drain!! This is a disastrous state of affairs, and one which I think Messrs. Rolls Royce should realise, and I hope that ere long they will take steps to remove this stigma from their good name. As I told Rolls Royce, London, I want something approaching the Phantom 3 performance in a car the size of the Bentley. Yours ever, Richard. | ||