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).
Notes on the 20 HP Chassis, discussing issues with body weight, sales, and production.
| Identifier | Morton\M2.2\ img007 | |
| Date | 12th April 1929 | |
| Notes on 20 HP Chassis. impossible to sell a closed body with the open front driving seat. The effect of this, of course, was to increase the weight of these covered bodies quite materially. Also a demand arose in many cases for Triplex glass which necessitates increased weight. As time has gone along many extra accessories have been demanded and fitted by purchasers. So that, in spite of every effort that has been made by Sales t total weight imposed upon the chassis has increased, but it has been due to a great extent to change in fashion and public demand- the bodies are no larger so far as interior accommodation is concerned. The difficulty about stopping these 6-seater bodies is that they represent about 40% of our total sales; so that we should miss a very high percentage of orders (which are already down to 7 a week) if we were to refuse the sale of this type of car. Even as it is the smallness of these bodies loses us many orders. Most of these cars, however, are used in the main for use in London and large towns and do not go at excessive speeds. It is not only in respect of these 6-seater cars that we get criticisms of lack of power and acceleration; in fact it is more often the owner-driven type of car about which this criticism is made. 6-seater Trials cars sent to possible customers for trial runs. This particular car, which is the Barkerlite, is of specially light construction and the total weight of the car, complete with fuel, petrol, water, oil, tools etc. amounts to 33 1/2 cwt. which is only slightly over Mr.Royce's figure of 33 cwt. Item 10. It must be borne in mind that in order to make the 20 HP a reasonable commercial proposition there is a minimum number of chassis that should be manufactured in the regular programme, and although it would appear we are down to this limit at the present time, still our sales of 7 per week are made up of, and can only be maintained by, a mixture of both "Y" and "Z", and to adopt only "Y" or "Z" would render the manufacture of the 20 HP an uncommercial proposition. Item 11. We agree with this with the exception that no suggestion has been made which runs the risk referred to at (c) in R's memo. | ||