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).
Proposal to annually purchase and test competitor vehicles to benchmark performance and inform design improvements.
Identifier | ExFiles\Box 20\11\ Scan006 | |
Date | 21th December 1911 guessed | |
-2- view to seeing whether there may not be points in them which might be introduced with benefit into our own designs. When the Technical Committee have done with these chassis we will sell them. There is always a danger that the Technical Committee may be misled ( living as they do in a small town in the Midlands with very little opportunity of seeing other cars) into the belief that our car is far ahead of every one else's car. The fact that our car is selling well at present may lull them into a false sense of security. For this information I think it is indispensable that we should yearly buy for the information of the Com- mittee some of the cars which appear to approach in ex- cellence most nearly to Rolls-Royce, and in examining cars we must remember that the reputation of the Rolls-Royce was largely made on the fact that it was very silent. There- fore, it will interest me to know to what extent each of these cars approaches ours in excellence under various conditions such as engine running light, acceleration on first gear, acceleration on second gear, acceleration on third gear, full load at low speed, full load at high speed, etc., both as regards engine and transmission. C.J. | ||