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 for a high-speed road test of modified Bentley cars on the German Autobahn for publicity.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 160\3\ scan0015 | |
| Date | 29th November 1938 | |
| -3- There are two cars in being which can be used as they stand to demonstrate exceptional performance. These are:- (1) The 4½-litre Bentley, prepared for Le Mans race last year. (2) The Paulin Bentley. Owing to the very high axle ratio on Paulin Bentley, the engine has, relatively speaking, an easy time, in fact, considerably more so than the standard car, because it is quite impossible to use the maximum speed of the car at all, except on the autobahn, or its equivalent. We believe, therefore, we can with safety put the carburetters and pistons into this car which were fitted to the Le Mans engine, and it would still remain a perfectly reliable vehicle. High Speed Road Test. We suggest that these modifications can be carried out in Paris by one of our people, and the car could then be driven by the owner or Sr. in Germany on one of the stretches of autobahn to cover a number of pre-arranged miles at its best speed. The run could then be observed by selected newspaper correspondents, presumably one from the 'Autocar' and one from a Daily paper. The only difficulty we can foresee is that if the run was for an extended period, there might be some objection from the German Road Authorities. We imagine if the correct stretch of Autobahn were selected the car might do 95 miles in the hour if conditions were favourable. In conjunction with this high speed run, a consumption test of 60 m.p.h. might be recorded. I believe that this would be astonishingly good. If the car were then written up as a Bentley, adapted to the new motor road conditions, I believe it would excite considerable interest. Subsequently, the car might do a 12 or 24 hr. run at Montlhery, and again be written up, as far as possible always appearing as a customer's car, which, of course, it is. | ||