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).
Observations on Citroen's unibody design, American coachwork evolution, and Mathis' independent rear suspension.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 11\5\ 05-page190 | |
| Date | 9th October 1934 | |
| -3- Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}17/KW.9.10.34. Citroen's exhibit was particularly interesting. They have thrown away their frames completely. They have been helped in this by adopting front wheel drive. The body and frame are all in one piece, it being impossible to tell where one starts and the other finishes. The engine unit is bolted directly to the two cantilever projections built out from the body. This step seems to us to be parts of the logical evolution of the motor car. During the past few years almost every American manufacturer has been utilising his coachwork to provide him with chassis rigidity, and as this development progressed it became unnecessary to have a dividing line between the chassis and body. We believe that it is already true to say that in America the only chassis who cannot rely on their coachwork to help them produce a rigid car are those on which custom built bodies are fitted, but that Cadillacs and Packard are tackling the problem energetically. Independent Rear Suspension. Of the independent rear wheel sprung cars exhibited we liked the layout of the Mathis best. In this case the springs consist of torsion rods carried near the centre of the chassis, so causing the least disturbance to the space available for coachwork. We met Olley in Paris, he is coming over for Olympia. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||