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).
Car dampers and special equipment for customers who drive at high speed or for events like the Alpine trials.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 178\3\ img277 | |
| Date | 14th July 1932 | |
| Sc. FROM R.{Sir Henry Royce} C. to ZDE. PY. HS.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} T. Dr. re. CARS IN GENERAL [Stamp: RECEIVED 1932 JUL 15 WORKS] [Handwritten: X469] We hear a good deal from those people who run their cars at a breakneck speed, and prefer rough springing and many other qualities which are hardly RR. characteristics. We must not expect to entirely please these people, and fortunately they do not constitute the bulk of the buyers of RR. cars. This small number of customers could have something specially fitted in the way of dampers, etc, which is not our usual standard, the equivalent of which our designing and experimental staffs have not had time to produce. For some time I have thought that our dampers and most others are not powerful enough for our flexibly sprung cars at even moderate speeds, especially the front ones. I think that with an ordinary chauffeur driven car such gadgets might cause more harm than good. The driver would probably have the control for strong damping when it should be light, and vice versa. Certainly the adjustable Hartford's that I have seen would come under this class, except on special occasions when we now fit them as auxiliaries for special journeys at high speed. Certainly it would seem that we could not cater with a standard car, without some special equipment, for such uses as the Alpine trials, etc. Hancock says, probably very rightly, this would be more suitable for Bensport. R.{Sir Henry Royce} | ||