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).
'Turbo Drive' invention, which removes the need for a gearbox and clutch, brought to attention by a client.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 88\1\ scan0263 | |
| Date | 22th October 1936 | |
| 261 Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} c. to H.{Arthur M. Hanbury - Head Complaints} c. to Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} AA{D. Abbot-Anderson}/EE/SM. 22.10.36. Re: Mr. W. Henderson-Gray. The above is a R.R. client and lives in my area. He called to see me yesterday to say that he had come across an invention which he thought we might consider of some use. It is apparently called the Turbo Drive and completely does away with gear boxes and clutches, and is infinitely variable. It is said to be 0. to 98% efficient according to load. It is alleged to be very light and small, and cheap to manufacture in numbers. Apparently there is one of these Turbo Drives running on a bench somewhere in London at the moment and Mr. Gray said he would be delighted to arrange for anyone to see it in action, if we were interested. Incidentally, Mr. Gray is an Engineer himself and he says he thinks it is ideal for ordinary motoring but not quite suitable for a sports car. He asked me to let you have this information and if you were in any way interested, he would be very glad to hear from you. AA.{D. Abbot-Anderson} | ||