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).
Bentley car performance, focusing on the trade-off between silence and speed, and mentioning ongoing vehicle tests.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 3\4\ 04-page339 | |
| Date | 19th June 1933 | |
| -2- Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}2/MJ.19.6.33. Cont'd.{John DeLooze - Company Secretary} on performance. The air silencer, however, makes all the difference to the silence inside a covered body. The roar and boom from the carburetters is most distressing. W.O. Bentley will tell you that the whole cry from the Bentley customers was the demand for more silence and smoothness. This, in our opinion, is quite natural. The thrill of a car which merely goes fast does not last very long if it is obtained at the expense of general discomfort over 90% of its use. We think that to make the Bentley car less silent is absolutely wrong. That Sales should demand is that the standard of silence on the M.M. cars should be improved. We have already reported in our Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}6/MJ.16.6.33 that we can demonstrate that there are many cheap production cars which are more silent than our standard models. We are carrying out careful tests at Brooklands this week on two cars changing the axle ratios. It will be next week before we can let you have the green car back. We will let you know early next week when it will be completed and also at the same time we can fix up when the new radiator will be ready for you to use. The other items mentioned in your memo, are receiving attention. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} | ||