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 seating capacity and the implications of making the body bigger.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 84\3\ scan0090 | |
| Date | 14th November 1936 | |
| 204 W/S. Bly.{B. W. Bleaney - Bentley Sales} from Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}2/R.14.11.36. BENTLEY SEATING CAPACITY. I shall be interested to know the number of cases you have encountered where the customer would not buy a Bentley because there was not enough room in the back seats, and, at the same time, did not, in consequence, buy a Rolls-Royce car. By that I only refer to customers who have the intention, and sufficient money to buy either one or the other. The point arises because, if we make a Bentley body bigger, we are definitely going to impair its handling qualities, and, in my opinion, nine Bentley customers sit in the front seats for everyone who sits in the back. We do not want partitions in the Bentley. Rm.{William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||