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).
Comparative analysis of the Lancia and 20 HP car designs, focusing on suspension and weight distribution to minimize pitching.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 178\1\ img208 | |
| Date | 12th December 1927 | |
| Cont'd.{John DeLooze - Company Secretary} the wheel base and the maximum amount of weight each end. The car which conforms most nearly to these ideal conditions is the Lancia. The equivalent of the front axle is carried at the forward end of the sprung weight, the engine and gearbox are concentrated right forward under the bonnet, the spare wheels are carried far out behind the rear axle. Therefore, quite apart from the unconventional front suspension, we should expect this car to ride well because we can see why it should be free from pitching. The 20 HP. car has unit engine and gearbox construction which removes the gearbox from the centre of the car forward. It has a Hotchkiss drive which eliminates the sphere and attendant cross members and torque rods from the centre of the chassis, it has the frame extended rearwards for the semi-eliptic springs and the spare wheel carried at the rear. All these factors tend to reduce its susceptibility to 'pitching' when compared with the 40/50 which has the additional disadvantage that the weight of its rear springs is carried on the sprung portion of the chassis undesirably near the centre thereof. Cont'd.{John DeLooze - Company Secretary} | ||