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).
Road test report on a 4 1/4 litre Bentley, detailing transmission noise, top speed, and an issue with water on the windscreen.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 117\3\ scan0009 | |
| Date | 13th May 1940 | |
| - 2 - My brief, but thorough, acquaintance with the car gives me the impression that it is less refined than the previous one, and although it is not easy for me to say definitely what causes this, my belief is that it is mostly arising from the transmission. There seem to be more noisy periods between the low and high speeds on all the gears, including the direct. For instance, when accelerating on 2nd gear there is a big booming noise that arises when the engine revs reach 2500. This is equally noticeable on 1st speed, and it also arises on the overdrive at the same engine speed when the car is doing about 60 m.p.h. It is, however, much less noticeable on the direct drive, yet the direct does not seem to have that smooth progressive increase of speed that one feels it ought to have. I think the roughest patch on the direct drive is about 63 m.p.h., but it is not outstandingly noticeable. What is bad in respect of the gears is the noise on the overdrive. This would not be satisfactory as a general standard, and it is particularly audible from 28-36 m.p.h. After 40 it fades away, and extra wind noise makes it practicably un-noticeable. So definitely noisy is it round about 30 that in slowing down to 30 in a controlled area, one feels almost inclined to change into direct drive because it is so noticeable. The speed under normal conditions on the level seems limited to about 90, and it wants favourable circumstances of gradient or wind to get the needle beyond the 90. I still adhere to my original remark when I first tried this model, that I think the car should be faster we will disappoint many from that point of view. I, of course, appreciate that with the same power available as previously, and with a heavier motor car and larger body, the result is only what one would expect. Nevertheless, I still think that a 4 1/4 litre Bentley - with all that name applies - should be able to do more than 90 m.p.h. on the level. ( true speed about 86 m.p.h.) Once, but only once, when slowing down from a high speed for a corner, and then accelerating again, I found the gear had jumped from the overdrive and was in neutral. I tried to produce this effect again, but did not succeed. One very bad feature of this car is that water escapes from the front end and blows back on to the windscreen on the nearside, with the result that that half of the screen becomes | ||