No substitute for torque

Sir,

Any-one who has been fortunate enough to tread on 300 h.p. or more, will fully endorse Ken Purdy’s opinion on this subject.

There is nothing more depressing than having to thrash a small engine over a long distance. I know the Mini-cars go very well, but put four people in one and go up a steep hill, and you will go to sleep counting the number of time you change gear. The trouble is they lack real “guts,” which can only be achieved from a big engined car, with plenty of torque.

The attitude of the Rover 90 owner in Purdy’s letter is not only indicative of people who run these cars but also of the whole British Motor Industry. He was very proud of the inefficiency of his car, of which not only the gearbox should be relegated to a museum, but the whole car, so that future generations who will arrive in their “V”-engined, fully independently sprung, automatic gearboxed machines, may see this wonderful “gutless-wonder.”

As an American remarked after Jack Brabham’s Indianapolis attempt, “there ‘aint no substitute for cubic inches,” and I am sure that anyone who has a fraction of the experience that men like Purdy, Goddard and Crozier have, will agree.

JOHN S. HOGAN.
London, S.W.13.