SPEED OF THE 41/2 - LITRE BENTLEY

.SPEED OF THE 4i-LITRE BENTLEY

Sir,

Like your corre,spondent, Mr. W’. Stuart. Best, I was also interested in Mr. Raymond Mays’ assertion that . . . with a 4i-litre Bentley under you you can have a quickly reached century anyway . . .”

Personally. I never reached 100 m.p.h.

with my 1939 overdrive Bentley during the 115,000 miles I drove her in eleven years—about 94 m.p.h. was the outside genuine maximum tal Pool petrol. There is of course no douht that some very elementary work on he engine plus a little special fuel would easily produce the genuine 100, and quite possibly Mr. Mays (xtuld not resist the temptation. Indeed, I seem to renterulter that a

prototype of the Mark V Bentley, with special streamlined coachwork, lapped Brookiands at something over 114 m.p.h. just before or just after the beginning of the war. It is of interest to note that the test

and service staff of Messrs. Rolls-Royce at Willesden are generally agreed that the top speed of the Mark VI Bentley is some 94 m.p.h., and that of the Silver Wraith Rolls-Royce 87 m.p.h., with the Silver Wraith slightly superior in acceleration at low speeds. My personal experience confirms that this view is correct so far as the Silver Wraith is concerned. I am, Yours, etc.,

• Stalham. G. E. IdzitscEN.