CLEARING THE NAME OF H.R.G.

Sir,

With reference to “Letters from Readers” (August), we feel that we should like to clear up a few points which have been raised by Mr. David Gandhi. We ere not in the habit of taking part in arguments on the relative merits of the H.R.G. and other makes of competitive sports cars—the H.R.G. speaks for itself in performance and roadworthiness ; but on occasions such as these, when entirely incorrect statements are made in print, we feel justified in clearing up these obvious errors.

(1) In the first place, the H.R.G. bears no relation whatsoever to the Singer “Le Mans” and has no common features. (2) The engine, admittedly of Singer manufacture, is very much modified by us, and is, in fact, basically the threebearing 1939 model, which we have found to be an extremely adaptable and reliable engine, capable of standing exceptionally high speeds with remarkable reliability. We have had no breakages or troubles of any kind ; although the H.R.G. version

is producing a very considerable increase in power, it still retains the reliability of the standard version.

(3) Only one model, the “Le Mans,” produced by H.R.G. has cycle-type wings. All other models have ample mudguards and we get our performance in spite of these very adequate wings.

(4) The springing need only be harsh if the damping is over-adjusted, and this, under normal conditions, is quite unnecessary, and can he readily adjusted to suit any road conditions ; and don’t forget all road springs require lubrication for soft riding.

(5) The instrument equipment contains all the essential instruments for keeping the engine performance up to 100 per cent. tune ; we supply water and oil thermometers, revolution counter, speedometer with trip, ammeter, petrol gauge, ignition switch and light switch combined, dash lights, etc. Incidentally, our instruments are accurate and do not require any percentage calculations to obtain actual road speed.

(6) The brakes are entirely of H.R.G. design and are not to be found on any other make of car. They are designed in conformity with the very latest modern practice, using electron drums with centricast iron liners and very stiff aluminium shoes, cable operated for efficient mechanical linkage. The braking surface area is more than adequate for the performance, as we have proved from the poor sales of brake linings by our service department! We have found, under road racing conditions, that the brakes have literally not required adjustment on any occasion in any race, even in the Le Mans 24-hour, Donnington T.T. and many others.

The road tests which have been published in the motoring Press do not require repeating in order to stress the extreme efficiency of the braking system. as a whole.

We arc glad to have criticisms from H.R.G. owners and from anyone who is able to judge a genuine sports car on its merits: it helps in producing a better car. But we are anxious to have our product accurately described, and we thank MOTOR SPORT for pointing out these obvious errors. I am, Yours etc., G. H. ROBINS, A.M.I.A.E., Works Director,

H.R.G. Engineering Co., Ltd. Tolworth,

Surrey. * * *