The placards on the Bentley and RR at the Gilmore Car Museum have
bothered me for some time and having opened my mouth here it forced
me to do some research which I should have done long ago. I should
mention that the Gilmore is a great museum located in SW Michigan.
The HP question: From physics a HP is a HP is a HP - - - well not
quite. In Britain the RAC (Royal Automobile Club) computed
automotive HP by an equation of their own. This apparently work for
early cars and indeed it was used for tax purposes hence taxable
HP. It continued in use into the 1960's but the RAC had made three
assumptions which did not hold up over time. There is an
explanation, with the equations, at http://www.designchambers.com/
wolfhound/wolfhoundRACHP.htm It would be fun to plug in some numbers
from current cars just to see how HP comes out in RAC HP but I do not
have time for that now.
The following information came from various sites which do not all
agree with each other but these were not "production line" cars so
some variance is expected.
Bentley Speed Six (supercharged perhaps) 4850 lbs, 180 to 200 hp,
top speed 84 to 125 mph.
RR Phantom II Sports Coupe, 5485 lbs, 43.3 RAC HP, 120 BHP, top speed
92 mph.
Almost all Phantom II's were custom bodied but seem consistent
mechanically with exception of wheel base. The Bentley seems only
slightly more consistent.
Bob Kitterer
1960 Austin Healey Sprite (Mk IV in disguise)
1966 Austin Healey Sprite Mk III (Trevor) - still in boxes
2000 Miata Special Edition
On Oct 20, 2008, at 6:36 PM, Billy Zoom wrote:
> I doubt that the Bentley weighed anywhere near as much as the
> Rolls, but you
> can't judge anything by the top speed. I'm sure the Rolls was
> geared a lot
> taller, and I'll bet that was taxable horsepower, which is
> calculated by
> the area of the tops of the pistons and has nothing to do with power.
> Bentley's were race cars. I'll bet it got to 95 a lot quicker than an
> overweight cruiser like a Rolls.
> James Bonds Bentley was always credited with doing over 100 when he
> wanted
> it to.
> BZ
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