MAXIMUM SPEEDS-REAL AND IMAGINARY

MAXIMUM SPEEDS REAL AND IMAGINARY

Letter writers to the weekly motoring papers have very optimistic and childlike faith in the accuracy of their car’s

speedometers. If they had reason, as we do, to conduct a considerable number of timed tests at Brooklands, they would save ink, paper and stamps. Naturally, owners of really fast cars are peeved at claims for absurd maximum speeds from cars, which, excellent in their class, were never intended by their designers to rank as suitable for ultra-fast touring on Italian or German motor-roads or for putting up sensational averages in M.C.C. High Speed Trials. Recent letter-writer claims for a maximum in excess of 90 m.p.h. for the 2 litre M.G. number at least eight. That purchasers of higher-priced cars, who have reason to enjoy the possession of a really high speed (or the effortless performance endowed by designing that permits of high maximums), resent these claims is emphasised by challenges thrown out by owners of Alfa-Romeo, 4.3-litre Alvis and Chrysler cars. The only sort of proof of the M.G.’s actual speed came from ” G.T. ” of Abingdon (Publicity Manager to The M.G. Car Co. Ltd., of Abingdon), who writes that a 2-litre saloon, unofficially timed at Brooklands, lapped at 80.98 m.p.h., and did the flying quartermile at 88.4 m.p.h., and the quarter-mile mean at 83.33 m.p.h., and the statement that R. R. Jackson’s saloon was electrically timed over a kilometre of the Frankfort-on-Main Autobahn during the German record week at 85.5 m.p.h. The 2-litre M.G. was introduced over two years ago, and so far the only detailed road-test report on it has been one published in the official organ of the M.G. Car Co. Ltd., when the maximum speed was quoted as 87 m.p.h , and it was not made clear whether by watch or speedo

meter-reading. We suggest that this car should be road-tested by independent motor papers—MOTOR SPORT will be very pleased to oblige.