There was a particular car from the earlier years that influenced our
thinking overall. A truly
mid-fifties American extravagance, the last of the ‘independent’
Packards possessed a ride quality that
had to be experienced to be appreciated, even by modern standards.
Despite this, the two-and-a-bit ton car had an
ability to sweep round corners in a most amazing way. What
was also surprising was the car’s stability
at speeds of up to 120-mile-an-hour.
Helping to achieve
this was its unusual suspension. The car was effectively supported on
each side on full-length torsion bars running between the front and rear
axles. To prevent the obvious tendency to rock fore and aft, thinner half-length
bars, controlled by an electric self-levelling device situated amidships, effectively
wound the rear ‘up’ or ‘down’ dependant on
load. During
cornering, when both outer wheels are in ‘bump’
mode, the resisting force is therefore almost double that which would be
created by an individual
disturbance on any one wheel, either in ‘bump’ or ‘rebound’.
For those who
have not come across the torsion bar principle, it is simply what it
says: bars that twist along their length under load. I suppose crudely
one can say it acts rather like an ‘uncoiled’ coil spring, which
also works on a twisting principle, whereas a leaf spring relies purely
on its resistance to being bent.
It seemed to
us, therefore, that apart from fuel consumption, weight, as an element
of any non-racing, non-rallying equation, was not such a negative
factor. The ballasting effect to the ride, the comparative lack of
disturbance from crosswinds, and the generally more constant nature of
the centre of gravity with changing loads, only had to be offset by a
larger and/or more powerful engine – and of course better brakes.
Moreover, having a levelling device to keep the rear from ‘bottoming
out’ and the suspension geometry
constant at all times could only be
an added advantage both to ride and handling.
This then was
an important indicator to us not to be over-concerned with weight; and,
just as with 158PY’s ingenious clutch arrangement, it confirmed that many a
potential engineering problem had many a potential answer.
It
must not be forgotten that all this ‘bigger
is better’
theory
we extolled back then was well before the displeasure now directed at ‘gas
guzzlers’
and was only in relation to a very limited edition sort of motorcar. 
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