Rolls-Royce–Bentley L-series V8 engine as the "six and a quarter" litre engine. When new, the Rolls-Royce/Bentley V8 was rumoured to be an American engine design licence-built, but it was developed in-house by Rolls-Royce and Bentley engineers. This can be seen in its design characteristics, with features like an aluminium alloy cylinder block with wet liners, gear-driven camshaft, (initially) outboard spark plugs and porting inspired by the Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engine. The bore spacing of 4.75" was unlike any American V8 engine and the firing order was 1-5-4-8-6-3-7-2 something uncommon in any period American OHV V8. The deep skirted crankcase design is also rare with
Rolls-Royce 20/25 Best timed speed: 76.27 mph Maximum Speeds in gears: Petrol Consumption: Driven Hard – 14 mpg The 20/25 engine and chassis were designed for the owner driver market – ideally fitted with a smaller sedan or coupe body as the one used in the 1935 Autocar Test. Unfortunately many 20/25’s were fitted with larger and heavier limousine bodies which hurt their performance. Only the chassis and mechanical parts were made by Rolls-Royce. The body was made and fitted by a coachbuilder selected by the owner. Amongst the most respected coachbuilders who produced bodies for Rolls Royce cars are Park Ward,