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 Kestrel the Kestrel VIII, was configured as a 'pusher engine' for the Short Singapore flying boat. Apart from supercharging, the variant differences centred on varying compression ratios and propeller reduction gearing. "From Lumsden, the Kestrel may not be the main powerplant for these types." Several Rolls-Royce Kestrel engines remain in service, powering restored Hawker biplane types: Preserved examples of the Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine are on public display at the: Rolls-Royce Kestrel The Kestrel or type F is a 22-litre (1,342 Cu In) 700-horsepower (520 kW) class V-12 aircraft engine from Rolls-Royce, their first cast-block engine and the pattern for most of