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 V8 engine new V8 engine began in 1952, bearing no relation to the 1905 version apart from its V8 configuration. Rolls-Royce purchased Bentley in 1931 and the new engine was intended for use in both Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles. The result was a series of V8 engines known internally as the "L410", the name relating to its bore size of 4.10 inches, in accordance with the company practice. Despite some attempts at changing the naming convention, the engine has kept both the 4.10 inch bore and the name L410 throughout its life, with the exception of the odd prototype. Continuous improvement saw