Page 13 - The Kellner Affair Sample Pages

CHAPTER 3: THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD
it was agreed that he should be the one to attempt to unite an aerodynamic solution with better handling – in other words, that he would be what today is called “project facilitator” for the quick development of prototypes for new high-speed Bentleys.
But Bentley was still not prepared to foot any serious development costs. No real budget was allocated, so Sleator was ying by wire on his own, and months went by before things began to take shape. In the summer of 1937, he had noted how well the three Peugeot Darl’Mat roadsters designed by Georges Paulin had performed at Le Mans, having placed seventh, eighth and tenth overall despite their small motors. While the cars had a smidgeon of extra power derived from a slightly tuned 70 hp Peugeot 402 engine slotted into a modi ed smaller and lighter 302 chassis, the lion’s share of their strong performance was due to their superior aerodynamics. A copy of Eyston’s August 1936 letter to Sidgreaves was still gathering dust in Sleator’s drawer, and it was on the basis of this that he nally made a decision to do something. The plan was simple: rst secure Paulin as designer. Then approach a good customer of the company and get him to bear the cost. For the latter, he already had one in mind, namely André Embiricos, a wealthy Greek
Rue François 1er in the 8th arrondissement where André Embiricos lived one block up on the left in no. 41. (Peter Larsen)
The Paulin designed Peugeot 402 Darl’Mat roadsters performed well at the 1937 Le Mans race. (Peter Larsen) 104