Edinburgh to Monte Carlo Tour

From 16th to 24th August, 1926, a ROVER 9/20 hp toured from Edinburgh to Monte Carlo under the observation of the R.A.C. "to demonstrate reliability and to obtain records of fuel and oil consumptions, at the average speeds of approximately 20 m.p.h. and 30 m.p.h. respectively."
The trial was described by the R.A.C. Certificate as follows: "The entrants submitted a stock of twenty-four cars, from which one car was chosen by the Club. After selection shock absorbers were fitted to both axles. The route which was chosen by the entrant was as follows: Coventry, Stafford, Warrington, Carlise, Moffat, Edinburgh, Coldstream, Newcastle-on-Tyne, York, Grantham, Bedford, London and Dover. This portion of the trial comprised a distance of 779 miles. The car was then shipped to Calais, and a distance of 796 miles was covered on the Continet, over the route Abbeville, Versailles, Auxerre, Chalon-sur-Saone, Lyons, Valence, Avignon, Aix en Provence, Frejus and Cannes, to Monte Carlo, where the trial ended. The fuel used was „No. 1“ grade motor spirit, which was purchased in the ordinary manner upon the road, as required. The weather during the trial in England was fine, rain falling on two days, and on the Continent also good, with the exception of the last quarter of the distance. The car did not coast when descending hills."

And here is the text as given in the ROVER brochure.

A strenuous trial of a 9/20 h.p. Rover car in which economy and reliability at high touring speed are convincingly demonstrated

The „ordinary private motorist“ will find much to interest him in the results obtained from a strenuous trial of a 9/20 h.p. Rover car just brought to a successful conclusion.
Some few month ago, it will be remembered, a Rover car amazed the motoring world by covering a distance of no less than 2,007 miles on an outlay of £5. This trial was run under the stringent observation of the Royal Automobile Club, but, according to the regulations, a speed not in excess of the British legal limit - 20 m.p.h. - might be averaged.
Now, many British motorists habitually average speeds higher than 20 m.p.h., and it was therefore suggested that the remarkable economy demonstrated by the car was in part due to the speed having been kept down in the trial.
Accordingly, the Rover Company decided to dispose of criticism in this direction by running another trial, partly in England and partly in France, so that higher speed could be averaged on the second part of the run, and the results compared with those obtained in Britain at 20 m.p.h. The route chosen for the trial was from Coventry to Edinburgh and thence to Dover; and from Calais to Monte Carlo.

The Royal Automobile Club were, of course, invited to observe the trial as on the previous occasion, and, in order that the car used should be the same as any ordinary purchaser of a 9/20 h.p. Rover can buy, the R.A.C. official was asked to select the trial car at random from stock.
From the time the car was chosen until the moment the trial ended, the R.A.C. observer kept the car under the strictest supervision.
The car left Coventry on its 1,600 miles trial on Monday, August 16th, and proceeded by daily stages of about 180 miles to Edinburgh, and thence southwards to Dover. It carried a total load of no less than 57 stone (over 7 cwt.), the folding luggage grid playing a useful part in the disposal of the passengers’ baggage.
The British section of the route terminated at Dover, when 779 miles had been covered at an advantage speed of 20 m.p.h. The car was here shipped across the Channel to Calais, and the second portion of the trial commenced from the quay at the French port.

In France, the car was driven at a speed corresponding with that usually maintained by the average motorist, the daily stages being of over 200 miles.
From Calais to Monte Carlo the mean speed worked out at 29.29 m.p.h. which, it will be agreed, is quite a fast touring speed to maintain over an 800 mile journey.
At this speed the Rover’s petrol consumption was at a rate of no less than 35.85 miles to the gallon, while its oil consumption averaged 1,327 m.p.g. Calculated at retail prices ruling in England to-day, this means that the 9/20 h.p. Rover, carrying four passengers, costs at the outside three-fifths of a penny per mile for petrol and oil!
During the whole of the 1,600 miles trial the car needed no attention other than the cleaning out of the carburetter (by no means unusual in the case of a new car, whatever its make) - convincing proof of the complete and utter reliability of the famous „Nippy Nine“. Remember, too, that it was not in any way a specially prepared car, but „the same as you can buy“.

The following gives the complete results of the trial at a glance:
	British Section	French Section
	(779 miles)	(796 miles)
Average speed	20 m.p.h.	29.29 m.p.h.
Petrol consumption	39.93 m.p.g.	35.85 m.p.g.
Oil consumption	1.246 m.p.g.	1.327 m.p.g.

The following items of standard equipment were used on the car, and performed in every way satisfactorily: Smith carburetter, A.C. sparking plugs, Lucas magneto, and Smith of Elland shock absorbers. The fuel used was BP („BP Energetic“ in France).

How We Journeyed to Monte Carlo
By „Elbond“

The reason why we decided on the trial from Coventry to Monte Carlo via Edinburgh is described in detail on the preceeding page. Briefly, we wanted to make it perfectly clear that the 9/20 h.p. Rover - „The Nippy Nine“ - was not only an economical car to run at 20 m.p.h., but at the higher speeds that every motorist puts up every day; something between 25 and 30 m.p.h., in fact. And we wanted to do it on a car „the same as you can buy“ - not a specially faked up car that would probably be vastly different from that which you, as a possible owner of a 9/20 h.p. Rover, might get when you finally placed your order. If the car had been a „dud“, then the Royal Automobile Club would have issued a Certificate of Performance just the same, recording in faithful detail exactly what had happened to put the car out of the running. That’s one of the „risks“ of an R.A.C. Observed Trial: whether you fail or wether you succeed, the certificate is published just the same, for there is no suppression of facts when things go wrong.

Anyhow the trial was decided upon, and the R.A.C. agreed that it was of a nature that justified them in observing it. The proviso was made, however, that an average speed of not more than 30 m.p.h. should be averaged on the French section of the route, and to this we agreed, for few same motorists exceed this figure as an average over hundreds of miles’ running. In fact, even 25 m.p.h. is not at all a bad average to maintain.
It was, then, on Monday, August 16th, 1926, that Mr. R. W. Sprague, the Chief Observer of the Royal Automobile Club, arrived in Coventry to commence the trial. In the showrooms at our works we had our usual stock of cars; all of them exactly the same as if you had walked in desirous of purchasing one of them - the best car obtainable at its price, admittedly. In due course Mr. Sprague entered the showroom; he had a good look around the cars from which he had to choose one - all alike as peas, they were, except that body colours varied (for purchasers of these cars have their choice of body colour, you know).
With one eye cocked at photographic possibilities, the writer suggested that Mr. Sprague might possibly decide that a blue car would meet his fancy. That was enough - and sufficient to set suspicion simmering in the official breast (is that where suspicion simmers, by the way?). At any rate, nothing but a dark red car would suit after that! (As you know, this is the worst colour possible from the photographic point of view). So dark red the car was, and the photographs suffered accordingly.
Once the official finger had designated its august choice, the car was never out of observation. Shock absorbers were fitted front and rear; the „G.B.“ oval plate was fixed to the back of the body; boards were screwed on either side of the car, brightly painted in red, white and blue as a gesture of good will across the Channel, and lettered in brief English and bad French with an outline of the purpose of the trial.
And eventually we were ready to start. Baggage occupied the roomy folding luggage grid which is such a useful standard feature of the 9/20 h.p. Rover; on the offside running board we had stowed a canvas „lock-up“ in which the car could be sealed up safe from interference when a proper lock-up garage was not available overnight (this canvas bag, by the way, alone weighted practically 50 lb., and looked for all the world like Tutankhamen’s mummy as it lay on the footboard); the rear compartment of the car was occupied by the Observer’s maps, measuring cans and other impedimenta, and last (and almost least) came the actual passengers. There were four in number and comprised Messrs. R. W. Sprague, C. T. Newsome, J. K. Starley, junior, and the writer. In all, the car transported a load of no less than 57 stone (about equal to that of average family plus mother-in-law) - at any rate as much as most motorists carry about the country at any time, and probably double the usual load of the average car owner. Bear that in mind when considering the results of the trial as evidenced by the reproduction of the R.A.C. Certificate on another page. Picture us, then, at 4 p.m. on August 16th, leaving Coventry on our long trek. An enthusiastic crowd watched us depart (more to be in range of the camera than anything else), and within a few minutes we were heading north along the road to Lichfield and Warrington, our first night’s halting place. The run passed off without event; the only incident occured on our arrival at the hotel in Warrington where, as we entered the garage and proceeded to „bag“ the car for the night, one of the party successfully blew the main electric fuse in the hotel by inadvertently touching the wrong switch, plunging the hotel into apparently permanent darkness (for the next morning, when we left, the location of the burst fuse had not been discovered!). Our first experience of our canvas locking-up, therefore, took place in impenetrable blackness; nevertheless, we sealed up the car with an efficiency that very nearly defied our own efforts at unsealing the following morning.
Our second day’s run took us through the busy parts of Lancashire, to Kendal, over Shap Fell to Penrith and Carlisle and thence to Moffat, where the Tuesday night was spent. During the morning our carburetter had shown signs of being somewhat choked as regards the slow-running jet, and just before the ascent of Shap Fell we decided to dislodge the obstruction. To clean out the carburetter, of course, is a simple matter, and an operation that practically every purchaser of a new car does sooner or later as a matter of course. In the present instance, the slow-running jet was blocked with a minute fragment of grit - no blame, in our opinion to either car, carburetter or petrol; merely one of those tiny specks that appear from, apparently, no-where, and which, in nine cases out of ten, would pass through the jet without causing any trouble. Naturally, this proved to be not only the odd tenth case, but probably the odd hundredth case, since the speck of grit, having to all appearances been cleared out, remained lurking in a dark cranny somewhere in the jet, for after some fifty miles the same symptom set in again, and it was only after removing and scouring the jet internally with a wire probe that all was peace once more.
However, to proceed with the trial. We left Moffat on the Wednesday morning on what is generally accepted as constituting a „Scotch mist“; some people, nevertheless, would agree with J. K. S., who queried whether it should not be termed a cloudburst. At any rate, we climbed the Devil’s Beef Tub out of Moffat amid thick white clouds of mist and with rain pelting down on the hood. Nearing Edinburgh conditions improved, and when we reached our turning point - Messrs. Rossleigh’s premises in Shandwick Place - the Scottish sun was making a quite brave show. More rain fell, however, during the afternoon, and as we filled our tank with B.P. from the pump at Morpeth, a sudden deluge deposited a few globules of water in the measuring vessel (the Observer trusted no man or pump, and scrupulously put every gallon of petrol through his own tested measure before passing it as a statute gallon. Incidentally, this procedure yielded some interesting results; it revealed that, in the majority of cases, a pump gives either approximately an actual gallon, or in some instances slightly more; on the other hand, it is very seldom indeed that two full gallons can be obtained from a „two-gallon“ can). No doubt the globules referred to had something to do with the water in the carburetter that troubled us a little later on.
We stayed Wednesday night at Newcastle-on-Tyne, and on Thurday proceeded via Durham, Darlington, Thirsk, York, Doncaster and Newark to Grantham. On this run there was little of interest to report, and the same can be said of Friday’s trip from Grantham to Canterbury via London. Saturday’s journey was, however, more interesting.
Leaving Canterbury at about 9.30 a.m. we were quickly at Dover. Here we had several things to do before going alongside the boat. The fuel consumption for the 779 miles already covered since we had left Coventry had to be checked; the oil consumption likewise, and these two operations occupied the short half-hour before the dock officials admitted us to the precincts of the boat. Once alongside, however, the car was quickly on board, having first been checked over as regards engine number, etc., by a Customs official, with a view to facilitating the re-entry of the car to this country on its return. And here it may be interesting to interpolate that the whole of the formalities necessary to the taking of a car abroad were put through by the Touring Department of the Royal Automobile Club; so well did these arrangements work (and so ably were they carried into effect by the the R.A.C. agents at the two ports, Dover and Calais) that we ourselves had not the slightest bother or difficulty either on the outward or the return journey.
A brief and pleasant trip across the Channel brought us to Calais, reached at about 2.30 p.m., where we found M. Alpiar, the R.A.C. agent, awaiting us. He superintended the disembarcation of the car and attended to the various formalities, which included the issue of a „Laissez-passer“ (a combined driving licence and receipt for tax to use the roads). Within one hour and a half from the time of arrival of the boat at the quay we were ready to start on the second portion of the trial.
Leaving Calais at 4 p.m. we were piloted clear of the town by M. Alpiar and headed south in the direction of Boulogne, the two passengers at the rear of the car impressing on the driver the desirability of keeping the right-hand side of the road. The weather remained similar to the variety on tap in England when we left - i.e., wet and windy - and continued thus until we reached Abbeville, our night’s stopping place. As it proved, however, this was to be the last rain on the trip, for after the resumption of the trial on the Monday morning we scarcely saw another cloud, and the burning sun beat down pititessly until we almost longed for a little cooling rain!
It must be admitted that we found the roads in unexpectedly good condition for at least the first 250 miles of the French section of the trial. From Calais right down to beyond Fontainebleau there was very little to grumble about, and even if they did deteriorate as we got further south there were at any rate good stretches of going at intervals to cheer us up.
Our procedure in running was to keep up a steady 40 to 45 m.p.h. when the roads were good, and we found that this speed enabled us to average around 30 m.p.h. over each day’s run. When we struck indifferent roads we naturally moderated the pace to suit the conditions, but even so we found few stretches of road sufficiently bad to bring us down to below 20 m.p.h. The springing of the car comes in for a meed of praise here, as on some of the bad sections we overtook even large cars - French ones at that - obviously going as fast as their drivers cared to take them. Yet over the worst of the roads the 9/20 h.p. Rover rode comfortably and securely, and never did we feel the last anxiety about our springs.
Our next night’s stopping place after leaving Abbeville was Sens, on the main road to the south from Paris. At Beauvais, where we lunched, we all bought ourselves berets, as the strong side wind showed our ordinary hats to be not alltogether ideal headgear.
Just outside Pontoise we took on four gallons of petrol: “BP Energic” was the fuel we used in France, the same as the well-known BP of England. Petrol in France varies in price from village to village, but every vendor of motor spirit has to display on the pump or cans the price at which it is being sold. We paid sums varying from 15 fcs. 85 cs. to 17 fcs. 10 cs. for the 5 litres (5 litres is 8.8 pints, or nearly a pint over the gallon), and at a rate of exchange prevailing at the time this worked out at almost identically the same price as at home.
On the Tuesday morning (August 24th) we left Sens about 8.40 a.m. in weather conditions that did not promise too well. However, within two hours we were grilling beneath a blazing sun, seeking a few square yards of shade whenever a level crossing or similar obstacle enforced a halt. The road degenerated somewhat after Avallon, and between that place and Chalons-sur-Saone there were long streches of wretchedly pot-holed, untarred macadam. Beyond Chalons, fortunately, an improvement set in, and the last few miles into Lyons were over a newly laid surface, apparently concrete, which was devoid of a bump or a wave. We covered over 225 miles to-day, and practically the same yesterday; but save for putting in petrol we have not bestowed one moment’s attention upon our trusty car.
Lyons was Tuesday night’s stop; the following morning we left in a heat haze which speedily fulfilled its prophety, and although we drove for best part of the day in our shirt sleeves we were half-roasted by the sun, blessing, when we found them, the trees that here and there shaded the road. Infernally pot-holed going brought our speed down with a run to-day; especially near Avignon was the surface bad, and at Orange, the preceding town, we discovered a possible reason. Here there is a Roman “Arc de Triomphe”, dating from about 0 A.D. in a marvellous state of preservation, and we surmised that the carting of the stone for the building of this arch had caused the damage of the road, for it seemed likely that this had not been repaired during the intervening period!
At times we were heartened by stretches of fine, smooth tarred road, but these would end abruptly and be followed by appalling “surfaces” of loose chalk durst that sent up a rolling cloud of whiteness. The aspect of the country changed perceptibly as we got farther south, and for many miles we ran through the Provencal grape district. From personal sampling the writer can vouch for the palatability of these grapes, for they provided a valuable source of mouth-moistening in the furnace-like heat.
Our night’s stopping-place was at Aix-en-Provence, where, after “bagging” the car and dining, we sallied forth to inspect the town. In the local garage we espied another 9/20 h.p. Rover - a two-seater - and, as we were examining it, the lady owners appeared. They had, so they informed us, covered 5,000 miles on this car, mostly on the Continent, and they were then engaged is a tour of France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium. They had tackled mountain passes in the Pyrenees, and were quite confident about getting over the Alps after their experience. Neither lady could speak any language but English; neither knew much about the “innards” of a motor car. They relied on garage hands to attend to the car’s well-being; how conscientious was this attention may be gauged from the fact that we found the back axle to be virtually devoid of lubricant! Nevertheless, their “Nippy Nine” had taken them cheerfully wherever they wished to go, averaging, we were informed, a full 37 m.p.g. of petrol. We felt that our own trial was completely eclipsed by this gallant effort, and returned to the hotel somewhat chastened in spirit!
The last day’s run was as uneventful as the first so far as the running of the car was concerned. It started up, as usual, at the first push of the knob on the dash, and we reached Fréjus in nice time for lunch. From here to Cannes we followed the famous Corniche road, which runs the whole way along the shores of the Mediterranean, and so tempting did the blue waters look that we halted at a suitable spot and (as one of our illustrations shows) indulged in a very pleasant bathe.
Eventually we reached Monte Carlo in the early evening. Our trial was over. We had covered practically 1,600 miles since the start; we had poured petrol into the tank and had put oil into the engine sump as required. We had transported four heavy passengers and all the baggage they required for practically a fortnight’s tour, as well as a quantity of other impedimenta, from Scotland to the South of France, yet all we had spent on our means of transport (save, of course, the crossing of the Channel) totalled considerably less than four pounds!
Comparisons with other modes of travelling are not, perhaps, absolutely on all fours; but if you calculate out what it would cost to transport four persons from Coventry to Edinburgh, from Edinburgh to Dover, and from Calais to Monte Carlo, you will realise that there would not be much change out of fifty pounds. And then, the difference between our enjouable trip and travelling in crowded, stuffy trains! We saw the country at its best; we passed through interesting towns; we saw the country gradually change in character. We stayed where we wished and halted when we liked. And that is where you get the real benefit from a car; but it must be a thoroughly reliable one, and if you can get reliability combuned with economy - as you do in the “Nippy Nine” - you couldn’t wish for more.
Of course, having reached Monte Carlo, we had to get back. Unfortunately, Mr. Sprague had arranged to return by train to London, so we regretfully bade him farewell on the Friday morning at Monte Carlo, and set off, the remaining three of us, on our 800 mile return journey to the coast. We had decided to follow the Route des Alpes this time, and accordingly we turned off the main road near Nice and headed in the direction of Grasse.
Grasse is where a goodly porportion of the exquisite perfumes come from, and as you approach the town the fragrance of scent hangs heavy in the air. We, however, remembered Grasse for another reason: we halted there for tea, and were charged what we considered to be the excessive sum of no less than two shillings each for it! Rather a “rush”, when you consider that in many places an excellent four-course dinner cost no more. However, that by the way.
Beyond Grasse we ran through some most wonderful Alpine scenery, and ever and anon the car had some long, stiff climbs to make. Yet never did it show the slightest unwillingness, and sometimes for miles we had to “rev.” the engine hard on second and low gear. Only once did we find the radiator more than normally hot, and that was at the summit of the Col de Bayard out of Gap, when, as a test, we flogged the engine unmercifully just to see if we could make it boil. We very nearly succeeded!
Generally speaking, the road through the Alps was in good condition, and for many miles on one section tremendous improvement work was in progress. Stone buttresses were being built on the solid rock, and the road taken right along the edge of dizzy precipices: a magnificent and awe-inspiring drive. This type of scenery lasted as far as Grenoble, after which the Alps were left behind, and our road took us on through Mácon to Rheims, now a rebuilt and really beautiful city. The cathedral is undergoing repairs after its war-time vicissitudes, and the town hall is merely a blackened shell; but otherwise, Rheims is a splendid example of the most modern French architecture.
Farther north, and through the Somme battlefield area, there are few signs still remaining of the havoc of war, although at La Boisselle, where the gigantic mine was exploded on July 1st, 1916, at zero hour of the memorable attack, the crater remains as a mute reminder of the battle that once raged over the now peaceful countryside.
And so we eventually came once again to Calais, and in good time that same night we piloted our faithful car into the city of Coventry, its body dusty and muddy, its speedometer registering 2,600 miles, but running just as well as the day it had set out on its arduous journey.
We had set out to prove the reliability and the economy of the 9/20 h.p. Rover - not a “special” car, mind you, but one in all respects identical with that which your nearest Rover agent will supply to you - and right well had the proof been given. So now we leave it to you to judge whether a 9/20 h.p. Rover would do all you would ask for it. And we say with the utmost confidence - IT WOULD!