FT Burgess was the designer of the Humber TT car and raced one in the 1914 Isle of Man TT
the noise apparently caused the matron in a nearby hospital to come round and complain vociferously. So, they had an engine but needed a complete car since the target was to have it on display at the Motor Show in November of that year. Now we enter the world of detective stories and mystery. By studying the investigations and research conducted by the gentlemen mentioned above, the mystery may have been solved. WO, so far as is known, never revealed where the first ‘car’ came from. However, by piecing together the facts and coming to some logical conclusions a probable scenario has emerged.
WO needed something to
accommodate his new engine quickly. His technical partner was a former racing driver who had strong connections with Humber, in particular having designed and driven their TT cars. These cars had about the right size of chassis and mechanicals and Humber had also made a spare set of parts, probably including a chassis. EXP 1, WO’s first experimental car, does not survive but many photos and some data do. However, EXP 2 does and is in the care of Bentley Motors. Furthermore, one of the Humber TT cars, that driven by Burgess himself, also survives. This car was owned by Kenneth Neve who was able to take many measurements for comparison with the Bentleys.
In addition, some of the people closely associated with WO or the early days of development of his cars had also revealed what they knew. So, putting this all together with snippets of documentary evidence which have surfaced, including the visual comparisons and measurements between the Humber TT chassis and
FT Burgess’ connections make it likely a Humber chassis was used for Bentley EXP1 24 BROOKLANDS BULLETIN | SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2019
that of Bentley EXP 1, the most probable conclusion to be drawn is EXP 1 was made using the Bentley engine and, probably, gearbox but on a Humber TT chassis and running gear. So it was a mixture of Humber with a Bentley engine and gearbox. A variation on this theory suggested by one eminent Bentley persona is the chassis could have been constructed by a third party chassis builder who used their patterns for the Humber TT design. Since we do not know whether or not Humber made the TT chassis in- house, this is certainly a possibility. EXP 2 was Bentley mechanicals but on a Humber chassis. The next car was all Bentley but, no doubt, with many of Burgess and Gallop’s inspirations. The bodywork was
based on designs by Gordon Crosby, which had delighted WO when he first saw them. WO had always been very cagey about how EXP 1 was constructed, which is quite understandable as he was trying to establish the new car’s reputation on the basis of his innovative design leading to a superb performance car. Also, bear in mind that he would probably not have been keen on talking about Humber’s engineering since that company’s efforts in the 1914 TT had not been successful.
These conclusions came about after
extensive research using documents which fill an enormous file and due credit must go to all whose contributions may have solved one of motoring history’s great mysteries.
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