While I’m the guy that happily plunked down money (twice) for what is arguably the most maligned Jaguar model line in history, I draw the line at Rovers, be they of the Land, Range, or just plain Rover Rover variety. A man must have his principles, dontchaknow, otherwise he won’t have ANY money left at the end of the day. However, when I first saw the Human League’s excellent video of “Don’t You Want Me” back in late 1981 that opens with a scene involving a Rover SD1 at night, I was enthralled. Although that only lasted a few seconds after which a black Saab 99 Turbo also entered the scene, and like the American market as a whole, all thoughts of Rover were cast aside.
But forty-something years later, (specifically Thursday), I came across a remnant of that time, one of the 1,200 or Rover 3500 V8s (SD1 in rest of world parlance) that managed to find homes in the United States back in those heady days of 1980-1981. So let’s take a closer look.
Did they come with that rear window graphic from the factory or is that an owner personalizing his ride? Okay I shan’t be cruel yet, although I am freed of the obligation to provide a deep dive since Eric703 did so ever so thoroughly in his piece on the Rover a few years back, and David Saunders has written a great piece about one as well. So click on those for the whole sordid story of this car’s North American story, we’ll just cover a few of the lowlights here and wonder how long this thing has been moldering in someone’s shed before finally being hauled away for good.
Americans seem somewhat fascinated with British stuff, starting with The Royals and The House Of Windsor in general. Which is a bit curious since George and the boys gave them all the boot about 250-ish years ago. Maybe it’s like wanting to know what’s going on with an ex-girl (or boy) friend…all the latest gossip is hot fodder. The Brits though didn’t play that game as much, instead just shipping their convicts to Australia (well, back in “the day” anyway) and eventually their cars to the United States. Much more subversive. All those repair, maintenance, and parts dollars made their way back to Old Blighty to keep the lights on over there, never mind the initial purchase dollars. This worked for a long while until Britain just up and sold off most of its famed marques to the Germans, the Indians, and the Chinese. And some even to the Americans in between those others. Then all of a sudden Nissan and Honda started building cars in Britain and lo and behold, they were as reliable, inexpensive, and low maintenance as the ones made in Japan, but that’s a different story…
When the Rover SD1 was released in Europe in 1976, it was the new hotness. That launch day got a lot of press, even if part of it was stories about how that was also the day the factory that was building them went on strike. An auspicious beginning it was, but eventually cars trickled out of the factory gates and were honored and won awards, even though quality was always something not in large supply on the standard features list.
Part of the initial attraction was the looks. And in Europe at least it was a looker, of course they got the front end that sort of looked like a (European market) Ferrari Daytona with clear lenses. We got a version that had round sealed beams grafted in place without any covering, giving it a perpetually startled look. Plenty of other 1980 model year cars had rectangular sealed beams which perhaps might have worked somewhat better.
The five door liftback style has always been somewhat popular in Europe, not so much in North America, but at least it was visually pretty much identical to that of the Old World…
With the exception of sticking a little Union Jack on each front fender of each car destined for the U.S. just to make sure that everyone knew from whence this was hewn. And those front lights of course. Well, and the bumpers. Blimey, the changes are adding up right quick. I’m alright with the large bumpers though, they work with the somewhat brutalist shape.
Underhood (front-hinged) featured ye olde Buick 3.5l V8 that Rover made good use of for probably far longer than anyone at General Motors ever figured they would when they sold it to them. Hence the reason why ours was only named the 3500 since it was the only engine on offer. While the same engine was of course offered everywhere else, it was also joined by a plethora of weaker chested motivators, for both cost, fuel economy, as well as ongoing taxation reasons in many markets. This particular one’s engine and transmission were already gone when it arrived here, so one wonders what happened. But when new, it produced between 133 and 148 depending on when produced and which source is referenced. This appears to be a fairly early model judging by the VIN and is tagged as a 1980, which had fewer sales than 1981.
The 14″ alloys are quite attractive and more Italianate than anything else to my eye, shod here with 225/60R14 Toyo tires, a fairly aggressive fitment in its time.
Still, four years had passed since it was new, and most North American gearheads would have read of the car before it finally arrived. When it did it was of course handled by the dealers that handled the rest of British Leyland products with perhaps the Jaguar XJ6 the biggest in-house competition even if the Jaguar was (over here) generally viewed as more luxury and less sporty.
No, by 1980 (as compared to a few years earlier) there was formidable European competition, of course the aforementioned Saab Turbo, also Audi was introducing its 5000 Turbo (not diesel) during the same summer as the Rover, BMW’s 5 and 7 series were no slouches, and though the lower end performance wasn’t necessarily there, nobody ever had to explain a Mercedes purchase. Volvo and Peugeot were more outlier competition without the performance but certainly better known in most areas of the continent.
The interior was a little, uh, interesting. Of note at first is that central air vent on the passenger side, in combination with the instrument binnacle it made for a less expensive LHD/RHD conversion as that’s where the steering column went on RHD cars. And the instrument box just sat on top. Very smart from a production cost standpoint, but perhaps more than a little odd for what was considered (and priced as) a premium vehicle, of a class not usually associated with penny pinching.
A further interesting detail and no doubt off-putting to some was the decision to only fit all-velour interiors for North America. Now, I love to drape myself in velvet/velour as much as the next guy, but Americans generally equate even the cheapest leather with the height of luxury and it (or a good facsimile thereof) is pretty much de rigueur for anything remotely premium. Velour was available in the car the hired help drove.
I didn’t realize the extent to which the velour was integrated though before I saw this door panel. It’s literally slathered in velour to the exclusion of virtually anything else. Extra points for the large individual ashtray high up on the front of the door panels of every door.
The seats look quite comfortable and have held up well (we shall see why in a moment), the standard power window switches are on the console next to the handbrake and this one had a genuine 5-speed manual transmission which was standard and likely one of the items very much appreciated by the sporting driver.
The three-spoke steering wheel is more attractive than the European unit which is more like a block of Bauhaus-inspired plastic, and while I kind of like the gauge cluster it does look a bit like a hobby kit.
I might be able to build this from all the leftover Lego pieces we have in the bins under the boys’ beds…
I presume (hope) the clock and gear pattern swapped places on the RHD versions, and the HVAC controls are a different take on the usual. I kind of like the big paddles but the up and down orientation surely took some getting used to, never mind that it seems like the paddles would block the view of the descriptions. On a cold winter day though I suppose you just slam them all to the bottom (Hot, Hi Fan, and Defrost). The rest of the time I don’t see anyone adjusting much of anything without taking a long deep look down there.
I somehow hope that Smiths Gauges’ odometers are as fragile as those of VDO of the era to explain this, but realistically can face that this car may have stopped running around the time I entered the 11th grade and has been sitting since 1985 or so. With an apparent base price of $15,900 (in 1980) that would mean a depreciation to zero (ok, scrap) costing around 28 cents a mile. That has to hurt, I doubt this buyer went to the Rover, excuse me, I mean Sterling dealer in 1987 when Rover tried yet again…probably for the best seeing how that turned out
About that boot…it actually does not seem that spacious, certainly nothing like a Saab of the same vintage with the same format, albeit not RWD which is likely partly the culprit. In the end, even with all of the labor issues affecting the manufacturer along with unreliability affecting the purchaser, Rover still managed to build over 300,000 SD1s. However with only about 1,200 or so finding a home this side of the pond, it seems like the public took the Human League to heart and made their feelings very clear.
How fortunate I am – I was never wowed by the looks of these, and so have completely avoided the temptation to seek one out. Which is a good thing, given their rarity. Really, was there a worse time to import a British V8 car than in 1980-81 when fuel prices were really high and the economy was in the dumpster?
I loved that video, though. And we can see from an open-door shot in it that the British got that odd central A/C vent (or fresh air vent?) where we yanks got a steering column, so everyone was treated fairly.
Great article. The concept and practice of adapting cars from Right Hand Drive to Left Hand Drive (or vice a versa) is fascinating to me and I often wonder about the calculations a manufacturer goes through in deciding whether it’s worth the cost of creating two different versions or better to just make whatever portion of the world (sans Mailmen) that doesn’t use your version just suck it up. Well, except if you’re a Japanese manufacturer that sells more product to the LHD world than domestically…or apparently the designers of this Rover who seem to have opened the door to making the transformation a DIY project. Heck, with a dash arrangement like that, the owner could practically change it over at will.
I too love the Human League video. I recall it well. It was the soundtrack of my 2nd year of college. Back when I first discovered MTV, clubs, and everyone wore too much eyeliner and mascara.
This is a truly stunning find. I don’t think you’re likely to run across another in the junkyard or on the street anytime soon. I had no idea these cars were so esoteric. That interior especially doesn’t meld with what an American would expect an expensive car to look like in the early 80s.
Great find. I really pined for one of these, and a Jaguar XJS, in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Both were in one of my UK TV faves – The Return of the Saint. Thankfully youthful desire turned in to middle age judiciousness – and I never bit.
I love this car’s looks but the federalized headlights detract from the appearance. If only I lived on the same continent and within trailer distance I would take that car and make it my own. I’m sure the aluminum block engine and gearbox can be sourced and with just a bit of work it would be back on the road.
Or actually fodder for another curbside classic 30 years down the road as it would sit abandoned in a shed somewhere as I realize the impossibility of the task before me.
No doubt that aluminium V8 found it’s way into an MG, a very popular conversion here that the Abingdon factory themselves finally did with the MGB/V8 for a couple of years in the mid-’70s. Had quite a few “B”s and would have loved to do one of them that way myself because the Buick/Rover engine weighed about the same as the ancient 1798 “B” series 4 cyl engine but made about 40% more power… a no brainer if ever there was one.
“…more than a little odd for what was considered (and priced as) a premium vehicle, of a class not usually associated with penny pinching.”
Not just the interior was obviously designed to be cheap to produce, the live rear axle (a set backwards from previous Rovers, big Triumphs and all the European competition including Ford and Vauxhall/Opel) the high boot lift over and massive panel gaps. The euro headlights weren’t remotely flush with the bonnet.
People raved over it’s looks, but to me it didn’t look like a Ferrari, more like a Vauxhall Cavalier/ Opel Ascona that someone had put a picture of on a photocopier and scaled up.
My enduring memory of these Rovers is one of my neighbours trying to locate where the water was getting into the boot so he shut himself in there and had me spray the hose on the car.
They really were dogs.
“People raved about it’s looks, but to me it didn’t look like a Ferrari, more like a Vauxhall Cavalier/ Opel Ascona that someone had put a picture of on a photocopier and scaled up”
But that’s really not fair. The Rover was launched in 1976. The Cavalier / Ascona C hatchback only came in 1981. So, it’s more likely that some GM guy had pressed the r e d u c t i o n button on the copier (if there was one at all).
I had a high school English teacher buy one of these as his daily driver around 2006. His was blue, and he had it shipped from California I think. He seemed pretty excited about it, and even tried to tie in the River viking badge with some book we were reading to be able to take the whole class out to see it. He had it for a couple years before he left the school and then I did. I appreciated that it was weird, but it really doesn’t do much for me. The interior comes off as bland and boring, the looks are only so-so, and much worse in the US version. I would also bet someone took the power plant for an MGBGTV8 conversion
An unusual car even back in the day and certainly now, I can’t remember the last time I saw one of these, a great find.
A rare find for the US indeed. Though perhaps there are more in junkyards than on the road. 20-30 years ago there was a house in Palo Alto not far from where we lived, that had at least one SD1, a P5, a 2000 and a Sterling parked curbside and in the driveway. But nothing of the Range or Land variety. I never saw any of them move.
Great find, the hood being askew makes the sealed beams look even more startled, like it was woken up from 40 years of slumber to find itself in a junkyard.
And if someone were to sit in that car wearing an 80’s velour tracksuit would they become impossibly stuck? As I recall the coefficient of friction with velour on velour was about 4.0
Also interesting that the doors have not fallen off, proving yet again that everything on Top Gear was intentional, especially the accidents.
I recall seeing a few of these in the wild back in the ’80s; one several times in the local grocery store parking lot, and years later got to sit in one that was on display at a British car show I attended about 15 years ago that was in excellent condition. I thought the velour looked and felt luxurious, and it was roomy and comfortable. Yeah that symmetrical dash is a bit cheap though with that odd steering column/air vent setup. Whether you live in a RHD or LHD country, your SD1 provided no airflow to the driver except from the center vents. I much prefer the futuristic single-spoke wheel to the 3-spoker the US got.
The changes made to the US version go beyond the obvious. The front fenders had to be redesigned to accept the 5mph bumpers, and do not interchange with rest-of-world SD1 fenders.
I recall Rover’s last new car, the 75 (which was considered for US sale and engineered with US regulations in mind, but never made it here) in 1999 had an introduction day that again was overshadowed by some labour dispute or factory closure issue, or some such.
No, the 75 was “launched” in ’98, and then, incredibly, at the very launch, shat upon by none less than the head of parent BMW. It was a crazy move to get the govt to cough up money for plant refurbishment. The re-launch happened 6 months later, it of course sold nothing like it was meant to, and within 6 months of that, BMW had offloaded the entire company for nothing.
So this time, it was The Germans (admittedly in big conflict with Rover management), and not the workers who dunnit.
You’re right; I couldn’t remember exactly what happened but remember *something* bad did. It undermined the intro of the car itselfCorrect it was launched in Oct 1998 but didn’t become available for sale until June ’99.
What a great find! With only 1,200 of these sold in the US, there can’t be more than a few handfuls of them left.
This car’s condition reminded of the Rover I wrote up back in 2016. I’d found that car at a car show, and talked to the owner quite a bit. He had found that car abandoned in a field, sunk nearly up to its axles in muck. After he bought it from its (probably gleeful, at that point) owner, he somehow got it running and drove it home, where he restored it. A Herculean effort – and pretty remarkable.
That car’s owner did have a photo of his car from while he was getting it roadworthy. I took a picture of that through the windshield – not the best quality photo, but still you can see the car was in pretty sorry shape.
I’m the (now former) owner of the Turmeric Yellow Rover 3500 (SD1) featured in Eric703’s excellent 2016 write-up and I must say that, in contrast, I find several things about this current Curbside Classics story to be rather disappointing. The focus on an example that has been ravaged by sitting out in the sun somewhere out West and the fairly typical — but somewhat petty –objections to elements of this model that were more or less dictated by 1980 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Emissions requirements leave something to be desired in the areas of fairness and balance. Yeah, many people don’t like those features, but there is still much to be said on behalf of these cars. Indeed, I still have two SD1’s and even one example that I managed to bring back from an encounter with a flash flood looks quite acceptible after much effort — almost as good as its lower mileage, previously garage-kept bretheren. What I guess I dislike most about this story’s approach is that there seems to be no consideration on the part of the writer for those of us who actually like this model and who would therefore like to see some items from this particular one salvaged before it is quickly moved in line for the crusher because of a lack of demand and/or interest (or possibly because of the level of scorn generated by the tone of both the article and the comments that amplify the writer’s rather snide approach to the subject). Some of us, as Eric703 noted, are inclined to treat orphans with some instinctual level of kindness, championing an underdog like this one rather than cheering on those who would prefer to see it revived only for the purpose of having it participate in a demolition derby. Finally, those North American quad headlamps have somewhat ironically become an object of desire among British fans of this model, partly because some SD1’s used in stock car racing were equipped that way. I have salvaged at least a half dozen of those units from cars that were beyond repair and sent those back to Britain. In fact, I revived yet another example about 15 years ago and helped arrange for it to be shipped back to the place of its birth where it was restored by the historian of that country’s Rover SD1 club for the specific purpose of demonstating just how many changes were made to ready them for what was to become a disastrous launch in this market. Eric703 clearly did a great deal of research before presenting his well-written and highly accurate account of that unfortunate series of events. In contrast, I can’t say that this current article contributes much of anything new on the subject. PS: I can see this vehicle was once registered in Colorado and note that the author also has visited scrapyards in New Mexico. Although I have many spare parts already, there just might be someone in that region who would be interested in saving some items from this example before it is crushed At the time theseRovers were imported there was clearly a lack of infrastructure that one might turn to for parts and service once British Leyland abandoned ship, but there are now many resources that can be accessed simply by going online. Many of the comments here seem to reflect the attitudes of a dark, but appparently not-too-distant past in which those of us who’ve long liked what are viewed as obscure model cars are scoffed at and dismissed as eccentrics. It’s a throwback to that time when the fuel injection systems were ripped out of cars like these because shops had no one trained to work on them and then replaced with those soon-to-be-obsolete carburetors — largely for their own convenience. You’d thnk we were back in the pre-Internet days when Rover owners were lost in a wilderness filled with chauvanistic, backward-looking characters who simply refused to make the extra effort required to deal with something a little bit out of the ordinary. What a shame that those resources now available to hobbyists to help them deal with rarities like this Rover appear to have not been put to good use in this particular case!
Thanks for your concern. I write about whatever catches my fancy, orphans and rare/interesting cars rate highly for me in that regard. As do cars that were abject failures in the marketplace or underdeveloped to the point of appearing borderline criminal to offer for sale in exchange for people’s money. This car qualifies in more ways than one. I’m not exactly sure how you would have preferred for me to approach this subject and don’t see where I was championing reviving it for a demolition derby. It’s not on a street ior in someone’s backyard, it’s in a junkyard, its owner gave up on it for a couple of hundred dollars in scrap value.
Eric (and David) both wrote great historical posts on these cars, both of which are linked to in the text for anyone interested in more information and I drew upon both of them. However, I saw no need to cut and paste theirs and just swap out photos. I also don’t believe I was unfair (or wrong) in regards to the car, its maker, or its buyers in any part of this text. Many of the views are clearly my opinions (which apparently happen to be shared with those of various readers).
If you or anyone else is interested in salvaging parts from this car, have at it. It’s right there in a self-service junkyard, but its time is likely running out. Anyone who is interested in any car I feature can ask exactly where it is and I’ll tell them (as happens in a number of the posts in this series, some in public, just as many privately, perhaps seeking their own private “score”?). If anything, my featuring this car helps to publicize it and its parts for those looking for some. To date, nobody has asked exactly where it is, not even you, but I found it at the UPull&Pay in Aurora, CO. I’m not stopping you or discouraging you or anyone else…
I will note that salvaging the US-specific parts to then send to Britain as you claim to have done does nothing to help keep these cars on the road in the United States. Someone who needs the front end parts for one of the very few left over here isn’t helped by selling those parts to a Brit who wants to make theirs look like a period BTCC or rally car or something.
This car was taken off the read with (apparently) 57,000 miles on it without any evident accident damage, probably sometime in the 1980s and probably in pretty good condition at the time. And then never returned to the road and now, finally, after rotting somewhere for years or decades, hauled to a junkyard. Even in the 1980s that mileage tally was pathetic, and while Rover eventually did get their act together and produce decent SD1s, this and the other early cars generally did not leave the factory or the dealer with the kind of quality that their price might/should indicate. Note that 1980 is three years post-introduction, calling it an “early” car here is a kindness.
I personally enjoy interesting, offbeat, orphan and survivor cars, you clearly are not a regular reader of my contributions or you would realize that. I probably would have pored over your car (I believe I saw it on BringATrailer, right?) if I had been at the car show with Eric. I actually like the Rover 3500 (SD1) as well as a lot of other vehicles that are very maligned in many places (two-time Jaguar X-Type owner here, yay!), but won’t just write a puff piece to be polite or something, I’ll call a car as I see it or cite as fact things that I can back up with other sources, sometimes people take umbrage (usually a very invested owner such as yourself, the guy with a Cadillac Cimarron or an early Seville, or someone cherishing their Chevy Citation). I’ll also be generally VERY tongue-in-cheek, somehow this is clearly evident to most every reader except for the ones that own an example of the vehicle in question.
Anyway, thanks for writing, and if you come out to harvest parts from this car, let me know, I’ll buy you lunch… don’t worry, I don’t bite.
I had a couple of customers with Rover 3500s, both had me remove the SUs and Lucas (prince of darkness) distributors for early Buick 215 4 barrel intakes, Rochester 4GCs and Delco breaker point distributors.
I had gotten very conversant with the BOP Aluminum V8, as I owned an Oldsmobile Jetfire (Turbocharged 215).
The other oddities were the modified DeDion rear suspension with the siliding joint cross beam elimibating the need for slip joints in the half shafts. The rear brakes boggled your ming, inboard mounted like a Jaguar, but with a tiny hydraulic piston that applied the pads to the disc through a lever rather than a straight forward piston on the back side of the pads.
Then there is the wiring, all the wires inthe dash (and maybe the whole car) are white with coloured (might as well use British spellings) bands at the ends. This meant tracing an offending circuit usually ended up by me running a new coloured wire replacing the either shorted or open one.
These SD1s (3500 V8) had a very simple live rear axle, not a DeDion. You’re probably thinking of its predecessor, the P6.
I believe the SD1 in the US also had fuel injection to replace the euro carb setup but the P6 did have SU’s (as did the euro SD1).
This was a surprise this morning; did not see it coming, or going. Just wow.
There were a surprising number of these on the streets in Innsbruck and Vienna when we were there in 1981, although all 2600 sixes. Back then in the pre-EU era Austria and the UK had a very favorable tariff arrangement, making Brit cars quite common; lots of Minis especially. But it was a bit surprising to see so many SD1s. Helps to explain where all those 300k went to.
Yes, by the time these made it to the US, they had lost the visual impact that the SD1 had made in Europe when it arrived, and then of course Rover was a genuinely toxic brand here. DOA.
The SD1 was initially a huge hit in the UK (outselling the Ford Granada!) until the market got fed up of the strikes (unavailability) and cost-cutting (unreliability).
By the time the car came good (it did in the end) it was too late.
Everyone had switched to the Germans and Volvo and never looked back.
But yes – I believe they also sold quite a few in France & Italy (Diesels mostly) relatively speaking.
I’m debating which federalized version of a short lived European car is worse; these or the Citroen SM. I’m sure there wasn’t the budget for this and I can only imagine how well engineered they’d be by BL but pop up headlight doors like the US spec Ferrari Daytonas may have gone a long way in the looks department rather than this cobbled appearance. That or something like Mercedes did on W123s where the round headlights are blended into an acrylic housing.
What we had in the UK. https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/3855967235/in/album-72157622018258743/
Another https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/3855967235/in/album-72157622018258743/
Correct one https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/3706695099/in/album-72157621100706557
Considering the size of America, and the climates, and the vastness of the economy, and the 45-odd years of all those things since the import of this car, the chances of Our Man In The Junkyard finding one (and, at that, finding it before its inevitable ensquashment) simply do not exist. Incredible stuff, Mr K.
Note the paint in the close-up pic of the Brit flag: probably says all that needs to be said about quality.
Sir, that paint is rich, creamy, and the consistency of a delicious Midlands Custard that you pour over your Christmas pudding, how dare you besmirch it.
Having the fuse box at the end of the instrument binnacle (carbuncle?) is a brilliant, forward thinking, user-friendly design. The cover probably needed to be removed within the first week of ownership and never went back on again.
I recall seeing one of these in my neighborhood growing up in the mid 80s. Whether or not it made it into the 90s we shall never know. The velour was right of its time too, leather was a much later addition to luxury cars. Look at any high end toyota or Oldsmobile of the era. Not to mention every piece of livingroom furniture.
I always liked the look too, but it was used on many other cars of the era. To see this car done right look no further than the 83 Toyota Camry. GM was also a huge fan of this basic idea. For all the hate they get, the 78-80 Cutlass/Century are basically GM’s take on this car, or at least an Americanized version of it.
I’m reminded of the TV show Leyland Australia sponsored in the early seventies (I forget the name) where the winning contestant would climb into their choice of five (IIRC) different Leyland vehicles glittering on the set. Only one had the coil wire connected. If the car started, they won it. If it didn’t, the thing just cranked and cranked, the audience went ‘Aww!’, and they came back the next night to try again.
Kind of says it all.
The Rover (it was a P6B) made a glorious noise when it started. But I always held my breath and wondered – what if none of them start? Auntie Grace’s Morris 1500 was always in the shop for something or other, and she was the last of the tribe to buy a British car.
Another oddball I never knew about .
Proving yet again that rare doesn’t equal valuable .
Sadly, quality never was job 1 in England .
I actually am very fold of older British cars but one simply _must_ go through them tip to tail and correct all the little things that made them unreliable, then they’re generally fun drivers and easy on the petrol to boot .
-Nate
The author comments that 5-door hatchbacks weren’t well loved on the American side of the pond, but this car happens to be wedged between two others, what are the odds?
Wow, what a find! Now we just have to document the other 1,199 of them😂
I remember there being one on a small independent lot here in the mid-80s. It may be the only one I’ve seen in the metal.
BTW, that gauge panel reminds me of a Sanyo boombox.
A terrific find, but it leaves me cold. The profile of the greenhouse reminds me of the Olds and Buick A-bodies of this same time period that looked like hatchbacks but weren’t. Granted, the Rover came first.
That said, I’d be like you and take a bunch of pictures upon encountering one.
America missed out on the facelift 82 —86 with a more appropriate wood anc leather interior. Quality issues were resolved and far.. far better than the Sterling model that reintroduced Rover to American shores, I had a 5 year old 3500 VDP with the optional A/C. Yep optional try finding an econo box now with out it?,Teo faults light steering created lift at 100mph and you could wonder over 2 lanes and the self adjusting rear shook ls kept .. self adjusting., Result … nodding rear end on rough roads . Answer Spax rear shocks . The model did well in British Daloon Car racing and the Viittese was the British M5 of its day especially the ultra rare Twin Plenum version, Next year marks 20 years since River groups death..RIP Rover. Never forgotten,,,