Buying Guide Rover P6
These Sixties game-changers are still more than up to the task of daily driving, so it’s remarkable just how affordable they remain. Here’s what to look for...
‘The design even enabled a gas turbine engine to be fitted’
At a time when most British cars were very conventionally designed and engineered, the P6 bucked that trend and did something completely new. Launched at the 1963 Earls Court motor show as the replacement for the P4, the P6 was aimed squarely at the young executive who wanted modern, sporting, high-quality transport.
Clean lines, clever construction, a racingderived rear suspension design and all-round disc brakes – those at the rear being in-board to reduce unsprung weight – all aided the P6 in its successful efforts to scoop the inaugural Euopean Car of the Year award. The front suspension was even designed so a gas turbine engine could be fitted, but sadly the powerplants remained conventional petrol units, in four or eightcylinder forms. The P6 started life as the four-cylinder 2000 in 1963, joined three years later by the 2000TC (twincarb). Five years on from the car’s launch in 1968, the line-up was complemented by the 3500, powered by Rover’s Buickderived V8 and available initially only with automatic transmission. In 1970, the Series II P6 was unveiled with largely cosmetic changes, which include a black honeycomb grille, vinyl-covered C-pillars and the introduction of circular instruments. The following year, the 3500S arrived, paring the V8 with a manual ’box.
Towards the end of production in 1973, the 2000 engine was replaced by the 2200.
Fast forward to today and while these smart saloons aren’t as ridiculously underpriced as they once were, they’re still eminently affordable – and utterly usable as an everyday car. Here’s what buyers need to know.