Rover P6 Series I

 The Rover P6 series (named 2000, 2200, and 3500 for its engine displacements) is a saloon car model produced from 1963 to 1977 in Solihull, West Midlands, England. It was voted European Car of the Year in 1964, the very first winner of this title.

Development

The P6 was sixth and the last of the "P" designated Rover designs to reach production. The vehicle was marketed first as the Rover 2000 and was a complete "clean sheet" design intended to appeal to a larger number of buyers than earlier models such as the P4 it replaced. The P5 was sold alongside the P6 until 1973.

The 2000 was advanced for the time with a de Dion tube suspension at the rear, four-wheel disc brakes (inboard on the rear), and a fully synchromesh transmission. The unibody design featured non-stressed panels bolted to a unit frame, inspired by the Citroën DS.The de Dion set up was unique in that the "tube" was in two parts that could telescope but not rotate, thereby avoiding the need for sliding splines in the drive shafts, with consequent stiction under drive or braking torque, while still keeping the wheels vertical and parallel in relation to the body.

The Rover 2000 won industry awards for safety when it was introduced. The car featured all-round seat belts and a carefully designed "safety" interior. One innovative feature was the prism of glass on the top of the front side lights. This allowed the driver to see the front corner of the car in low light conditions.

One unique feature of the Rover 2000 was the unusual design of the front suspension system, in which a bell crank (an L-shaped rotating bracket trailing the upper hub carrier joint) conveyed the vertical motion of the wheels to fore-and-aft-horizontally-mounted springs fastened to the rear wall of the engine compartment. A single hydraulically dampened arm was mounted on the firewall for the steering.The front suspension was designed to allow as much width for the engine compartment as possible so that Rover's Gas Turbine engine could be fitted. In the event, the engine was never used for the production vehicle, but the engine compartment width helped the accommodation of the V8 engine adopted years after the car's initial launch for the 2000.

The luggage compartment was limited in terms of usable space, because of the "base unit" construction, complex rear suspension and, in series II vehicles, the battery location. Lack of luggage space (and hence the need to re-locate the spare tyre) led to innovative options for spare tyre provision including boot lid mountings and optional Denovo run-flat technology.

The car's primary competitor on the domestic UK market was the Triumph 2000, also released in October 1963, just one week after the RoverIn continental Europe the Rover 2000 contended in the same sector as the Citroen DS which, like the initial Rover offering, was offered only with a four-cylinder engine – a deficiency which in the Rover was resolved, four years after its launch, when Rover's compact V8 was engineered to fit into the engine bay. The Rover 2000 interior was never as spacious as those of its Triumph and Citroen rivals, especially in the back, where its sculpted two-person rear seat implied that Rover customers wishing to accommodate three in the back of a Rover should opt for the larger and older Rover 3 Litre.

 Series I

Rover 2000/2000SC/2000TC

Production	1963–1973 208,875 produced
Engine	2.0 L I4

 The first P6 used a 2.0 L (1978 cc/120 in³) engine designed specifically for the P6. Although it was announced towards the end of 1963, the car had been in "pilot production" since the beginning of the year, therefore deliveries were able to begin immediately. Original output was in the order of 104 bhp (78 kW). At the time the engine was unusual in having an overhead camshaft layout. The cylinder head had a perfectly flat surface, and the combustion chambers were cast into the piston crowns (sometimes known as a Heron head).

PERFORMANCE: 2000

• Engine capacity: 120.80 cu in, 1,979.55 cu cm
• Fuel consumption: 24 ml imp gal, 19.9 m/US gal. 11.8 1 x 100 km
• Max speed: 104 mph. 167.4 km/h
• Max power (SAE): 99 hp at 5,000 rpm
• Max torque (SAE): 121 1b ft. 16.7 kg m at 3.600 rpm
• Max number of engine rpm: 6000
• Specific power: 50 hp/l
• Power- weight ratio: 27-6 lb/hp, 12.5 kg/hp
• Acceleration: standing 1/4 mile 19.4 sec, O— 50 mph (O— 80 km/h) 10 sec

Rover later developed a derivative of the engine by fitting twin SU carburettors and a re-designed top end and marketed the revised specification vehicles as the 2000TC. The 2000TC was launched in March 1966 for export markets in North America and continental Europe. Limited availability of the redesigned induction manifold needed for the twin-carburetter engine was given as one reason for restricting the 2000TC to overseas sales. The manufacturers also stated pointedly that the UK's recently introduced blanket 70 mph (113 km/h) speed limit would make the extra speed of the new car superfluous on the domestic market.Fortunately for performance-oriented UK buyers, supplies of the redesigned inlet manifold must have improved and the company relented in time for the London Motor Show in October 1966 when the 2000 TC became available for the UK market. The 2000 TC prototypes had run in the Rally of Great Britain as part of their test programme. It featured a bigger starter motor and tachometer as standard and was identifiable by "TC" initials on the bodywork. The power output of the 2000TC engine was around 124 bhp (92 kW). The standard specification engines continued in production in vehicles designated as 2000SC models. These featured the original single SU.

PERFORMANCE: 2000 TC

• Max power (SAE): 124 hp at 5,500 rpm
• Max torque (SAE): 132 1b ft, 18.2 kg m at 4,000 rpm
• Max engine rpm: 6,500
• Specific power: 62.7 hp/l
• Engine capacity: 120.70 cu in, 1,978 cu cm
• Fuel consumption: 26.1 m/imp gal, 21.8 mlUS gal, 10.8 1 x 100 km
• Max speed: 112 mph, 180.3 km/h
• Power-weight ratio: 22 lb/hp. 10 kg/hp
• Acceleration: standing 1/4 mile 18.5 sec, 0-50 mph (0—80 km/h) 8.2 sec

Rover 3500/3500S

Production	1968–1977 81,057 produced
Engine	3.5 L (3500cc/V8/OHV) Rover V8

Rover saw Buick's compact 3.5 L (3528 cc/215 in³) V8 from the Buick Special as a way to differentiate the P6 from its chief rival, the Triumph 2000. They purchased the rights to the innovative aluminium engine, and, once improved for production by Rover's own engineers, it became an instant hit. The Rover V8 engine, as it became known, outlived its original host by more than three decades (its original host being the P5B, not the P6).

The 3500 was introduced in April 1968  (one year after the Rover company was purchased by Triumph's owner, Leyland) and continued to be offered until 1977. The manufacturer asserted that the light metal V8 engine weighed the same as the four-cylinder unit of the Rover 2000, and the more powerful car's maximum speed of 114 mph (183 km/h) as well as its 10.5 second acceleration time from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) were considered impressive, and usefully faster than most of the cars with which, on the UK market, the car competed on price and specifications. (The glaring exception was the Jaguar 340, substantially quicker and, in terms of manufacturers' recommended prices, 15 percent cheaper than the Rover 3500, the Jaguar representing exceptional value as a "run-out" model, shortly to be replaced by the Jaguar XJ6.)

PERFORMANCE: 3.5L V8

• Engine capacity: 215 cu in, 3,523.20 eu cm
• Fuel consumption: 21.6 m/imp gal, 18 m/US gal, 13.1 1 x 100 km
• Max speed: 118 mph, 190 km/h
• Max power (SAE): 184 hp at 5,200 rpm
• Max torque (SAE): 226 1b ft. 31.2 kg m at 3,000 rpm
• Max engine rpm: 5,200
• Specific power: 52.2 hp/l
• Power-weight ratio: 14.8 lb/hp, 6.7 kg/hp;
• Acceleration: standing 1/4 mile 17.5 sec, O—50 0—80 km/h 7 sec

It was necessary to modify the under-bonnet space in order to squeeze the V8 engine into the P6 engine bay: the front suspension cross-member had to be relocated forward, while a more visible change was an extra air intake beneath the front bumper to accommodate the larger radiator.There was no longer space under the bonnet/hood for the car's battery, which in the 3500 retreated to a position on the right side of the boot/trunk. Nevertheless, the overall length and width of the body were unchanged when compared with the smaller-engined original P6.

Having invested heavily in the car's engine and running gear, the manufacturer left most other aspects of the car unchanged. However, the new Rover 3500 could be readily distinguished from the 2000 thanks to various prominent V8 badges on the outside and beneath the radio. The 3500 was also delivered with a black vinyl covering on the C-pillar, although this decoration later appeared also on the car's four-cylinder siblings.

A 3-speed Borg Warner 35 automatic was the only transmission option until the 1971 addition of a four-speed manual 3500S model, fitted with a modified version of the gearbox used in the 2000/2200. The letter "S" did not denote "Sport", it was chosen because it stood for something specific on those cars: "Synchromesh".

The conversions were completed by H.R. Owen and Crayford Engineering, with bodywork executed by FLM Panelcraft. According to P6 archivist John Windwood, Crayford's involvement in the project was limited to the interior of the car, and the company had no bearing on the external design of the estate conversion. Nonetheless Crayford badged them as Crayfords for a while (implying that they built them) and only stopped after FLM threatened legal action. Conversions could be carried out at any time in the car's life. Most conversions appear to have been carried out when the cars were 12 months old or older because if a car was converted when new, the conversion would be liable for Purchase Tax like the car itself.

Rover made an attempt to break into the North American market with the P6, beginning with the Rover 2000 TC. One version of the P6 that was exported was the NADA (North American Dollar Area) model, equipped to a higher standard than UK cars. These are also often referred to today as being "Federal Specification". Notable differences outside the car were wraparound bumpers, three air scoops on the top of the bonnet, front and rear wing reflectors and the "Icelert" on the front grill. The "Icelert" was a sensor which warned the driver of falling outside temperatures and the possibility of ice forming on the road. Inside, depending on the location, the US 3500S was also equipped with electric windows, power steering and air conditioning all of which are extremely unusual in UK market P6 cars. The NADA P6 introduced features which would later appear on the UK Mark II car including a new instrument cluster and seat piping. Despite being badged as "3500S" cars, the export models were all fitted with the Borg Warner 35 automatic transmission. The cars were not popular with American buyers, but were sold in Europe instead as they were already converted to left-hand drive. In true British Leyland fashion, several UK cars also ended up with single scoops on their bonnets in an attempt to use up the surplus parts from the now defunct export models. Rover discontinued selling the P6 in North America in 1971: in that year the US had taken fewer than 1,500 Rovers.The company told their US dealers that modifying their cars to meet new US federal safety and pollution requirements would be prohibitively expensive, while experience elsewhere suggests that the Rover four-cylinder engine was particularly hard to adapt for reduced octane lead-free fuels without an unacceptable reduction in the car's (already mediocre) performance.

A 1966 Rover 2000 P6 police car in Heartbeat TV Series