CarBrandLogos archive · Rover · 1963

RoverP6

Base unit construction, a de Dion rear axle, and the first European Car of the Year.

Photo: Alexander-93 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Rover history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Rover P6, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Rover's engineers spent the late 1950s planning for a gas turbine road car, and although it never came, the P6 of 1963 was designed around the possibility. The front suspension used horizontal springs running back along the inner wings, operated by bellcranks, to leave the engine bay clear for a turbine that might one day be installed. What went in instead was a new 2.0-litre overhead-camshaft four.

Last of line · User Roverp6man on en.wikipedia · CC BY 2.5

Design and engineering

The structure was equally unorthodox. Spen King, Gordon Bashford and David Bache built the car as a rigid base unit with every outer panel unstressed and bolted on, which simplified repair and allowed the crisp, tight body surfaces the P6 is admired for. At the rear was a de Dion tube with fixed-length driveshafts and inboard disc brakes, keeping unsprung weight down and giving the car much better composure than the P4 it replaced. The boot was small, partly because the spare wheel could be mounted on the bootlid.

1971 Rover 2000TC Series II Rear · Heep · CC BY 3.0

In production

Europe's motoring press made the 2000 the first winner of the European Car of the Year award, in 1964, and the car's crash protection was singled out as exceptional for the period. It sold to a younger and more technically minded buyer than Rover was used to.

Citroen DS 19 1957 · Charles01 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Legacy

The 3500 of 1968 fitted the aluminium Rover V8, and the manual 3500S that followed gave the model real pace. Production continued under Leyland and then British Leyland until 1977, with 322,302 built at Solihull and assembly also in New Zealand and South Africa, before the SD1 took over. The P6 is the point at which Rover was, briefly, one of the more inventive engineering companies in Europe.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1963–1977

Units built

322,302

Engine

2.0&nbsp

Designer

Spen King

Technical specification

The P6, in detail.

Production: 1963–1977; 322,302 produced
Class: Executive car (E)
Body style: 4-door saloon
Layout: FR layout
Engine: 2.0 L Overhead camshaft engine; OHC Straight-four engine; I4 ; 2.2 L OHC I4 ; 3.5 L Rover V8 engine; Rover Overhead valve engine; OHV V8 engine; V8
Transmission: 4-speed manual (2.0 & 2.2); 4-speed manual (3500S, modified Rover box to handle the extra torque); 3-speed automatic B / W 35 and later B / W 65 (2.2 & 3500)
Designer: Spen King, Gordon Bashford, David Bache
Assembly: United Kingdom: Solihull (Solihull plant); New Zealand: Nelson (NZMC); South Africa: Blackheath (Leykor)
Manufacturer: The Rover Co. Ltd (1963–1967); Leyland Motors (1967–1968); British Leyland (1968–1977)