Rare Rovers
- Thread starter Demetris
- Start date
Phil Robson
Well-Known Member
Fascinating! 
Demetris
Well-Known Member
It is still a little sad to know that very early Rover recognised the shortcomings of the original design and they were testing successful solutions that normaly should have been introduced by the late 1960's. Instead, the BL management chose to let the P6 wither unchanged until 1977.
christopher storey
Member
Well, it was fascinating. However, as a mere punter who bought one in the 1960s and ran it for 2.5 years and about 60,000 miles, I was fascinated, because of the 74 cars I have owned, my P6 was still far and away the best handling saloon car I have ever had , and I would never have identified " shortcomings" . As far as road noise is concerned, I did not think then that it was bad for this. But times have changed ( particularly as a result of the XJ6 and all that followed , not to mention gross deterioration in road surfaces ) and now I find my recently acquired 2000TC noisy. I think it is very unfair to suggest that it "was left to wither on the vine", because its successor the SD1 was equally groundbreaking in a different way, and was another wonderful drive ,f only it hadn't been let down by rust traps and poor assembly
Demetris
Well-Known Member
Chirstopher,
No matter how much i love the P6, and despite the fact that at the start of its carreer it was indeed groundbreaking, i cannot overlook for example that its unusual front suspension compromised severely the geometry and transmitted a large amount of road noise to the cabin. When i make comparisons i have in mind the Jaguar XJ6 and Mercedes W114/115 that appeared at the end of the decade and moved the game further. Yes, they were more expensive cars, but when i read about the plans of the Rover engineers to revise the front and rear suspension of the P6 and use twin cam fuel injected engines, i know that Rover had the potential to keep up. Instead of all these exciting stuff, by 1970 we got a plastic grille, side strips, and a new (excellent!) dash. Isn't it a pity?
Regarding the SD1 i also think that it looks fantastic, but under the skin it was a cheaply designed and executed car, as the management's idea was to downgrade Rover in favour of Jaguar. What they were thinking? :roll:
No matter how much i love the P6, and despite the fact that at the start of its carreer it was indeed groundbreaking, i cannot overlook for example that its unusual front suspension compromised severely the geometry and transmitted a large amount of road noise to the cabin. When i make comparisons i have in mind the Jaguar XJ6 and Mercedes W114/115 that appeared at the end of the decade and moved the game further. Yes, they were more expensive cars, but when i read about the plans of the Rover engineers to revise the front and rear suspension of the P6 and use twin cam fuel injected engines, i know that Rover had the potential to keep up. Instead of all these exciting stuff, by 1970 we got a plastic grille, side strips, and a new (excellent!) dash. Isn't it a pity?
Regarding the SD1 i also think that it looks fantastic, but under the skin it was a cheaply designed and executed car, as the management's idea was to downgrade Rover in favour of Jaguar. What they were thinking? :roll:
The Rovering Member
Well-Known Member
They weren't. :cry:
chrisw
Well-Known Member
Demetris said:
It is a very interesting site, and goes further than just that one page. The site is run by Jim Shaw, some of James (Jim) Shaw who was a project engineer on the P6 project. Jim also visits the forums from time to time.
Jim took on 101FGO, P6 400-00001-A, which was a handbuilt car, not built on the production line. He had 101FGO from the mid-60s until the early 70s when it was returned to Rover and scrapped.
For those members of the P6 Club, the next issue of Driving Force is due out next week. It will include an article on KXC676H, which was built as a NADA but was transformed into the first 3500S manual. Some of the pictures in the article are from Jim's collection, and are well worth seeing.
grifterkid
Member
That is fascinating... Superb!
grifterkid
Member
It would have been great if the P6 had ABS as an option or a standard fitment on the high-end models.
Obviously the all-disc setup was more than adequate but it would have given Rover another added 'USP' to their already superb product...
Obviously the all-disc setup was more than adequate but it would have given Rover another added 'USP' to their already superb product...
It would also have perfectly fitted the safety ethos that Rover heavily promoted at the time (safety cage, interior fixings etc.). I'd be surprised if there wasn't at least some investigation into.
I once read an article about the FF and the ABS which was originally designed for aviation (amazingly according to the Wiki it was even fitted on a Royal Enfield motorcycle!). Apparently it kicked like a mule and had several other quirks in operation. I can see why the mainstream didn't adopt it until electronic systems became more widely available.
I once read an article about the FF and the ABS which was originally designed for aviation (amazingly according to the Wiki it was even fitted on a Royal Enfield motorcycle!). Apparently it kicked like a mule and had several other quirks in operation. I can see why the mainstream didn't adopt it until electronic systems became more widely available.