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The cars : Rover 800 development history

Keith Adams — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:08:27 +0000

The 800 emerged as the result of an ambitious programme to produce new Rover- and Honda-badged executive cars… However, the Japanese and British teams disagreed in so many areas that very little ended up being shared between the two cars in the end, thus re-shaping future projects Honda saves the day THE Rover SD1 was [...]

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The cars : Rover 800 Coupé

Keith Adams — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:07:06 +0000

Designed for the US market, but introduced after the Sterling pull-out, the 800 Coupé was very much a car without a target audience. And here’s its story. Always the bridesmaid… THE future of Austin Rover looked brighter in 1982 than it did at any time in recent history; the green shoots of recovery were clearly [...]

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Buying guide : Rover 800

Keith Adams — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:27:30 +0000

Fancy a Rover 800? Here’s what to look out for… Availability Years produced: 1986-1998 Body style: 4 door saloon, 5 door fastback, 2 door coupe Engine options: 1994cc O-Series inline-four 1994cc M-Series inline-four 16V (118, 138bhp) 1994cc T-Series inline-four 16V (136bhp, 180 and 197bhp turbocharged) 2498cc Honda V6 (170bhp) 2675cc Honda V6 (177bhp) 2497cc KV6 [...]

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Buy parts with AROnline and Rimmer Bros

Keith Adams — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:01:30 +0000

KEITH ADAMS Rimmer Bros sponsored AROnline‘s Polish SD1 restoration… Buying parts for your Jaguar, Rover, Lands Rover, Triumph or MG has never been easier through AROnline… HERE at AROnline, we receive a large numbers of emails from people all over the world looking for parts for their cars MGs, Rovers, Landies and all manner of [...]

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Rover 800 LWB

Keith Adams — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 19:43:49 +0000

There have been plenty of stretched Rover 800s sold, but did you know that the factory developed one? The long… and short of it IN 1984, Rover and Jaguar parted company in a government-backed privatisation. It left Rover with a real dilemma – to surrender the director’s car market, or try and go head-to-head with [...]

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Rover 800 coupe drawings & prototypes

Keith Adams — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:06:45 +0000

Early sketches by Steve Harper show that Rover was thinking big for its range topper… Heading for the big-time August 1983, and the Coupe takes shape. Steve Harper pegs the wheelbase at 2650mm. Simple coupe lines adopted for the US-focused model… And here’s the open-top version… November 1983, and Stephen Harper is clearly thinking advancement…

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Rover 800 Interior drawings & prototypes

Keith Adams — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:04:05 +0000

Some radical ideas were tried before settling for the pleasingly ambient interior of the Rover 800 Saloon interior sketches Coupe interior sketches January 1984, and thoughts have turned to the Coupe version of the Rover 800. This drawing by Stephen Harper has annotations explaining all the features, in English and Chinese. The unanotated version – [...]

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Rover 800 Fastback drawings & prototypes

Keith Adams — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 15:58:43 +0000

The 800 Fastback was an integral part of the XX design process, as these sketches by Steve Harper and clay models from the Canley Styling Studios clearly show. Development of the five-door might have come later in the programme, but it didn’t stop the final car looking stylish, desirable, and most importantly, fully integrated. Words: [...]

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Rover 800 Saloon drawings & prototypes

Keith Adams — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 15:54:22 +0000

The Rover 800 underwent a very interesting development programme, with much work being undertaken at Canley before the Austin Rover engineers and stylists ever got near Honda in Tokyo. Some of the advanced theme were toned down somewhat for production, but the end result was still very pleasing… In time, the Rover 800 will be [...]

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Startins/MacNeillie Regency

Keith Adams — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:13:55 +0000

Startins borrowed a suitably gracious-sounding name from the Daimler marque for their stretched 800… THE Startins Regency was the first Rover-based limousine conversion to be aimed primarily (though not exclusively) at the funeral trade. Some three feet longer than the 827Si on which it was based, it offered seating for seven passengers, with traditional folding [...]

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Coleman Milne Rover Vanden Plas

Keith Adams — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:03:27 +0000

This subtly stretched 800 Sterling revived a name which had recently been abandoned by the Rover Group. IN 1988, Rover seriously considered marketing a factory-approved stretched Rover 800, but the plan was dropped when sales projections indicated that it would not be a particularly profitable venture. However, Coleman Milne took a different view, prompted in [...]

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Rover 800 Turbo 16V

Keith Adams — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:17:47 +0000

The XX and R17 versions of the 800 differed significantly over what constituted the performance model in each respective range… …and here’s the anomaly. FEW cars in Rover’s recent history have raised as many questions as the Rover 820 Turbo 16v: Was it developed by Rover Special Products? Why introduce a new engine variant so [...]

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Engines : M and T-Series

Keith Adams — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:19:29 +0000

History will record it as the Rover 800 engine, but Rover’s mid 1980s twin-cam four acted out a diverse range of roles, and proved the soundness of its basic design by its ready adaptability when faced with unpredicted emissions legislation. Robert Leitch tells its story… Anchored down in Anchorage THERE was surely no more significant [...]

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Engines : K-Series

Keith Adams — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:05:29 +0000

In taking over from the venerable A-series, Rover’s hi-tech new engine had a hard act to follow. However, it went on to earn itself an enviable reputation for fragility in both four- and six-cylinder forms. KEITH ADAMS discusses this controversial engine… The light fantastic HOW to replace the irreplaceable A-series engine? Build a light, powerful [...]

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News : The last Sterling for sale on eBay?

Keith Adams — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 23:22:31 +0000

A former automotive journalist has decided to part with his Sterling 827SLi. The rare five-door in question was a former member of Sterling’s press fleet in the USA, and it’s claimed to be the last one ever sold in the States. 150,000 miles or so later, it can be a proud part of your fleet. [...]

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Tested : Rover 800 Coupé

Keith Adams — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:58:18 +0000

THE Rover 800 Coupé proved once and for all that the talented styling team at Gaydon really could turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse – compare the gawky R17 saloon to any Coupé and you’ll see what we mean. JONATHAN SELLARS tests the rarest 800 Coupé of them all, the two-litre Sterling. Does [...]

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Drive story : Rover 800 // to the south of France and back

Keith Adams — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:48:28 +0000

3000 miles in ten days of hard driving across Europe: obviously, the car to take needs to be fast, comfortable and reliable. So why take a Rover 800? Keith Adams explains why he did it, and why he came to the conclusion that it is now finally time for all of the Rover 800′s detractors [...]

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Drive story : Rover 800 and Audi 100

Keith Adams — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:53:04 +0000

We’ve read the stories a million times before – pampered journo flies to Modena, picks up a supercar, wafts it across the Alps and on to Blighty. Gushing, worshipping prose follows and we all feel like we’ve lived the dream. We like to do things differently here at AROnline and, in a fond tongue-in-cheek homage [...]

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In-house designs : Rover CCV

Keith Adams — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 12:12:38 +0000

Coupe de grace Hot on the heels of the MG EX-E, the Rover CCV (Coupé Concept Vehicle) made its debut at the Geneva motor show of 1986. Unlike the MG, which there was absolutely no intention of putting into production, the Rover CCV acted as a toe-in-the-water exercise to preview the styling of the Rover [...]

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Who says Rover 800s can’t handle?

Keith Adams — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 22:21:06 +0000

Keith Adams I’ve just spent the afternoon watching one of my favourite DVDs again and, although I’ve blogged about it many times in the past, I still find myself absolutely on the edge of my seat watching Tony Pond going for a 100mph average at the Isle of Man TT circuit – if you want hair-raising stuff, [...]

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