800
The cars : Rover 800 development history
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 [...]
September 25, 2011
· 
Keith Adams · 
9 Comments
The cars : Rover 800 Coupé
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 [...]
September 25, 2011
· Keith Adams · 10 Comments
Buying guide : Rover 800
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 [...]
September 24, 2011
· Keith Adams · One Comment
Car of the month : October 2010
Its designer may have left us now, but the Rover 800′s crisp and honed ’80s lines will remain with us for a long time to come. Is Roy Axe‘s original 800 in its finest form? Certainly the owner of this one, Alex Sebbinger, looks like the perfect man to keep this stunning Mk1A looking its [...]
October 1, 2010
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
You Only Live Twice
Alexander Boucke I’m sure you think there must be an abandoned, dead 827 Vitesse in front of my place – given that, when I last wrote about the car around four months ago, I said that the car was so unreliable that I had simply stopped using it. But no – it’s gone. Under its own [...]
August 30, 2010
· Alexander Boucke · 9 Comments
Essay : Policing from behind the wheel
News that the UK’s last MG police car has been pensioned off* surely merits that oft overused ‘end of an era’ phrase. ‘MG Rover and out’ about sums it up – and it prompted a mixture of memories from ex-police PR officer Roger Blaxall who worked for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Lancashire Constabulary from [...]
July 7, 2009
· Keith Adams · No Comments
A year in the life of…
Richard Truett It’s been about a year since my rare USA spec 1990 Rover Sterling 827 Fastback returned to active duty. It has been a year of driving that reminded me that, if some BL/Rover products require a little more care than other brands of vehicles, at least you get paid back by driving a [...]
January 11, 2009
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
It’s waft-tastic
Keith Adams I’ve been enjoying life in the slow(er) lane behind the wheel of Rover’s 1990s flagship, the Sterling. It’s a breed of car I’ve endured a long love/hate relationship with – love, because that Honda V6 really is a nice piece of engineering to sit behind and that interior is warm and welcoming. Hate, [...]
January 9, 2009
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
Car of the month : January 2009
Welcome to 2009, and it’s time for a Rover Vitesse for Car of The Month. We like to think that this website’s the spiritual home for these underrated large saloons, and it’s only fitting that we support the cause by offering up Ben Adams’ nicely original example for your delectation. Considering it cost under £500, [...]
January 1, 2009
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Car of the month : November 2007
We’re fans of the big underrated sports saloon also known as the Rover 800 Vitesse Sport here at AR, and reckon that right now there’s probably no cheaper way of getting your hands on 200bhp… Ford fan Alex Robbins might have a Capri Injection safely parked in his garage, but there’s still a big place [...]
November 1, 2007
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Car of the month : April 2007
We all know that the Rover 800 Coupé was one of the least understood models produced by the company in its brief revival of fortunes in the early 1990s. It never really fulfilled its sales targets, and seemed to be developed into a great all-round package too late into its lifespan. Today, really good examples [...]
April 1, 2007
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Car of the month : January 2005
There has been much talk about the re-emergence of the Rover Coupé during late 2004, well here is an Eighties original. Styled by a ambitious young department headed by Roy Axe, the Rover CCV embodied everything about Austin-Rover Design’s vision for the future. Such a shame, then, it never made it into production. Austin-Rover has [...]
January 1, 2005
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Car of the month : December 2004
The first car to be genuinely co-developed by Honda and Rover, the 800 was a technically advanced replacement for the SD1. In its heyday of the late Eighties, the car was nigh-on unbeatable in its class. Writing his first Car of The Month feature for austin-rover.co.uk, Rover 800 enthusiast Brian Gunn tells the story of [...]
December 1, 2004
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Why we love the… Rover Sterling
James-Copp Taylor loves the Sterling for its speed, style and value for money… People are often asking me that very question, why oh why do you choose to drive that!! In relation to my Mk1 Rover Sterling. A car that has achieved a slightly dubious reputation for electrical, and mechanical reliability. It all started back [...]
August 17, 2004
· admin · No Comments
Drive story : Rover 800 // Nürburgring
September 2003 saw the Rover 800 Coupé make a welcome return as car of the month. Owner Keith Adams returns from his Rover bound German trip enthusing about this “curate’s egg” of a car. One question remains unanswered, however, and that is: Is this the world’s most depreciating car? Originally posted: Car of the month, [...]
September 1, 2003
· Keith Adams · 5 Comments
Car of the month : December 2002
December’s Car of the Month is another of those cars that Rover did so well, but for some reason did not manage to make them saleable: The Rover 800 Coupe. This version, a 1997 Vitesse, as owned by John Capon is probably one of the finest Coupe 800s you will find on the roads today. [...]
December 1, 2002
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Car of the month : June 2002
Dale Turley bought this 1993 Rover 820 Vitesse just a couple of months ago, to replace his Triumph 1500 as his everyday car. The car provides an attractive blend of performance, space and luxury, and will also be pressed into service towing Dale’s Castleton Rovana caravan. Looking resplendent in Rover’s popular metallic British Racing Green [...]
June 1, 2002
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Archive : Rover 800 is launched
THE GUARDIAN Austin Rover chairman Harold Musgrove on the new Rover 800. “I cannot over-emphasise just how important this car is, not only to the company but to the country. Where the Metro was the car for our survival, the Rover 800 is the car for our future prosperity.” ROVER LINKS UP WITH A LEGEND [...]
July 10, 1986
· Keith Adams · No Comments
