The one that got away
THE AR6 running prototype was spotted at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon in 2007 looking a little bedraggled, but still very much in one piece. In the flesh it looks pert and attractive. Interestingly, it doesn’t sport a K-series engine under the bonnet, but a Maestro/Rover 216-spec 1.6-litre S-Series, and much of the interior cames from a Maestro Vanden Plas donor car.
Does that mean the AR6 wasn’t as advanced as we thought, or this is an early development model (the B-plate suggests, it’s from around 1984, somewhat earlier than the scoop shot, which could well have been K-Series powered) – as always if you know the answers, please get in touch…
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Researching the design of the ECV3 it would be interesting to know if the AR6 prototype used the same technology beyond the wheel design – aluminium frame, plastic panels, Nivomat/trailing arm rear suspension, smooth underfloor etc. Any of these apparent from seeing the AR6 prototype?
Maestro bits and pieces also interesting – was it a lash-up or a fully engineered vehicle?