Concepts and prototypes
Concepts and prototypes : Rover SD1 Estate (1976-1978)
The Rover SD1 Estate is a fascinating study into how it is possible to convert a sporting fastback into a usable estate car. It was deemed so successful in terms […]
Rover
Concepts and prototypes
Concepts and prototypes : Rover SD1 // P10 project
Some images from the projects that would ultimately result in the Rover SD1… Project P10: the final Rover This drawing was produced by David Bache in the late 1960s, while […]
AROnline News
News : Rover 75 DVD gets the green light!
You may recall a while ago we posted about the possibility of a DVD being produced based on the times, trials and tribulations of Rover’s swansong – the R40 – […]
Development story
The cars : Rover 800 (XX) development story
The Rover 800 development story tells an interesting tale. It relates to how the first-generation 800 emerged as the result of an ambitious programme to produce new Rover- and Honda-badged […]
Development story
The cars : Rover 800 Coupe development story
Designed for the US market, but introduced after the Sterling pull-out, the 800 Coupe was very much a car without a target audience. The Rover 800 Coupe development story tells the […]
Development story
The cars : Rover 800 (R17) development story
Revamping a model is never an easy task, especially when you are constrained by budget and the need to retain the underpinnings from an existing car. However, as David Morgan […]
Development story
The cars : Rover 75/MG ZT development story
Updated: The story of the Rover 75’s conception, development, and eventual launch in 1998. And how it was scuppered by events – not least the torpedoing it was given by BMW boss, Bernd Pischetsrieder. […]
Development story
The cars : Rover 600 (SK1) development story
Replacing the Montego with a new Honda-based executive car was never going to be straightforward. The Rover 600 development story, with significant input from David Morgan, tells how Rover managed […]
Development story
The cars : Rover SD1 development story
Featuring five-door supercar-aping styling, and one of the nicest engine notes ever to grace an executive car, the Rover SD1 has a place in the hearts of many car enthusiasts […]
Opinion
Opinion : 21 years ago today – death of the Metro
Okay, so by 23 December 1997, the Metro name had long since died, and the car that had been launched with such a fanfare in October 1980 had mutated into […]
Concepts and prototypes
Concepts and prototypes : Austin AR6 (1983-1987)
We’ve talked about the Metro-replacing Austin AR6 a lot in relation to the company’s development in the mid-1980s, and its march towards privatisation. Keith Adams tells the car’s full story […]
Car of the Month
Car of the Month : July 2018 – Steve Dean’s Rover 75
Steve Dean tells the story of how he ended up buying a Rover 75 Tourer 1.8 Connoisseur SE, and why it now occupies a place close to his heart. Words […]
750
The cars : Roewe 750 (SAC528) development story
Updated: The story of the Rover 75-based Roewe 750. It had rather a lot of British input into it. That’s because it was developed by a number of ex-MG Rover engineers in the UK. But it was also based on an ill-fated plan to facelift the Rover 75 in 2006. Shame we never had a chance to buy it in Britain… […]
Development story
The cars : Rover 200/400 (R8) development story
The Rover 200 and its 400-series sister were launched with much hullaballoo in 1989 and ’90, and proved to be every bit as good as its maker told us is was. Had Rover finally turned the corner? Was it about to make a miraculous recovery? For a few short years in the 1990s, it certainly appeared to be the case. […]
Opinion
Essay : When the Quality Auditors met the Rover 200
Keith Adams shares the juiciest bits of an Austin Rover internal planning document that spills the beans on the Rover 200’s performance in one of the company’s regular internal quality […]
BL50
Video : Two More For the Road, Rover 2300/2600
Keith Adams ponders one of his favourite BL videos, the lovely Two More For The Road, starring the late Anton Rodgers and a trio of launch-spec Rover SD1s in the […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : K-Series
In taking over from the venerable A-Series, Rover’s high-tech K-Series engine had a hard act to follow. However, it went on to earn itself an unenviable reputation for fragility in […]
Opinion
Blog : Raise a glass to… 25 years of the Rover 600
Mention the Rover 600 Series and it possibly won’t attract the same amount of enthusiasm compared to other Rovers. Which is a shame, as David Morgan reckons it’s worth celebrating […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : Rover M and T-Series
The Rover M- and T-series engines were unsung heroes of the Rover Range. Robert Leitch tells their full story. […]
Austin/MG Montego (LM11)
History : Rover Special Products
Keith Adams tells the story of Rover Special Products and why this small group sprung into life and managed to create some very innovative products in its short and productive […]
Concepts and prototypes
Concepts and prototypes : Zhongua 75-800 (2002-2004)
It is well known that MG Rover and China Brilliance were in talks about the co-development of a new generation of executive cars. For the first time, AROnline tells the […]
2000/2500
History : The Rover-Triumph story – Part Six : 1964
Ian Nicholls, AROnline‘s historian-in-residence, tells the Rover-Triumph story, and their part in the downfall of the British motor industry. Here, in the sixth part, the year is marked by the expansion […]
Development story
The cars : Rover 213/216 development story
For some, the Rover 213/216 was a badge too far. But for others, this was a sensible new direction for the Austin Rover Group, and a lifesaver for the company. […]