Back in 2002, Keith Adams spent the afternoon with Spen King, in order to discuss the working life and times of an engineering great. The subjects covered ranged from gas turbine engines to modern car safety, via the destruction of British Leyland. Now, it’s a more relevant read than ever. […]
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 […]
In the late-1970s, BL invested in its future by looking at the next step in engineering design. Under the leadership of Spen King, British Leyland Technology was created, and out of it came some fascinating projects, including the lightweight ECV3 prototype. […]
Keith Adams gives the Internet’s most detailed account of the Triumph SD2. What it should have looked like, what lay under the skin and, ultimately, why it was cancelled so late […]
As part of our Rover SD1 at 40 special, here’s what Leyland Cars’ Director of Engineering and Product Planning, Spen King, had to say on the subject. This article is taken […]
The iconic Range Rover celebrates its 45th birthday this week, though who would have thought, in 1970, that a somewhat utilitarian attempt to move the Land Rover more upmarket would have […]
Keith Adams This wonderful vignette of a fertile, tumultuous and ultimately forlorn piece of British Leyland history has come to me directly from the archive of Dr Alex Moulton. In […]
An interview with the man behind many of the company’s greatest cars – and a few that you might not immediately associate with him…. Interviewed by Keith Adams, 13th December […]
Love ’em or hate ’em, the premium SUV is a fixture and fitting of 21st century life in the UK. However, Rover brought the concept to Europe in 1970 – […]
Keith Adams According to our archive, it’s 50 years since the Rover P6 was first launched. Again, it’s another of those birthdays that catches the more casual car enthusiast by […]
Keith Adams While wandering around Gaydon at the weekend and stumbling across this pretty Triumph Dolomite Sprint in the car park, it occurred to me that this superb compact sports […]
Ian Elliott Seeing that photograph on the new ‘cycle-heading’ that you have on the AROnline Home page of the four luminaries associated with SD1 is a bit poignant now, because […]
Sir Don Ryder had been plunged in at the deep end by the government. He was given little time to make sense of a mess that had been building up […]
Spen King (Charles Spencer King), creator of some of the UK’s most influential post-war cars, has died aged 85, following complications sustained from an injury he received when riding his […]
By Clifford Webb Mr Derek Whittaker, managing director of Leyland Cars, last night gave details of a new and simplified management structure for the company involving sweeping changes in his […]
British Leyland – has had to stop, production of Allegro, Maxi, Marina, 18/22 and some Triumph models because no suspension units are available. Output on Mini models, which was restarted […]
Into the future, with Spen King ‘The next Rover model will be very much a Rover car. It will be better than previous Rovers. A lot better, actually.’ Rover-Triumph head […]
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