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Starley and Sutton were
bicycle
builders.
The `Rover' name originated with the Rover safety cycle
so called because it was safe compared to the penny-farthings
of the day. Starley and Sutton, and others were experimenting
with safety cycles in the 1880's but the Rover of
1884 caught on and formed the basis of the car manufacturer
to be.
1904
Rover 8hp (left)
1933 Rover 10
is an excellent example of restoration.
1948:
After WWII Rover saw a market for
a light Jeep-style of four wheel drive.
Building prototypes on Jeep chassis,
they eventually came up with the alloy-bodied
Land-Rover
released in 1948, the
rest
as they say is history.
- 4wd.sofcom.com/4WD.html
1952 Rover 75
conjures up images of respectable professionals - doctors, vets,
the James Herriot novels.
1962 Rover 100.
1963:
A Rover - BRM
gas-turbine car
competed in the
1969 P5B has the 3.5 litre V8
shoe horned into a classic Rover
body shape but given a lower, rakish roof line.
Left: A Rover 2000,
this one a `TC' or twin carb'.
1975 Rover 3500 -
the engine bay is well filled with
the versatile and long lived 3.5 litre V8;
the "chin" for the radiator gives it away.
1986 Rover SD1
came with the 3.5 litre V8 (here) or 2.6 and 2.2 (?) litre engines
in the UK and was the last real big Rover.
It is baffling that a station wagon was never put into production
(there were a few conversions).
The Vitesse with worked V8s
achieved some racing success.
1988: British Aerospace bought Rover Group.
1994: BMW bought Rover Group.
2000 March: End of an era?
BMW
plan break up Rover, keeping the new Mini,
stopping saloon car production, and
selling what's left to an investment company, `Alchemy',
who will make cars under the MG name.
Ford buy
Land Rover.
April 28th:
FT dot com reports that Alchemy has dropped out leaving
just the `Phoenix' bid for Rover cars,
led by an ex-Rover executive, John Towers.
May: Phoenix is firming as the buyer,
but the next question is "then what?"
Rover will be a small company in a world of merged giants.
-- © L. Allison 4/2000
Go to the
Rover
pages
