Cars in the wild: a Rover

On my way to the forest and peat bog I saw this old Rover parked by the wayside:

Olympus Stylus 1s, 55mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/80s

It's a 1974 Rover P6 3500s. It has a 3.5 liter V8, giving it a top speed of 196 km/h (122mph) and it will accelerate from 0 to 60mph in 9 seconds, respectable even today. This one has a four-speed manual gearbox; the automatic version is noticeably slower.

The Rover P6 was introduced in 1963 with a 2 liter, four-cylinder engine. To compete better with Triumph and other brands, it was decided in 1968 to fit a larger engine. The choice fell on the Buick 215, a compact 3.5 liter V8; an innovative, lightweight, aluminium engine that wasn't much heavier than the original four-cylinder units.

Rover modified this engine to suit their needs, and it became more famous than the cars it was in. The Rover V8 was easy to tune and became the go-to engine for people who modified cars. It was also used in regular production in the Range Rover, the MG-B GT, the Triumph TR-8 and the TVR 350i, to name but a few.

The car in the photo is used as a daily driver by its owner, and has proven to be very reliable. It has what is know as the "Continental Touring" option; the spare wheel is fitted on top of the boot lid. This wasn't standard, but many current owners have retrofitted this option because it is so typical for the Rover P6:

Olympus Stylus 1s, 50mm, ISO200, f5.6, 1/80s

Opinions vary on whether the Rover P6 is a pretty car or not, but it certainly is a nice classic car to have for every-day use; it is very comfortable and its performance, disc brakes and power steering make it easy to drive around in modern traffic. Its main problem is rust; this owner chose the colour well.

Previous cars in the wild: camouflaged Mini and Beetle.