Driving A Rover SD1 With A Plane Engine

In this week's #ThrowbackThursday, Jonny takes a ride in another ridiculous car. This time it's a Rover SD1 with the engine of a Spitfire fighter plane.
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[@fifthgearuk]

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[@-aid4084]

Nah

[@ethownzbh]

"I'll be finished before it is" "Really?" *Coughs blood* "Yeah I reckon"

[@gorebrush]

+Ethanmeister savage

[@JuliuszBaczynski]

+Ethanmeister Hilarious! XD british humor at its best!

[@ethownzbh]

+Juliusz Baczynski I'm actual American but I'm a Top Gear junkie so you could say I've adopted some British humor lol

[@JuliuszBaczynski]

Ethanmeister Haha cool man, I died laughing when I saw your comment and then watched the clip again XD. Pure gold!

[@asphinctersayswott]

hahaha!!!

[@BassistInTheShadow]

27-litre engine in a perfectly drivable, road-legal car, with AC and electric windows, for less than £10k = bargain of the century.

[@OwnageProductions03]

+No Name 8 gallons per mile, I reckon. Hardly a bargain.

[@VincentCS34F]

+Ownage Productions if it was 8mpg with 27L that wouldnt be too bad since my 3L IS gets 16mpg

[@TwilightTheShooter]

Also it's about a $500 oil change, even just using really cheep oil

[@DesuchanSugoi]

+Vince R. That's 8 gallons per mile, not 8 miles per gallon.

[@HKstunts101]

+Ownage Productions Have you saw LPG switch? It's sunning on LPG.

[@vtrmcs]

Aiming to hit 200mph in the next 12 months? That's pretty poor acceleration.

[@plum_bit]

+vtrmcs Ha.

[@spuky201o]

+vtrmcs hahaha

[@jaggass]

+vtrmcs Charlie might be finished by the time it reaches 200mph. It needs alot of work to make it go 200mph. It needs supercharging and a few more mods to make it go faster.

[@jaggass]

Cire esseh I do he needs a very long runway and more power.

[@dylanwp180]

😂

[@adamshaw2932]

A Rover SD1 with a Leyland Gearbox and a Rolls Royce V12... now thats a true British mod car!

[@RogueBeatsARG]

Now I need to se a VW with an DB-605 engine in it

[@profo8692]

@@RogueBeatsARG A Mk3 passat with an engine from a Tiger :))

[@rowgli]

Shame it's LHD...

[@SvenTviking]

Rover V12. Meteor was mostly built by Rover.

[@Samuel-nu3uz]

all they need is to add a kettle n cups in the back 😂

[@MylesJonathanAtkins]

I'm proud to say he was my next door neighbour for about 7 years and I watched him build this monster! A mug of tea round Charlie's was an education in creation! And the sound from that engine!!! Well done mate! Proper job!

[@World-Superbike]

Lister of Smeg do you know if he is still trying to crack 200..??

[@scottnewton9370]

Oh listy

[@ferryvantichelen6521]

He must've probably been just as lucky with you as a neighbour, appreciating instead of loathing that sound

[@georgekurgansky5986]

You're a great neighbour, I feel proud to be in the same country as you guys!

[@mysterymachine9843]

Many of men would give one of there balls for that opertunaty

[@slckb0y65]

so, it's a rover with a spitfire engine build by a bloke in a shed ... i think that make this car more british than a royce rolls :P

[@oljimeagle6779]

The motor is a rols royce I believe..

[@chrisclarke3965]

Rolls royce meteor engine. its from a centurion tank. shares a common block and a few other bits and bobs as a spitfire Merlin engine.

[@sergiofreitas9368]

Don't forget it's a Leyland gearbox

[@JD-eo7dr]

I followed the build of this he even modified a forklift into a lift with a hinged roof on his garage Charlie's abit of a legend

[@cerealtiller]

I thought the V12 RR Engine for Tank use was a Meteor ? ...not a Merlin.

[@DolleHengst]

"The rev limit would give a 50mp/h speed limit through the cars standard gearbox" The standard gearbox also could never handle that much torque

[@eatthisvr6]

thats the thing with a reduction gear before the gearbox (if this 1 is pre box), 1500 lb ft at 3 k rpm becomes 500 lb ft and 9k rpm. plenty of transmissions can deal with that

[@SuPerbMusiCFan]

Plenty of transimissions can deal with that, but can the Rover's stock transmission do it aswell?

[@eatthisvr6]

iv no idea what gearbox he uses

[@SuPerbMusiCFan]

Maybe read the original comment then?

[@eatthisvr6]

i took that to mean a normal car gearbox which have similer ratios

[@perikholt3395]

What we didn't get to see was the mid-run refueling from a tanker plane, just so the car could reach the end of the runway.

[@koitorob]

You didn't spot the two drop tanks where the back seats usually are then

[@ronmatthews1738]

"I can smell your brake pads." "Well, I can smell your underpants."

[@OooListerooO]

I remember he had a lot of trouble with the DVLA, they kept classifying it as a 2.7l engine when it is actually 27 litres! 🤣

[@Kyleinasailing]

The Meteor was a purpose built tank engine producing 600hp and based on the Merlin without supercharger. It had a cast iron block and many other modifications. It was made by Rover. Rolls Royce's chairman, Hives, had lunch with the Rover chairman and they did a swap. RR got the jet engine that Rover was trying to develop and Rover got the V12 Merlin based Meteor.

[@eweunkettles8207]

the block was aluminium not cast iron later ones had roller rockers

[@g8ymw]

How I understand it is that a Merlin can only fly for a certain number of hours, after that as far as aircraft go, it's scrap. But then there is nothing to stop the engine being used on the ground. The petrol for land vehicles was very low grade so detune it by removing the superchargers and swap some parts from aluminium for steel. Set the engine to run backwards (compared to the aero duty) and you have a tank engine. A carburetor Meteor has around 600hp. There is a version fitted with petrol injection that was rated at about 812hp

[@eweunkettles8207]

@@g8ymw engines were readily available in sweden as the army used them int the 80s and there are a lot in cars and heavily modded for tractor pulling twin ohc conversions and superchargers coax a few more hp out them , the boosted induction helps get round the bad inlet port shape ,the heads are 4 valve with sodium filled exhaust valves with 2 spark plugs standard , at the time when cars were still mostly sidevalve engines ,other notable engines were the ricardo triumph 1920 and most of the rudge motorbikes up to late 30s , the only cast iron bit on the meteor was the timing case /starter clutch housing and exhaust manifolds

[@edwardharris9810]

I really love these shed engineers, that build such fantastic and crazy cars and bikes in there back gardens..

[@paulrubery1042]

Brilliant very clever build mate 👍

[@rallyecars7449]

Search: How to install Supercharger on a 27L V12

[@keithw4920]

@EmceeDoctorB He said tank so I assume its without the SC. IIRC, running it with the full fat SC at full boost would require octane ratings well above 100.

[@ellenorbjornsdottir1166]

@@keithw4920 Would LPG be good?

[@keithw4920]

@@ellenorbjornsdottir1166 depends on the particular SC and SC gearing used but i think LPG and LNG are about 130 RON. I have no idea how a Merlin would take to it though. If i recall, the most boosted of the merlins used for intercept were drinking 150 (mon or ron)

[@Bartonovich52]

Meteors were just Merlins that failed QC for aircraft installation. An OEM supercharger would be a bolt on mod.. though you might need a Merlin carburetor. But it’s total overkill and not very practical. Unlike automotive super chargers.. aircraft superchargers are to preserve sea level horsepower, not boost it. Typically you’ll have lower compression pistons and a moderate amount of boost (between 5 and 10 inches of mercury). Aircraft superchargers are typically what is known as “ground boosted” which means they produce far more boost than is useful at SL.. but you control manifold pressure with the throttle. As you gain altitude, this boost falls off until you are eventually wide open throttle which is the engines “critical altitude”. For planes like the Spitfire, they had a two speed supercharger so before the boost fell completely off.. it would speed up to restore it. The Germans used a hydraulic CVT for theirs so they could have maximum boost at any altitude. The American Allison engine was designed for a turbocharger which with a simple wastegate could also produce maximum boost at any altitude.. but the turbocharger was so bulky that it was only installed in the P-38s and F-82s. The P-39, P-40, and early P-51s had Allisons with single speed superchargers which meant they performed poorly at high altitudes.

[@Jabber-ig3iw]

Buy a Merlin rather than a Meteor and it would already have a supercharger.

[@drewm5335]

They should make this an engine swap on forza

[@ThomasFarquhar2]

Forza Horizon 5: Rover SD1 And a whole vehicle upgrade titled "Merlin V12"

[@yeehaw8106]

Put this engine in a Fiat

[@ThomasFarquhar2]

@@yeehaw8106 then you'd call it "fat" because a V12 in a 500 makes it fat

[@stlchucko]

I wish they’d bring back the 540 Hemi from FM3. Or put in a 572 BBChevy.

[@Creeperboy099]

They could’ve included it in the top gear story

[@jonbuggins5575]

Bet it has better emissions than a VW

[@MasterMoyle]

Jon Buggins anything from BL would have better emissions than a VW.

[@IDontWantAHandle101]

And it'll last longer :)

[@MrAlibongo2scoops]

my volvo T5 can go faster in less time

[@Bartonovich52]

Yet another person who doesn’t understand fuel efficiency vs emissions. The reason why VW cheated on emissions was to improve efficiency. You aren’t going to get the deadly NOX from a rich burning low power loafing petrol engine like you do from a lean burn high temperature high compression diesel.

[@johanneshaukanes4531]

Please change your profile picture.

[@johnwiles4661]

I worked with charley in a garage in Rutland, at the same time as he was building this and went to pick the rover up with the company breakdown truck when it was stock. He did so much work on the car. the engine didn't have oil filters originally so he made an aluminium block with three on for the oil to pass through. so much work.

[@DeanPorterEsq]

I've had a Rover SD1 and loved it, one of my favourite cars of all time.

[@philhealey449]

Clearly not the 4 year old SD1 disaster I had in 1985 that made motor factors very rich and impoverished me.

[@Mick_T63]

I had one too, it was a V8S. They were rare.

[@davehoward22]

I remember Clarkson going on about the Bugatti veyron, saying it's a masterpiece, thousand horsepower etc, these blokes do it with little money in a garden shed

[@jasttim]

True, but the Bugatti would still demolish this car in terms of performance, and braking, and handling, and comfort

[@atragerlspezi9500]

and even if he did a great job he didn't engineer his own engine he "just" shoved it in there

[@mrcaboosevg6089]

The Bugatti is actually a useable car though. You don't have to wear full safety gear to get it up to speed and i'd wager this think drinks fuel like you wouldn't believe

[@tonyzed6831]

@@mrcaboosevg6089 Yeah but wait until it crosses path with a BMW or Mercedes.

[@ynotnilknarf39]

@@mrcaboosevg6089 but there are thousands of Bugatti Veyrons, there's only one of these.

[@mattgardner4816]

My daughter used to live a couple of doors up from Charlie, very nice bloke! Also very intelligent!! What he don't know about engines, ain't worth knowing!!

[@scotty197878]

It’s a Meteor tank engine not a merlin plane engine. Great bloke though, met him at Santa Pod

[@davej-r9153]

Three cheers to people like Charlie Broomfield with the imagination to go that one step further.( Keep going )

[@SilentRazor1uk]

Meteor tank engine, not a Merlin, but developed specifically for tanks/trucks from the Merlin desgin.

[@Chriswizzv12]

I care, the show is inaccurate. Don’t suppose it would have sounded quite as flash if they had said tank engine. Pretty stupid conversation anyway the standard SD1 did 125mph with a 3.5 V8. It’s not that much quicker and looks shite.

[@davidjenkins8770]

Quite appropriate to use an SD1 as the Meteor engines were built by Rover back in the day

[@coolpaul69]

Similar engine but not quite the same. Meteor wasn't supercharged, Merlin was in many planes. Meteor ran in the opposite direction than the Merlin. Never the less an awesome engine with shed loads of torque. John Dodds Beast was a merlin but that wasn't from a spitfire

[@dennislane100]

@@coolpaul69 Seem to recall John Dodds saying that he had a tyre blow at over 200mph on a German autobahn,and added”Once I got it down to 180,I knew we were going to be alright!” He also initially tried to run the engine with the supercharger,but it blew exhaust systems wide open,so he”de tuned” it by removing the blower,and fitted a bunch of twin choke Weber carburetors instead. Saw him do an “easy” 10 second quarter mile at Santa Pod,a long time ago. Like the Rover,he had an “increase” rather than a reduction gear from the crankshaft. Think he ran 4:1,rather than the Rovers3:1,but owning a gearbox business gave him a distinct advantage when engineering his final drive.

[@deniskazali9816]

Giving the germans some PTSD with the sound coming from that engine lol

[@andrewwilson8317]

A meteor is NOT a plan engine! It never was and never will be! The only thing it has in common is a similar layout,v12, and capacity,27 litres. The metro is a cast iron block tank engine and is a fraction of the cost and power of a merlin,kestrel etc. A meteor makes about 400 hp and a merlin starts at about 1200 hp!

[@BassistInTheShadow]

+Andrew Wilson He even says it a tank engine in the video. They really need to change the title :D

[@mickles1975]

+Andrew Wilson I was just about to bitch and moan about that myself

[@sbomorse]

+No Name Doesn't he also say the same engine was used in planes?

[@mickles1975]

Samuel Brooks The tank engines were derived from the RR Merlin engine. The same way the 1275cc Mini engine was derived from the engine in the Moggy Minor. Not the same engine, but very similar.

[@sbomorse]

+mickeybill Fair enough 👍

[@mrbrisvegas2]

The Rolls Royce Meteor is a relatively low powered (600HP) tank engine that only shares a few parts with the Merlin aero engine. It was never used in aircraft. The RR Merlin 130/131 aero engine produced up to 2070 hp.

[@sestrelbethesda9450]

Surely that’s the ‘ meteor ‘ variant, from a tank. Not, as he said, from a spitfire...

[@xavierrodriguez2463]

it is

[@matteast]

He just filled uo next to me on the A1 this morning. Dark horse said it was a V8. Obviously busy. Nice bloke. The sound was unbelievable. He took off into the apolocypse like mad max. I said you'll never oart with this will you? He said, 'Nah I'll be buried in it.' Legend!

[@tomsparks3259]

About the time he hit 150 I began thinking, "All this talk about speed, I wonder what it has for brakes."

[@rotax636nut5]

I honestly thank God for people like Charlie beavering away in their sheds and building pure gold

[@georgeelmerdenbrough6906]

" Nah , I'll be done before it is "" .... " Really ?" ...... " Horrrk" ... " I reckon " lol

[@Terminxman]

I was hoping for a radial engine to somehow be fitted in there

[@alexgonzalez514]

My Prius can hit 100 mph and still get 40 mpg 😂

[@1999danie]

+alex Gonzalez my golf will do 125 and still get 60mpg...

[@dahorn100011]

+alex Gonzalez thats awful.

[@florianheffner1818]

+Terminxman jeah me too exaclty

[@wordreet]

+alex Gonzalez My 17 year old Peugeot 306 HDi cost £250 to buy and gets 55 to the gallon.

[@denvera1g1]

"Is the car finished?" "Naw it will never be finished, i'll be finished before it is" "Really" *cought* "Yea i reckon" Boy thats ominous

[@trillrifaxegrindor4411]

this is a true motorcar enthusiast,totally wicked home engineering

[@barryporteous4904]

Shame all the talking and music, would liked to have heard more of the engine.

[@freeagent8225]

I love tall gearing and this is the tallest gearing I've ever heard of. Brilliant.

[@simullane7836]

The wheels did 200mph on the salt flats in the US but car was just under. He is still working on it was new cam system (he made him self) and more.

[@lennycook206]

All I remember about my dad's old Sd1 from the 80s was that whenever it rained, the glove box filled up with water and more bizarrely, about 10 times a year the car would move over night on its own.... No sh9t. He had the brakes checked about 4 times but on cold nights, it was a guarantee that the following morning the car would roll down the street (slight slope but only slight) and would be parked up about 70ft from the drive. It would roll down the drive, put 2 wheels tight against the kurb and use the kurb as a guide until it came to rest. Handbrake on. Auto in park. Very odd. I also remember my little brother smashed his face and being in the car when my Dad rushed to the local hospital, that car ride was the fastest most insane of my life. Always loved the look but as I got older and learned the awful engineers at Leyland stories, I've lost all the admiration I once had for the poor (very poor) mans Daytona

[@samuelvaughan5972]

Did one of his mates have a spare key.

[@rolux4853]

So why didn’t he just put a piece of wood in front of the front wheels? I do that with my tractor since it doesn’t have a handbrake and I don’t want to park it in gear, just in case one of my neighbors(I lend them my tractor once or twice a month so they can cut the trees in their gardens and drive all the branches away to the local „junkyard“) forgets to put it in neutral when starting, so they would destroy my shed, that it’s parked in front of. The starter is powerful enough to turn the wheels when it’s in gear and then the frontloader would proceed to plow through the wooden walls of my shed, which I do not like very much.

[@andrewford80]

I like Charlie.

[@Comakino]

Lovely to see a bit of young Johnny Smith, completely forgot he was on this show TBH

[@cliffthelightning]

200mph in an sd1 is like re-entering our earths orbit in a portable toilet

[@charlesjones5789]

i like it when he talks about it being in the planes that won us the battle of britain, then the camera focuses on the mercedes benz sourced v12 badge on the side....daimler benz engines being the ones that powered the messerschmitts.

[@garyfisher4155]

Charles Jones they were also fuel injected.

[@BeezerWashingbeard]

Must be amazing with that kind of Torque at under 2000 rpm... Just awesome. That must be the polar opposite engine compared to like a Hayabusa/GSX-R engine.

[@dwaynejperry]

Could have ducked his bloody voice-over by a few thousand decibels and actually let you hear the that sweet meaty V12 purr its way along at 160+ MPH. God how could a car show get it so wrong with the sound? Even Clarkson would have stopped talking long enough to give us a hint at what that thing must sound like at speed.

[@guguigugu]

+Dwayne Perry i love how he counted out every single mph. like ok, we get it, theyre going up, can u shut up now

[@dwaynejperry]

+guguigugu I know... I never would have guessed that 150 was followed by 151... thanks Jonny!

[@mjbyttv991]

+Morgan Williams Ahhhh shit. 21?

[@dexterthompson1809]

I AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that DICK was as IRRITATING AS FUCK!

[@sugarnads]

Funniest thread ive read in a while lol

[@simonwatts8338]

It's a Rover Meteor engine out of a tank. Much easier to use as it has a proper gearbox for a road vehicle. Easy way to tell, a Merlin runs with 6 inch stub exhausts and won't run properly with a long pipe. The Meteor which is based on the Merlin does run with a long exhaust.

[@ladolcevita67]

Sorry fifth gear but if this is the Rolls Royce V12 from a tank then it is the Meteor and not the Merlin. The Meteor was never used for aircraft and isn't particularly rare or valuable. That's why it only cost £1000.

[@jester5ify]

The Meteor engine is a detuned Merlin engine (down to 600bhp). It has the supercharger removed and some of the components are made of steel rather than light alloys. It would still bolt into a Spitfire.

[@richardharrold9736]

The Meteor was used in aircraft, most of them were secondhand ex-aircraft Merlins...

[@bepowerification]

wait what.. you can get this for 1000? I want one.

[@BigHorseFilm]

@paul austin Well it's the difference between 1300bhp to around 600bhp. Although the engines are very similar in their basic design, there is a reason they have two different names, they are not the same.

[@TheTomco11]

jester5ify it might bolt into a spitfire but it spins the wrong way

[@painauchocolate2395]

Why does every fifth gear video feel like the product of two 1990’s media studies students

[@cyborgsuniverse2050]

I love it! :)) we had similar engine in a GTR in our show! But the car was crazy fast and loud until 85mph! With the same transmission and gear box...

[@Lofi.z34]

This guy is fantastic for fitting in a v12. He can raise the rev limit if he finds some help replacing some engine parts that would allow for higher RPM, what a great guy.

[@abc-ni9uw]

3miles to the gallon

[@SirShoX0r]

Probably closer to 3 gallons to the mile.

[@lsswappedcessna]

more like 35,000 smiles per gallon.

[@joshtuckwood1802]

1gallon to the mile

[@shugo541]

I only get about 15 so eh, worth it

[@mrcaboosevg6089]

3 Focke's to the gallon...

[@JamesYoung61]

I heard about this Rover years ago and when I didn't hear anymore I thought that the owner had given up on the project. When you think how much Jay Leno must have paid for his Merlin Bentley this guy has done a brilliant job. It is a shame the director didn't make more of the exhaust note as it is so iconic.

[@JD-eo7dr]

Jay's Bentley was built in the UK and was up for 250k I'm glad jay bought it would have been locked away for ever in the uk

[@tezy0193]

the stupid babbling from the passenger seat was apparently more important...

[@justsomegarage]

That was the most intense 160 ive ever seen, kickass car

[@TheEulerID]

The engine in a tank was called the Meteor, not the Merlin and for good reason. Whilst the shared the same basic block, it had the direction of rotation reversed, the supercharger was omitted, it had cast, not forged pistons and a host of other simplifications and changes to make it suitable for use in tanks. It was also de-rated to about 600 hp. It made for an excellent tank engine, but it isn't a Merlin, and it's most certainly not a Sptifire engine.

[@CascadeFreak]

NEAT! Practical Performance Car got a mention in a Fifth Gear episode :D

[@MoldyWormStudios]

Love the Victor in the background!

[@MurmurMurmur-pd1ww]

"Never, in the field of human automobiles, was so much speed reached by so many HP's with so few RPM's."

[@malo_espada177]

I cant believe the amount of power in this car.

[@philjones8330]

For tank use the Merlin had its supercharger, reduction gear, and other equipment removed from its crankshaft, greatly simplifying its construction. It had cast, rather than forged, pistons, and was de-rated to around 600 bhp (447 kW), running on lower-octane pool petrol instead of high-octane aviation fuel. In addition, because weight saving was not so important for a tank engine, some of the Merlin's more expensive light-alloy components were replaced with cheaper, steel components in the Meteor X version. It was also envisaged that the Meteor would use some components rejected on quality grounds for the Merlin, i.e. Merlin scrap.[1] In 1943 an acute shortage of blocks was met by dismantling surplus older marks of Merlins. So basically the same as the aero engine with some minor differences ...

[@cwilliams9635]

The fuel was called MT80 and has an octane of just 80. Terrible stuff really.

[@simonjohnhinton1938]

A car that drinks more than I do on Saturday night.

[@matthewblackburn8069]

I like when he coughs after saying I will be done before this

[@Brascofarian]

162mph... wow... that was almost as fast as the fastest cars in the 80's

[@roadie3124]

Times have changed. My 2007 Saab 9-3 Aero, slightly modified, is speed limited to 260 kmh = 162 mph. I'd still like to try that Rover. I'll bet that the torque would feel great.

[@GTFour]

I've never seen this awesome car featured since, would love to see how it's progressed

[@Rich77UK]

This is why fifth gear sucks! The METEOR engine was fitted into tanks and the constant references to spitfires and airplanes is fucking infuriating. Its treating the watchers like clueless morons.

[@andy2382]

+Rich77UK to be fair they did actually make clear that the meteor v12 was a tank engine, its just the fact that the design is very similar to the merlin, plus the fact there was what looks like a Victor parked in the background at the beginning. The programme makers didn't thrash it to death like top gear did - just dropped a few hints to make better tv

[@306champion]

+Rich77UK I know just what you mean Rich, nothing worse that listening to blokes who haven't got a clue about what they're on about.

[@ewandougie]

+andy2382 Yeah they were filming at Bruntingthorpe which is an ex-airbase

[@MarcusTDM]

Is half the video missing or something, cos I clearly heard him say it's a merlin engine, when does he say anything about meteors?

[@andy2382]

MarcusTDM the rolls Royce meteor was basically the unsupercharged version of the merlin

[@oddities-whatnot]

That is excellent. At 162 it sounded like it was pottering about at 30!

[@riboid]

I love that SD1 style of Rover. Miles ahead of its time.

[@Zipper696969]

I always fancied putting that body shell over a Range Rover chassis and power train for laughs offroad!

[@spacemutt1978]

Every time I hear anyone call a Rover Meteor engine a Rolls Royce Merlin, I shall poke their eyes out..

[@colj001]

3:07 he talks about it like its rocket science or brain surgery... its just a reduction drive mate!

[@oscarzt1652]

+colj001 reduction or multiply?

[@egm1843]

+Oscar Thorpe multiply in axle rotation speed, reduction in gear diameter.

[@REDxFROG]

+Humongous Richard boom!

[@wordreet]

+colj001 Wait, wait. Saturn 5 rocket, channel all that power directly into a reduction box from a bus, and you rocket goes 3 times as fast!! It IS rocket surgery!!! :¬P

[@oscarzt1652]

hahahah fuck this

[@RustyShackleford66]

So a tiny bit quicker than my old £850 Mondeo? Awesome!

[@cabbycabby1770]

I like how he grabbed the roll-cage around 140mph... like that was gonna help if they crashed.

[@Reman1975]

I'm just wondering how many hours of video they filmed before they'd got Charlie saying more than three words in a row without having to bleep out two of them. LOL !!!

[@itsDanielOfc]

how the fuck did i not watch fifth gear before? Top gear fucked me up... Anyways nice seeing them getting more recognised on youtube atleast

[@Daijyobanai]

+Jay Leno Yeah, that guy shouting out the speeds, WE KNOW, it's TV, WE CAN SEE IT ON THE SCREEN. He could have shown more of the car too, there must be loads of people who don't even know what an SD1 is, what it had as an engine originally, or how he got that 27l engine to fit in there. Basically, the presenter was an annoying twat in need of a haircut.

[@theproducertm]

+Daijyobanai Damn, that's to the point.

[@bernardcharlesworth9860]

The rover with standard v8 was very stable at high speed so 200mph is possible

[@willg0opl]

And the 3:1 step-up gearbox is old hat too, Johnn Dodd's "Spitfire" engined Rolls-Royce in the 70's used that scheme.

[@madMARTYNmarsh1981]

I have a friend who owns a Skoda Estelle 2... it has a Porsche 911 engine in it, he loves upsetting boy racers.

[@gazp2194]

Martyn James now I'd like to see that . tell him to put a vid on KZbin 👍

[@swift2117]

Any videos ?

[@koitorob]

There was a chap around my neck of the woods a decade or so ago who had a Ford Sierra Cossie engine in the back of an Estelle. That too went like a rocket. It pulled out in front of a mate who hit his brakes swearing at the car in front but it just left him standing. He was more pissed off then when he realised that he could have maintained his previous speed and the Skoda would have pulled out and STILL left him standing!

[@barthoedemaker]

It will keep pulling tough he just ran out of runway

[@REDxFROG]

+barthoedemaker or gear ;-)

[@TheRealFobican]

How many gears could there be?

[@StarsWithScars]

Yeah let you to "Victory" xD Its like a small guy is saying " its my victory" when his big buddy made the whole work.

[@BlatentlyFakeName]

I'd love to phone up the insurance company with that. "Hi, I just made some modifications to my car...."

[@paulhunter123]

you could just tune the 3.5 v8 to give same performance?

[@RJVMS]

+paul hunter And where's the fun on that??

[@englishmaninkentucky6]

That's not the point though, is it?

[@computername]

BMW reached approx. 1000hp/l specific power in the 80s F1, based on that a 650cc engine could output the same performance.

[@shadiandrew]

yea, but it will never sound like a merlin engine.

[@koitorob]

Paul, no offense mate but you've clealry missed the point!!!

[@juancarloslopezrodrtiguez4787]

Esto demuestra que el Rover SD 1, era también un magnífico coche de carreras, ello se debe a su centro de gravedad bajo y a su excelente aerodinámica.

[@anthonybrunotheodd]

Yes! This is an ideal performance car. Looks retro futuristic and with some work can keep up with modern super cars and is extremely practical.

[@DreamCarGarage1]

Impressive engineering but not really a very fast car considering the size of the engine.

[@WhoWantsToKnow81]

+/Dream Car Garage 1 (DCG1) Probably because the engine is heavy af!

[@tomforrest7814]

+/Dream Car Garage 1 (DCG1) and because the engine is over 70 years old lol

[@306champion]

+/Dream Car Garage 1 (DCG1) Is this dream car garage the show? or just some ones username

[@DreamCarGarage1]

the show. Check out some of the vids on my channel.

+/Dream Car Garage 1 (DCG1) I think it massages your arse quite well. :D

[@yung-tekmitchell3706]

Mid sized old car with old tank engine. LOL.

[@overspeed3042]

Amazing! I loved my all my dads rover v8's

[@BITTYBOY121]

I bet he could have a really good laugh if he stuck on some "2.7 litre" wing badges and then went up against the 5.0 litre guys LOL

[@peterbentley3959]

Lol love how MOST people can't just say oh the old rover etc good job mate instead you all pick at people's projects ffs

[@FreeRsGuides]

How much fuel does than thing use?

[@VirusTornado]

+Drugs Bunny ALL OF IT.

[@FreeRsGuides]

Hahaha

[@ModshackMerlin]

+Drugs Bunny About 6 to 8 miles to the gallon, if he's lucky.

[@Rich77UK]

+ModshackMerlin you mean 6 to 8 gallons per mile!

[@joe125ful]

+Drugs Bunny 80-100Litres on 100km?(myabe more)

[@fearsomebunny]

The new attempt at a Meteor swap brought me here... This was interesting! Thanks!

[@ronwalsh]

Now I want to put one of those engines in my MGB. Amazing run up to 160, I bet he will top 200 easily.

[@radioactivepotato2068]

If ever there was a title made for me to click on.

[@TheWierdFish]

Thing was going like the clappers up to 160, it's got loads left in it. Not bad for a funny heap of BL junk. Shows how gutless the original 3.5 engines were.

[@edism]

I wouldn't be too comfortable being driven at 160 mph with those LPG tanks behind me, lol. Good video.

[@Turteng]

I think that's the best thing I've ever seen! Love it!

[@connoisseuroftigolbitts]

it needs a 80mm turbo

[@danielspoon1234]

80? more like 220?

[@koitorob]

@@danielspoon1234 Neither. SUPER CHARGER!

[@sigmaoctantis_nz]

If you're going to go to all that trouble to fit a 27L engine into your car, you might as well get the real deal and stick a supercharged Merlin engine in there not it's reject cousin.

[@sugarnads]

Cost. Go price a proper merlin. And, frankly ALL proper merlins should be kept for the aircraft still flying that use them.

[@johanneswarn5488]

Might be difficult to find a Merlin for £1000 though

[@jaggass]

+Jonka Olofsson Ask Jay Leno.

[@richardharrold9736]

Leno's "Bentley" also uses a Meteor. An actual supercharged Merlin will not fit in any car, for the simple reason that the supercharger turbine is concentric to the crankshaft and so sticks down beyond the bottom of the engine by at least a foot, if not more... if you want forced induction on a Meteor/Merlin in a car, you'll have to come up with some other way of doing it.

[@sigmaoctantis_nz]

***** Turbos :D

[@gandi69]

read PPC mag plenty of write ups on this car. With twin turbo chargers added it made 600bhp at idle.....lol the guy built his own dyno for the engine using a bus brake electric retarders and the cooling system outside of the car was a radiator from a hospital backup power generator. Proper stuff!

[@Anal0Avenger]

He's a bloody madman!

[@GymChess]

It's 259 km/h. Screw mph.

[@D...Charger]

Nah mph its a british program.End of

[@DutchClawz]

That aint that bloody hard is it, for a 10k car it is though

[@SampleTracks2224]

GymChess does it hurt? Does it?

[@Fgghgrgrhgfnvkmd]

hell yeah... metric squad

[@eliosilveira7743]

Thank you man

[@techalyzer]

Someone tell the brits that AC is meant to be used at temperatures over 30 degrees C. You know, like any NORMAL summer on this planet. Which is something they don't have in UK.

[@lonewarrior1999]

you mean apart from the last 3 or 4 years where the temperature has actually reached 40 degrees a few times and has happily stayed in the low to mid 30s for a few weeks at a time.

[@billyh6872]

+Ri Max can somebody tell you to fuck of a not be a little bitch

[@eastwood978]

Air con dries the air so excellent for keeping the windscreen free of mist. U.K. has plenty of hot days but right now it is winter and freezing. The air con defrosts the windscreen quicker than heat.

[@billyh6872]

eastwood978 Omg i don't believe it somebody actually has some common sense :o

[@1999danie]

Yeah and in this years summer it was about 36 degrees in the day and 25 at night which Is hot by anyone's standards

[@wayne997gbro]

I remember when the police used to use those Rovers I bought one and I always remembered it was like a spaceship or an aeroplane dashboard but like wrapped around from right to left beautiful car just needing a mortgage for the fuel

[@koitorob]

If you read the PPC magazine you'd know he's fitting (and having major problems in doing so) some uprated cam shafts