The TRUTH Behind the ROVER SD1 Controversy - British Leyland's Worst Failure?

[@richardstuart325]

I bought a used 3500 SD1 as my first car. They were dirt cheap because the quality was so dreadful, which was the only reason a young hooligan like me could afford one. It was a lovely car to drive and I took it all over the UK and parts of Europe. As a secondary benefit I rapidly learned a lot about how to fix broken cars, and the tools I bought at that time are still in my workshop today.

[@GARDENER42]

A mate of mine bought a 1977 3.5 in 1979. Very fast, comfortable & great to drive. Failed its MOT in 1982 due to serious underbody corrosion, with suspension points literally hanging loose. Scrapped.

[@robincook3367]

The SD1 ended production in 1986. Police stockpiled them because they loved them so much. Great cars to drive.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

Did they? I’m sure I’ve read that the traffic police couldn’t wait to swap them for Vauxhall Senators……….

[@andypdq]

@@simonhodgetts6530 Having owned both a Senator and an SD1, I'd rather be in a Senator for a shift. Having said that the SD1 still has great appeal as a classic, it's that V8 thing.

[@Wil-nh5kz]

The police wouldn't have needed to stockpile them, Austin Rover had plenty of stock parked at various former WW2 airfields. Anyway, by 1986 Jaguar was producing a stripped down XJ6 especially for the police.

[@ArifGhostwriter]

I'm 50. Time was when I was a kid, that my mum pointed out that the British police only use British cars.

[@raynalddalmasso]

Un voisin en avait une belle voiture ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@darrensmith6999]

As always in our country, disaster snatched from the jaws of victory!!

[@nw8000]

Or in our case disaster snatched from the jaws of victory to be snatched by the jaws of disaster again...

[@alanwayte432]

That’s hardly true in 2024 trust me I lived in Italy for six years

[@Mustafa-Dump]

@@alanwayte432 You have obviously been and still live under a rock - the present situation, brought on by successive self-interested govts, is a disaster from which we might never recover!

[@neilbarnett3046]

The greedy management, the short-sighted governemnt, the poor management are all still with us. The workers, on the other hand, are much more realistic. I occasionally wonder how the striking workers fared in the end, it wasn't just BL, it was Ford, Rootes Group and Vaxhall, too. Mind you, I had an Ital estate as a company car, nothing wrong with it, apart from the gearbox failing at 27,000 miles, replaced with a Gold Seal 'box, the whole car was still going strong at 80,000 miles, when I left that company. A colleague drove mine and said "Wow! You got the good one! Mine is a Friday afternoon job."

[@Curious-Minds]

Disaster snatched from the jaws of disaster

[@lesleypaterson1463]

I still own a 1982 SD1, brown with sliding sun roof and a tow bar. One of my favourite Matchbox models.

[@duncanbuchanan218]

They were the reliable ones.

[@TheGra325]

😂

[@An.Individual]

😁

[@ON-gi2yb]

I do have the same model somewhere in my car selection 😁

[@davidpowell7614]

Ran a 2600 SD1 and it eventually blew its top end on the autobahn! Dropped in a new head and cam assembly and away it went, soldiering on until it finally succumbed to BL rot in the body. The engine and gearbox live on in an NG 2600 (kit car) with three carbs on it and not much exhaust system! Great fun. Thanks fir the history overview.

[@KenFullman]

I had the 2.6 SD1 and absolutely loved it (when it was running) but changing the head and/or gasket became a monthly ritual. It then spent a couple of years in my garage until I acquired a 3.5 SD1 rust bucket. I used that as a donor vehicle. With the V8 installed it was an absolute game changer. It was faster yet burned less fuel but most importantly, it was 100% reliable.

[@FredScuttle456]

Do they still make NGs? I've searched online but they seem to have disappeared.

[@davidpowell7614]

I think the original NG designed cars are long gone as far as kit production. Based on ever more expensive MGB donors that line was bound to end and the company went through various name changes and owners. The owners club is still going strong. I’m no longer based in the UK so am not part of the active car scene.@@FredScuttle456

[@FredScuttle456]

@@davidpowell7614 THANKS!

[@DJ_Hadez]

My dad had three, all bought used, and I don't remember them giving him much trouble. The V8 3500 Vitesse was incredible.

[@DJ_Hadez]

Mind you, my dad had a TR7 for a while too. Five kids, two seats. And an overdrive. #priorities

[@GrandeCapo_PallaPesante]

I am Italian and I owned a SD1 3500 Vanden Plus way back in 1982. It was an amazing car and it still is in my heart. Thank you for your perfect English RP, easy to understand for a non native one.

[@JimmyJimmyRiddle]

same here, lovely motor - i once did 130 in it and chickened out 100mph was a doddle

[@grippingyarnsuk]

My brother heard a knock at the door and feet running across the gravel drive . When he looked out he saw his SD 1 had been delivered back from its third respray. He got in it and the headlining collapsed. Such a shame as it could have been a great car .

[@TheManifattura]

My brothers and I drove several P6 200TC and 3500. In 1984 I bought a 1978 Richelieu red Sd1 3500. I drove this Sd1 for several years and had to listen to some ridicule from my father-in-law because of the numerous rust spots on the body. Apart from the fact that this car suddenly stopped for some reason (the garage looked in vain for the fault), the SD1 was a faithful companion on several trips in Europe. In 1987 I bought a 1984 SD1 Vitesse. This car drove fantastically and I still love it today. Unfortunately I sold this beautiful car in 1992 because the catalytic converter was introduced in Germany and the resulting high tax. Unfortunately the economic situation in Germany is very bad otherwise I would buy another SD1 Vitesse. There are beautiful Vitesse for sale in Switzerland for around 20,000 euros. Greetings from old Germany and please keep reporting your good stories

[@TheFrem1]

Great video Tom, Didn't realise that the workforce were so badly trained and rushed in, I do remember the build quality issues with the SD1, Horrible plastic fittings, The later ones weren't too bad and vastly improved but really it was too little, too late. I don't think the production of the SD1 did the designs of the car any justice, It was way before its time and looked so "Future" If production started in the early 80's instead of the strike ridden 70's i think it would have done so much better. Now they are sort after and are becoming a decent classic to buy.

[@chrisblay]

When you reel off all those strikes, it’s as though they wanted the company to fail. It must have been obvious what the eventual outcome would be.

[@tomdrives]

Sad isn't it

[@mlj9931]

The unions probably thought that the government would think the company too big to fail. Eventually the government decided that it was too expensive to prop up.

[@matthewc.419]

Dumb commies union leaders intent on damaging the u.k economy

[@AnyoneSeenMikeHunt]

BL upper management were dead set hopeless. It's like they encouraged strike action.

[@jackthebassman1]

@@mlj9931I’m pretty sure you’re right, the workers let the unions convince them they were bullet proof.🇬🇧🇪🇺

[@brenglover72]

My dad bought a four year old 2300. It was already starting to rust and paint was flaking off the roof. By eight years old it had holes in the body and the engine was only running on five cylinders - it was traded in. He never owned another but I had four of them - I still have a VDP EFi. My dad worked for Ford at Halewood in the early 70's - strikes were not unique to BL - he took alternative employment due to the amount of striking. The six cylinder engines problems are well documented- fast forward fifty years and rubbish is still being churned out - I wouldn't own anything with a wet belt.

[@MrRea112]

Love your candid and blunt assessment of things around the SD1. Unions and workers finally got what they wanted…..permanent unemployment

[@andypdq]

I have a 1984 3500 SE, been off the road for 24 years, it was given to me for free around the year 2000, it was auto, converted it to manual, and fitted the flapper EFI from a Range Rover, 30 MPG+ from North Staffs to Stromness, Orkney at the legal limit. Revival coming up, 40 years old, free road tax and no MOT, a bit of welding, but not much. Love the SD1 but mine seemed to suck exhaust gas through the rear tailgate seals making me not love it so much.

[@marcelvanwijk190]

The guy next door in my village in Holland was the CEO of Rover Netherlands at that time end 1980's, He drove a SD1 3500 Vandenplas, i can still remember and his wife drove an Austin Metro. I found it quite a memorable and impressive car, especially the dashboard of the SD1. I came quite often over the floor over there, hence i was a pally with the best man's youngest son. Good memories.

[@DessieTots]

The problems started when Madeleine Smith insisted on walking through the shop floor, distracting the workers.

[@caeserromero3013]

Phwoar!!! 🤣🤣

[@marksaunderson3042]

I sort of remember the strikes back then, when the workers sabotaged the companies they worked for, and ended up unemployed. It’s a given that the management was a shambles, everyone pulling in different directions. It was lemmings over a cliff. Every one of was trying to kill the company from the inside, and none of them realised that was what they were doing, jumping off a cliff. Way back, the Cowley works in Oxford used to store unpainted body-shells outside. So when it rained they went rusty. The cars were rusting away before they even got built. Lunacy.

[@dukeofaaghisle7324]

Having a friend whose father worked in the Design Office, I got to ride several times in the hardboard-and-wood camouflaged prototypes. I remember a front-end suggesting a raised central grille (a bit like a Wolseley or Vanden Plas) and a rear-end suggesting an estate car.

[@davekennedy6315]

Such a sad story! The SD1 really SHOULD have been one of the greatest cars ever made but was instead ruined by moronic strike action that destroyed our entire car industry.

[@grahamcook9289]

Bloody Red Robbo! That man and his fellow traveller unrepentant Leninist-Marxist trade unionists destroyed this country.

[@usernamesreprise4068]

The first thing B.L should have sorted out was its unions and ended the closed shop not its Brands, THEY (the unions) in the seventies were quite openly and unashamedly doing their level best to collapse the whole of British industry in ALL its sectors (steel, coal mining, the docks, manufacturing etc) not just the car industry, to literally bankrupt the Country by any means neccesary in order to (in THEIR eyes) usher in a new Soviet style communist state out of the ashes of the Country....they werent "fighting for workers rights" as they kidded the faithful into believing, but were using them simply as tools for the cause, and did so by manufacturing made up greivances in order to create the neccessary conflict to bring it about, and had such a chokehold on the entire workforce of the Country that they were obeyed without question - it was all too easy for them at the time !. Had we but known back then to get rid of such agent provocateurs as Derek Robinson (red Robbo - google him) and Arthur Scargill etc - an outright self professed communist at the very start of the seventies British industry would never have ended up the shambles joke it became. THIS is why the European Union in the seventies smirkingly called us "the poor man of Europe" at the time. - about the only thing the E.U ever got right.

[@allanransby7119]

Very sad to think of all those british motors: Ford, Vauxhall, Hillman and BMC. Really great cars, but the strikes killed the production. Hillman Imp could have been the new VW - beetle. Vauxhall could compare to even Mercedes, if they used the big engines. Ford produced Escort and Cortina a.o. and they could have been in front today as well, so very, very sad.

[@RichieReportsUK_UKCNews]

Just think, if this exact design had been given to one of the German manufacturers to build, such as Mercedes or BMW, how much more successful & reliable it could have been!

[@pit_stop77]

Strike a action? Why blame the workers, try blaming shoddy management and as quoted in the video "the bean counters cut costs" but yeah blame the people with no power

[@daviddavies4535]

I had a V8 SD1 it was only 2 years old when I bought ,did 80k miles all that went wrong was power steering pump , lovely car wish I still had it

[@paulillingworth1242]

I remember them being new when I was a child, they were amazing cars but sadly had a terrible image due to quality issues paint fell off in sheets , door panels fell off and get water leaking in anywhere it get in, shame because it could have been amazing without the issues.

[@williamegler8771]

When these were sold in the US our neighbors had two. I remember how often they would call my mother and father asking for a ride to work or to take their children to school because their cars wouldn't start or had broken down. I always thought they were beautiful and futuristic compared to my parents' BMW Bavaria and Opel 1900 wagon but at least my parent's cars started and didn't break down on days that had a "Y" in it.

[@tomdrives]

It's a shame the cars didn't work as they should, it could've been a winner in the US

[@williamegler8771]

​@tomdrives They certainly could have been a real contender. Beautifully styled with a V8 they probably would have sold like hotcakes if they'd only been more reliable

[@robertsmith9810]

my 350 SD1 never let me down the 350 engine was ex BUICK reworked by rover brilliant engine also mine was a manual silky smooth 5 speed wish i still had it

[@williamegler8771]

​@robertsmith9810 Even the most problematic model can have the occasional "UNICORN " that is trouble-free but the few that are reliable don't reflect to ownership experience of a majority of owners. The Rover also didn't use a 350 CID V8. Rover purchased the tooling and rights to produce a 215 CID aluminum V8 that was originally designed by Buick for use in its compact Special. Buick sold the rights and tooling to Rover because the all-aluminum engine was expensive to produce in limited numbers.

[@robertsmith9810]

@@williamegler8771 what ever car model you have if you like and trouble free it is alright , i had a Ford 105 Anglia estate always trouble in the end traded it in for Hillman hunter loved it never any trouble .must have owned 5o/60 vehicles the ANGLA STANDs OUT AS THE WORST as i remember only thing that stops be buying a Rover SD1 now is the price of a decent one in the garage have 1959 restored Morris Oxford pickup truck

[@WeeShoeyDugless]

Owned a couple of SD1s, 1st was a 2.3 which I converted to a 1.8 BMC Diesel, it wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding but the MPG for such a big car was fantastic and she would sit at 70MPH down the motorway all day long. 2nd was a 2.6, fabulous car which I kept for many many years, clocking up a huge mileage and NO trouble whatsoever. I put that down to oil changes every 4,000 miles with quality, modern oils and quality filters. My dad always stressed "Oil is a cheap mechanic" and he was not wrong! Still use the same principle on all the (faultless) Mercedes cars I have owned over the last 30 years.

[@Cragsidebaz]

I bought a beautiful metallic blue 2600SE in 1986 with every penny I had. She turned heads and we had many wonderful memories. It was absolute luxury inside, the centre console was like the flight deck of Concorde, the engine packed a punch, and the car was totally reliable. On the down side, she managed just 19 MPG (on a good day), tyres cost £80 each (about £300 today), services required a mortgage, and she was depreciating faster than a Maserati. It was a sad farewell in ‘88.

[@markjones-vx3kp]

The problem was kings engineering was sound but he had Austin and morris assemblers putting them together , theSD1 wasn’t a complex car at all and had one of the best engines ever made ,I had a clutch of them v8’s and a 2600 never had any reliability problems never broke down in series 1 cars or in my vitesse , so I’m gonna defend them because they drove lovely yes there were a few crappy bits but they drove better than any thing at the time with perhaps the exception of the Original XJ6 , the whole place at BL was under communist control at the time so they never had a chance , it was a great car and I’ve covered long distances in them plus TWR got them to corner like an F1 car ,always will have a massive soft spot for them , very sad it never reached it full potential , it still looks fantastic today another cracking video Tom..

[@Low760]

Lol communist control. Workers wanting Thier share when executives are making what they ask in pay rises in 6 months extra. But yeah. Let's blame the guys who were struggling to afford to live. Much like now!

[@caeserromero3013]

Part of the problem of forcing multiple competing companies under one umbrella. Austin, Morris, Rover workers were Austin, Morris & Rover workers. NOT BL workers in their minds. They were happy to sabotage each other or at the very least not help. If the car companies wee allowed to die naturally, they would have been distilled into the leanest, most efficient remainder and probably survived in some form. But the culture of 'slack off and just wait for the next govt bailout' was what eventually killed off the UK car industry. There was nothing of value except the badges at the end. Which is why today you see MG and Lotus and JLR still around but in name (badge) only bought by foreign companies for the brand name alone.

[@spacedock873]

A very interesting journey down memory lane to an iconic car of my youth. The only glaring omission from the video is the lack of police 3500's! They were a staple of traffic division back in the day and seen regularly on the motorways.

[@TheCatBilbo]

They did look amazing in Police livery!

[@mattw8332]

It is so sad to hear of the odds stacked against the SD1. My late dad owned a few secondhand executive sized cars during the 1980s and 1990s but he avoided the SD1.

[@tomdrives]

It still came out on top in the end

[@7ismersenne]

Wise man 😆

[@simonallen6201]

I well remember being 15/16 years old and my best friend's dad replaced his magnificent P5B Coupe with an early, new SD1. The build quality horrified him and it seemed it was always back at the dealer. Such a shame as the SD1 is so fireardblooking in so many ways, just rushed to market and the early cars were all Friday cars

[@phillarsson8253]

These memories take me back to the time when I had to fulfill my military service (back in 1985) in Germany (Dellbrück), and every week I got to ride along with a professional soldier from Ghent in his SD1 3500. I can't remember ever being in a car that drove so comfortably and quietly, and then came that acceleration... as soon as we crossed the Belgian-German border, 'Boogie' would floor the pedal, and I was pressed back into the seat, next cruising at 200 km/h. Any difference in feeling or noise compared to the mandatory 120 km/h in Belgium was hardly noticeable. During those eight months of enjoying those trips back and forth, I never once knew that 'Boogie' had any issues with his SD1. Later on, a friend of mine had an SD1 2200, and that one did have a lot of problems. I eventually went to get hand on my first (second-hand) Rover (600Si) in 1996 and was very satisfied with it. Then came my second Rover (75 Sedan 1999), and in 2006, I bought the Rover that I still drive today, a Tourer from 2002, which has now reached 552,000 km. I will do everything-absolutely anything-to keep driving this fantastic Rover for as long as I can. We have been through a lot together, and of course, I have had to solve some problems and do repairs, but still, just like the first day I had it, it's just pleasure and joy to drive that car. Last summer, we even drove it to the south of France, and at first, I was a bit afraid, but that concern was completely unwarranted. We covered the full 2400 km forth and back without any issues. The whole Rover story ultimately ended in a sad scenario that could not even have been conceived for a bad B-movie...

[@lastvmax1258]

Yes the 3500 was mechanically reliable, even not all of the 2600s had top end issues (I didn't but I did not keep the car for long ; issue was the auto trans). However, what you state about your later cars is just because... they are basically Hondas. the best japanese cars (sorry but I think Toyos rank after. When I see in my native mountains, with rugged climate snow & salted roads how a RAV 4 mk 1 ages, compared to my past HR-V GH... My only driving XP of a 'Toyo' was the short rental in BKK a Lexus LS400, that 1-had the speedo unable, 2-the Nakamichi radio-cassette player eating my tape to never return it.... So in terms of top-of-line car, I felt deceived). Now all jap' cars have decreased in quality (even Hondas), but Lexus staying at the top - says my local mechanic, who spent a career in UK before returning home and is almost as knowledgeable about anything as is Scotty Kilmer. I had also five Rover 827s later on, that were very good all in all but again, not perfect and in similar departments. The obviously still stupid management had chosen shitty Valeo components for the electrics-electronics, instead of the reliable Denso originals equipping the flawless Legends. No surprise that the Brit originated production was always plagued with Jaguar-like equipment faults, plus some other quality issues deriving directly from the incapacity of British workers to follow the strict quality control Honda's staff was supposed to bring along. Same seems to go for the current Jags and Ranges line-up, atrocious in terms of reliability whether built under UK or Indian management... Adding bad marketing planning and a disastrous attempt to reach US markets under the strange 'Sterling' sister-brand choice, then the final issue was clealy predictable. I have now a UK built Honda Accord Gen V - that is basically also a Rover 600 ; this is a very reliable car aging very well (purchased @ 28 years from initial owner just to drive around - seems like new, drinks nothing but a bit of gasoline). All my 6 motorbikes were/are Japanese ; 7 of my 14/15 cars were/are basically at least Japanese. None of them, usually purchased with a sound mileage had any serious issue. Brits, stop doing cars, just design them and hire Japs for the rest!

[@simonweakley3479]

I had D332NOB a Rover 2300 S in Silver leaf as a company car whilst working in Rover Marketing in 1986, a superb car. But the promise of SD1 was never realized. The series 2 launched in 1982 was so much better but the 2300 and 2600 should have had fuel injection and better manifolds for much increased performance. The 2000 likewise should have had the 117HP fuel injected O series. The promising estate car should have gone ahead and why not a rebody so a Triumph 2000, 2300 and 2600 Saloon could have replaced the ageing large Triumphs and kept Canley open. The Vitesse and VDP efi of course should have stayed until 1988 when the 800 Fastback was launched as halo cars hand built to very high standards. All ifs and buts but the early cars ruined the reputation with so many quality issues.

[@ridbanner1407]

I had a 3500S 30 years ago abandoned in a unit I rented. Sold it for £200. One of my customers was a young BL manager . His factory had a roof leak where rainwater was running down the power cable into their new 260,000 pound crank grinder. Quick as a flash he offered to get on the roof and stem the leak. Can’t do that son said the shop steward that’s a job for maintenance. I’d have to call out the whole factory if you did that. 3 days later roof repaired. Grinder down for 6 weeks. UNIONS ,!!. Equality for all ,everyone on the dole.

[@crazyjay7676]

I had a 1984 SD1V8 auto. It was red and it was amazing. Stunning looks a beautiful V8 soundtrack. I traded it in for an RX7 in the late 80s and I still regret it.

[@PeteCswampy]

Grass tracked anSD1 tom in the 1990s it was destined for scrap so we raced it on afield, crashing into a mk5 cortina estate.

[@OwainPreece-ie6bb]

What a shame, a great car ruined in house by the Unions.... still the last of the SD1's were pretty sorted things and a V8 Vitesse is something to behold now

[@veritasvincit2745]

Only drove one and it was a very late production 3500 Vanden Plas. I was quite young and had only driven small capacity town cars until that point. I thought that it was astonishing from that perspective.

[@mw8653]

The 3.5 VPs was a very nice drive I worked in a dealership ferrying them around on trade plates however the replacement 825 sterling was lightyears in front of the SD1s the Honda design and build quality was very evident.

[@martynholder1971]

Great Video, I had an SD1 T reg driving at night on a Motorway in the rain at about 70mph the rear screen blew out a very large bang and told us it had happened to be on a motorway and at speed no point in stopping got it fixed the next day and the fitter said it was a common problem we had the car an automatic for about 3 years with no further problems

[@V8Operator]

Well, I had and still have several of them, mainly Vitesse´s. The paint did not adhere because the company installing the paint bath wired it up the wrong way round... and after two or three years the paint started to flake off... what a mess! I never had a MK1 model myself, so I can only speak for the MK2 model. Designwise the car is an all time winner! Look at it today and it still is as aggressive and modern as 40 years ago. Lots of space and mechanics extremely durable, solid and easy to fix! Due to my job (owning a car workshop) I can only emphasize that British cars bulit or constructed at that period of time can be easily fixed. Everything is comparatively straight forward, nothing "sophisticated" in the wrong way and the engineers had the mechanic in mind who needs to fix things later on. And Hello: I am German!!! Not driving german cars at all except for an E60 BMW M5...

[@RichieReportsUK_UKCNews]

They really did need to be easy to fix - because they were always going wrong!!

[@V8Operator]

@RichieReportsUK_UKCNews how many of them did you drive and repair yourself??

[@pauldoree3967]

Anyone spot Duffy from the Fenn Street Gang and also Madeline Smith @ 8:30?

[@vauxaholic]

I thought it was Denzil from Only fools

[@nigelbond4056]

My dad replaced a Jaguar XJ6 with a platinum silver SD1 3500 in 1977 and then replaced that with another (this time opaline green) 3500 in 1982. I learned to drive in the later car so have very fond memories of the model.

[@Martin_in_Cheltenham]

My Dad had one when I was growing up- first generation 3500- lovely car, fast and comfy... Rover invested a lot with a new factory etc. Press didn't help by showing pictures of workers sleeping etc during the night shift. Would love to own one now if I had the money. There are a few for sale. Would love the Vitesse. Another great video - many thanks.

[@stevewaldock4379]

My dad got one of these as a company car in 1980. Back then it literally turned heads when we drove past people as it looked so modern and unique at the time.

[@GaryPaul-z9s]

My Dad bought a brand new Rover SD1 in 1978 at a cost of over £8k, it arrived with grey primer showing on 1 wing, the petrol filler cap and the front of the bonnet. The dealer took it back and touched up the problem areas but you could clearly see the front had just been blown. The car was only getting 12mpg and the local dealer Henley’s couldn’t improve it and admitted they didn’t have the equipment to tune twin carburettors so he had to spend £100 to get it tuned at a local tuning specialist, Marsh and Jeffrey in Manchester. Then the rust started and within 18 months there was severe corrosion showing around every door handle and around all 4 wheel arches. After 3 years he traded it in against a used BMW and only got £1700. Mechanically it was a great car but really poor quality which resulted in neither of us ever buying a BL product ever again. The same year I purchased a 3 year old XJ6 and had exactly the same issues, whilst cleaning it after 2 years of ownership my car wash brush disappeared into the sill, the doors had no paint on the inside and that car eventually fell to pieces rotting away on my Dads drive in 1985 with a blown engine. I got £15!from a local scrap merchant. I’ve always bought German cars ever since.

[@r.markclayton4821]

I had two these, a 3500 SD1 and and a mk2 Vanden Plas. The SD1 lost the independent suspension and all round disk brakes of the P6 and lack ABS, but gained the five speed [over driven] gearbox that made it an effortless and economical motorway cruiser. I somehow missed the build quality issues and avoided the poor smaller engined cars. Nevertheless I switched to BMW in 1985 and still drive one. In 1987 BL lent me an 825 for a week to tempt me back. It was dire - cramped, poor build, underpowered, but with torque steer. I was glad to give it back!

[@skyhill4279]

I had a 2.2TC P6B and loved it. All panels bolted on, wings, cills, roof, valances etc. I eventually sold it and bought a 2.6 series 1 SD1. Great car but knackered the engine ticking over at the lights. The oil problem to the camshaft caused it to seize which caused the timing belt to strip its teeth which altered the valve timing allowing the pistons to smack into the valves. I pulled the engine apart and repaired all the damage. I also found that soft main bearing shells had worn causing the oil pressure which squeezed up a bolt which had been reduced to allow oil to pass up the camshaft to drop drastically. Once repaired the engine ran great. I then bought a 2.6SE series 2 SD1 in Moonraker Blue. It was a beautiful car and I did some minor work to the engine. Two of my mates who had 3.5lt V8 SD1 version could not catch my straight 6 series 2 SD1. Best looking cars I have ever owned. Great video, thanks for making it.

[@coxdorange7565]

A friend of mine his dad had a SD1 3500 that year it was the Car of the year. It had a brown leather interior and was in the typical yellow SD1- body trim. He bought it after driving Citroen DS 23 injection Pallas and a Citroen CX Pallas. All three cars impressed me with very comfy characteristics in a different way. Though nothing could outperform the DS and CX when it comes to suspension. The SD1 V8 still impresses me with its engine. It sounded so smooth in the background when the accelerator was hit and impossible to be noticed while driving. Windnoise was also very low. Later on he owned 2 or 3 more SD1's after a car crash. But that sound and that yellow finish are still fixed in my mind.

[@philhealey4443]

MY four year old 2600 in 1985 owned for six hellish months was without doubt my worst car ever. Head gasket failure, clutch cylinder spraying my feet in brake fluid, free rainwater in the glove box, mushrooms growing in the wet boot area, exhaust pipe rusted out, rear seat area stank of petrol, rusty sills and wheel arches. What a load of rubbish. The only positive was that it had the world's largest choke lever, a giant thing that was cunningly disguised as a handbrake to fool any thief stupid enough to attempt starting it.

[@mistsmogguru8378]

Strike after strike destroyed the British industry. As a kid back then, it didn't make sense. I've always thought that it was deliberate, to then help foreign companies.

[@alcoyne3333333333333]

Them strikes ware designed by the higher ups for that reason. 😢😢😢

[@alcoyne3333333333333]

Being irish and only 18 . I knew nothing very little about Cars at the time . But i always did and still do trust my gut feeling. I test drove a rover from a main dealer. So many little bangs and noise rattles and a bit or two coming of in my hand 😢😢😢 very sad for The UK

[@darrincambridge2377]

Never happen under Elon 😂

[@Gladstone-hk9xw]

Wrong. The British industry was destroyed by a combination of incompetent management and cheap foreign imports. Even if you dealt with the former, the latter would still take its toll, something that still holds true to this day regardless of unionisation. And if you're doubting this, please feel free to open up your phone and point out a single component made in the UK.

[@mistsmogguru8378]

@Gladstone-hk9xw Wrong ! wow ! I'm not wasting my time explaining to you what we make. Perhaps you should. From engineering to coal mines, unions of righteousness destroyed many industries. Even top gear , Jeremy himself, put together a compilation of our present industry. Feelings before facts are very lefty. Go dye your hair

[@spudgunn8695]

I owned an 83 SD1 Vitesses. Most comfortable car I've ever driven. Loved it to bits..right up until someone offered me 3 times what I paid for it 2 years later! Still miss that car, but I'd just lost my job and the insurance was coming up and it was steep for a 20 yr old in 1990....

[@southenglandbusspotting9965]

Fun story: the warranty Manager at my Work was chatting to me about when he used to work on the tools at MG Rover dealerships years ago. He said once an SD1 V8 came in for a rattling noise behind the dash under some conditions. He ended up finding a coke can dumped inside the dash cage. He still has it to this day!

[@andrewdavidson665]

14:10 in there seeing that plate reveal being an "R" plate just hit home to me how much ahead of the game changer that car was. I remember - fondly! - my dad's Hillman Avenger - an "R" plate and to see the SD1 was being sold at the same time? Wow. Talk about different breeds.

[@twentyrothmans7308]

My friends had an SD1 3.5 in Sydney in 1999. It didn't like the heat - the window seals admitted water when it rained - which happens a lot there - and the electric windows and sunroof were unpredictable. That said, they just wanted a city car that they could neglect. A Triumph 2500 can do that, not an SD1.

[@brockett]

In 1987 I bought a 1980 2.3 with 52k miles for £1100. In the next few years I did another 40k miles. 8 tyres, 6 oil changes, a clutch slave cyclinder a set of brake pads, an exchange alternator and a fuel tank. It ran perfectly until a flood turned it into a sunken barge. I've bought quite a few cars since then but none have cost so little and have done so much.

[@graemewoodhouse5523]

Many years ago a managing director I worked with mentioned he had been one of the men in grey, a title chosen by the press. Sir Micheal Edward’s had a hand picked team to work under him. All dressed in the then very fashionable Grey suits. I was told a few stories about the Leyland days but the comment that stood out was “the management were as bad as the Unions”. So many years later many companies still have I feel poor management…

[@h-j.k.8971]

I had a handfull of these, not sure if LHD models were better quality but I had never herd of the paint issue. You could get these for pennies when repaires set in, some of my customers turned up on a weekly basis because something was falling off. The engines though were bullit proof, I regularly swapped these into Range Rovers which made them much more econimical and fun to drive, while the 5 Speed gearbox from 6 cyl models was a nice swap for the TR6. I still have a SD1 Vitesse dash on the shelf in my office.

[@MrEdsTheRef]

Bought my V8 second hand in 1983. Found out from a lady serving petrol that it had belonged to the chairman of a Leicester company called.... no joke "Premier Screw". It had all the extras and i loved it. The engine sounded like a Spitfire Merlin engine but the steering wheel would violently wobble at around 95mph. 3 yrs trouble free driving until i swerved to avoid a right turning idiot and wrote it off. The cops took 3 months to catch the guy due to a witness getting a letter wrong in the reg. Still fond memories and yes a great car❤

[@williammorris1384]

Thank you for the superbly informative video! My Dad’s best mate , brought one in 1978, in banana yellow . I loved it , although I remember being carsick in it ! The story of what could have been a potential success , only to be mired in controversy, mismanagement and overall narrow minded stupidity , is only too familiar in this once great country . I’m friends with the son of the main designer. Ps; why did Denzil from only fools and horses, make a sudden appearance, around 10 minutes in ?! 😂

[@RobSinner]

Nice video, I owned for a short time a Tomcat, my dad had a 214si when I was only a baby!! What a shame what new MG/Roewe are looking like!!

[@DiecastPowderCoating]

I had two 2600s and a 2300. I loved the Mk 2 dashboards. They were lovely cars to drive. My main memory of all three was keeping a cup in the glove box. This was to bail the glove box out every time it rained.

[@maurizioalbera]

I drove a 2000 4-cylinder for a few years. I have no problem saying that in terms of road characteristics: grip, braking, stability and handling, it had no rivals. And it wouldn't have any today, in its market segment. The power was low, but in Italy the price of petrol, always the enemy of large displacements, made it impossible to maintain an 8-cylinder. The silence was memorable, and combined with the very spacious interior and the seats that were nothing short of luxurious, it made every trip a real pleasure. Unfortunately, the assembly and quality problems were significant. The seats were very comfortable, as mentioned, but the back of the seatback fell apart. The sheet metal supporting the pedals was too thin and would break. The clutch was not very robust. You could keep a spare car in the trunk (24 packs of 6 1.5-liter bottles of mineral water would fit - and the suspension could handle the weight!), as long as you didn't expect to keep it dry. Rear lights easily flooded. Windshield wipers broke just looking at them. I eventually had it scrapped, but the project itself deserved to be a huge and lasting success.

[@usx06240]

Loved mine. Bought from Edward Mulhare. Edit. I thought you meant they "2000" model P6

[@timdobby5365]

My father had two SD1 3.5 V8 in the early 1980’s when I was a young teenager. I loved them and still think the styling looks good today! Such a shame management and workers were at constant loggerheads in British industry during the period, allowing overseas manufacturers to build market share here with their better quality, reliability and durability.

[@GrahamGroovyUK]

My parents bought a year old, Rover direct disposal 2300s in 1979 to replace the 1977 Princess 1800HL they bought on a similar scheme (Brother in law worked for BL). The Rover came without any warranty, 12k on the clock and 13 months old. Price was £3100. Mechanically no issues. Sadly the paint failed on the lower body resulting in a bottom half respray at 2 years old. Front windscreen leaked like a sieve and deposited water into both lower gloveboxes every time it rained. I remember as a child riding in the front seat on the basis of having to hold the pull-up choke up as it wouldn't stay up. Sold in 1985 for £1000 with 62k on it to an elderly couple who ran it until 1992 when they gave up driving. It outlived what replaced it (Rover 213s). That was traded in by 1989 as it was rusting all over and had cracked 2 windscreen due to body flex and corrosion. According to car tax online the 213 was no longer by 1991.

[@michaelwittmann2644]

My friend had a black Rover SD1 V8. It was fast, looked brutishly handsome, and handled well. Another friend had an Opel Senator B Irmscher 4.0i, which was extraordinarily rapid and had excellent handling characteristics. Out of the two, I preferred the Opel Senator. It handled better, looked stylish, was faster, and had a build quality that was streets ahead of the SD1.

[@Cravatman]

There was a parallel with the launch of the Rover P6 in 1963. Some cars ordered off the stand at the 1963 Motor Show didn't get delivered until almost a year later. This was more to do with the car being launched too early than industrial relations problems (although that was a factor).

[@davewilson4493]

I only rode in a 2600 SD1 for one journey. It was an impressively comfortable car - quiet, smooth, and seats like armchairs. Unfortunately, (very much not the car's fault), that was exactly the wrong set of characteristics for the journey in question, which was a very late trip trip back to London after a weekend of hard caving in Yorkshire. The owner had recently switched from an Alfasud after it succumbed to corrosion, and had also inexplicably switched from his previous penchant for super thrashy music to Radio 2, which at that time of night was *very* easy listening music. I quickly fell asleep when we were on the M1, and was woken up some time later by the car bucking like a bronco, and looked across to see the driver somewhat later in the process of waking up than I was. He'd drifted from lane 1 all the way across to grinding along the barrier on the central reservation, and all you could see out of the front was a haze of the foliage he was mowing his way through, but the car was handling things surprisingly well on it's own, and fortunately, the driver recovered gracefully and got back onto the road. We stopped at the next services to assess damage, which amounted to a driver's side with armco-shaped indentations all along the side, a bonnet covered in sap, the passenger-side wing mounted aerial snapped off, (presumably by some stiffer vegetation), and the space between the grille and radiator solidly packed with greenery, which we removed in handfuls. It was only when we got back inside that we noticed that there was a police car parked facing us with two people inside clearly puzzled about what we had been doing. Luckily, they didn't have a view of the driver's side, and weren't interested enough to get out of their car, so we discreetly left. This was back in the 80's, when Post Office vans were often driven "enthusiastically", and my friend had the good fortune that, in the following days when he was trying to decide what to do, one of them hurtled down the hill above where he lived, entirely failed to make the bend at the bottom, and turned his car into a mangled wreck, immediately solving his problem. I do feel sorry for the car, and I'd have loved to have been a passenger in it in better circumstances, but I was very impressed by how well it handled a situation which it quite obviously wasn't designed for. I suspect that the Alfasud might not have done nearly as well, in the unlikely event that anyone could have ever managed to fall asleep in it.

[@jamesskinner4188]

Great post buddy ❤

[@jameslee-pevenhull5087]

When the SD1 was transfered to Cowley, my Dad volunteered for redundancy cus he was fed up of all the 'Consession Notes'. Cars were going out rusty. He got redundancy and moved to a Company called Radiator Shaping Services ( Radshape ) who made the brightwork. Dad was the Quality Manager. Radshape also did the brightwork for Jensen and Morgan. Then they got the request to make panels for the Morgan Aero 8. I almost resigned from Lucas to move to Morgan because Dad told the Engineer their about me. I didn't though. When SAGEM packed up, I went to Browns Lane as a Vehicle tester.

[@OverDriveOnline7921]

Rover carefully planned the transition from the SD1 to the 800, but again threw a spanner in the works. The 800 was shown in Genova to police chiefs across the U.K., who promptly went home and ordered as many SD1’s as they could, with some being registered and put onto the road a few years after the SD1 stopped production. This though had a knock on effect as SD1 components ran out with many orders still to fulfil. An example of this is the internal heater, where a new one had to be literally bodged together, using the Maestro heater matrix in an SD1 heater case. This was not only inadequate for heating the SD1 in winter, but also incompatible with the piping of the older heating block, meaning owners of late C registered cars onwards, couldn’t just get any old block from a cap yard, you needed that specific heater arrangement, or just go without heating! Having had 2 SD1’s, an early series 2 2 litre O series and a last of the line straight 6 2600, I know the cars well and love how they drive and handle. Given the chance, I’d have another, but the one I really want is the one we featured on the OverDrive Online channel, but last price I saw for it was in the region of £250,000! That said, it was the Scottish Rally winner in 1982, so worth quite a bit

[@TheMileswin]

The Rover 4 litre and 4.4 litre engines where ready to go and it was a failed strategy not to include either of these in the line up. The 2622cc E6 engine should have been chosen instead of building a completely new 2.6 engine.

[@briantodd3190]

20 odd years ago I was the proud owner of an SD1 that ( according to the log book ) was manufactured with a Honda 2.7 Litre v6 engine , it did tend to go thru a lot of plugs and distributor caps tho . An incredible machine . I swear that it would hit the limiter ( 150 mph ) and still be 2k revs short of red lining , on one occasion I overtook the entire length of an HST going UP the hill on the A2 at Rochester Kent . Which incidentally is why I no longer have it ,

[@gimble447]

Lots of clips on this from “The Quality Connection” the surprisingly star studded Leyland film, well worth a watch here on KZbin if anyone hasn’t seen it before 👍

[@tomdrives]

Also clips from The Circle as well, another BL internal film

[@gimble447]

@@tomdrives yes I noticed that too, though The Quality Connection is by far the greater of the two, though the end of TQC is a bit disturbing and would have all sorts of pre-warnings these days 👍

[@studiocalder818]

I was a boy and my father wanted a sturdy car for me; he had an Opel Rekord and he liked Rovers, so one day he called me from the Leyland dealer in my city inviting me to go there, where there were cars ready for delivery. I really liked the car but I was embarrassed and I declined the invitation: the salesman on the phone told me that it was the first time that this had happened to him, usually the opposite happened to him, haha!! I was too proud, every time I think about it I feel sorry for the car and for my father. Some time later I bought an old Alfa GT J with my money, which I still have today after 40 years.

[@stringer-ik1pc]

Bollox 😂😂😂😂😂

[@henktulp4400]

‘British Leyland’s Worst Failure’….??? It’s hard to tell….. there were so many…

[@orkharrid7065]

My mate had a 2600 Vitesse manual and a 3500 Vanden Plas auto. decided to swap them to make a 3500 VP manual. Took it (the 3500) on holiday to Scotland. 40 miles down the motorway at 90mph he remembered he'd swapped the gearbox over and changed out of 1st. The sound died down and we had a great trip there and back. Oh, and we were pulling a 4ft trailer as well. Fantastic car.

[@basilguts1786]

When I was a young child growing up I remember our next door neighbour had his front bonnet and headlights stolen from right outside the house. At the time I didn’t find it particularly funny but for some reason as a fifty year old man it makes me chuckle.😅

[@thatcheapguy525]

back in 1985 when I was in the engine shop at TWR, we had a works hack SD1 Vitesse with next seasons twin plenum V8 strapped and locked down under the bonnet. attempting to get out of the industrial estate in Kidlington, I've never gone so slowly on the red-line before or after; nobody had warned me before driving that beast lol. roughly 2 years later I bought an SD1 2300S for ferrying around my grandmother and a bit of posing as you do at age 22. fabulous cars but the strikes made the quality standard erratic.

[@paulhartridge1477]

My Dad was given use of an early 3500 SD1 when George Sparshatt asked him to put a few miles on it as his wife, Grace, did not like it and wanted her Triumph 2500 Pi back. The Sparshatts summer house was next door to my parents and they got on well, my Dad having purchased a new XJ6 a few months before from George. I do remember the car being quite impressive, the V8 being a different animal to the straight six in the Jaguar. My Dad liked it and used it almost daily, a good side by side test with the Jaguar. In fact he had to remind George he still had it after 6 months, to which he said that he'd forgot and he'd better have it back.

[@93CostaCaddy]

i started my Auto Electrical apprenticeship Aug 1979. Imagine the vehicles I had to work on, I had no idea how poor they were as I cured squeaks, rattles, leaks and failing central locking on the SD1 and Series 2. Now lets talk about the Ital, Metro, Ambassador, the list was endless, although I always loved the Dolly Sprints... Mean looking cars in their day.

[@grahamariss2111]

The SD1 in concept was a better Triumph than a Rover and would have sat much better with the TR7 and SD2 as Triumph and concentrated the Rover into the Land Rover and Range Rover products and a premium (Mercedes Sprinter like) light commercial vehicle using the Freight Rover brand and sharing oily bits with Land Rover.

[@geoffclarke3796]

Always loved the styling of the SD1 with the Ferrari Daytona like nose and that lovely V8, The SD1 Vitesse, especially the twin plenum versions, are really special.

[@keithswaddling2370]

I bought my old 2.6 SD1 off my dad in 1992, I had it until 1995 and it was a truly magnificent car to drive, I had to replace the engine and not long after the gearbox too, being a manual it wasn't too bad a job, far easier than changing the auto box on my old P6 2000 which was really gutless in comparison, my P6 3500 was a big improvement and set me on track to own the SD1. I took it to France and it out-performed my friends Volvo 245 estate which had a 2 litre engine, doing two tanks of fuel to my one. It was comfortable for drivers and passengers, held the road like glue and didn't suffer any more mechanically than most of my friends cars at that time. I loved it and have regretted getting rid of it in the Autumn of 1995, replacing it with another iconic car the Volvo 760 GLE.

[@cosworth6nut]

We had three of these - all 2600s and generally, we liked them (except for the leaking sun roof and the peculiar arrangement of 2 and a half carburettors - not sure what the small one did, but my Father was constantly trying to get the thing to work). If I recall correctly, it used to be called "The Big Dog". I wonder if any other company could be permitted to relaunch the same car, but brought up to date - wonder if it would sell. I also really liked the fact that it was rear-wheel drive too. Also, one item we learned was that on one (may have been on others), there was an extra panel partially fitted on the near-next back wing, between the inside body work and the outside body work and this was not bolted in properly (or at all). My Father removed one of the bolts in the petrol filling area and ran a piece of all thread through it to pick up this panel and stop it rattling... - happy days.

[@leepower2717]

Parents had an early facelift SD1 - I got sick of pushing it when it refused to start, manual gearbox failed & they had to have the windscreen resealed as the factory hadnt fitted it correctly so it leaked. They nearly traded it in for a Rover 800 but saw sense & bought a non UK built vehicle instead.

[@craigwalker4211]

The lack of an estate version ( the prototypes were good looking) was another missed opportunity.

[@pchristy102]

I had the misfortune to own an SD1 2600S in the early 80s. On paper, it looked fantastic. The reality was another story altogether. I sold an Australian Ford Fairlane, which I had owned for a few years over fears that something expensive might go wrong with it that I couldn't afford to fix. I replaced the 5.8 litre Ford with a low mileage SD1 from a Rover dealership. The first shock was that the Rover was thirstier than the V8 it replaced, despite being less than half the engine capacity! The Fairlane would easily do 22 mpg, the Rover less than 17! The fact that the exhaust was black, and it could be started and driven off without use of the choke was a clue that the mixture was a bit rich - to put it mildly. I returned it to the dealers for a tune up. They advised me that they had adjusted the ignition timing! "What about the mixture?", I asked. "We're not allowed to touch that, its sealed at the factory!". Sure enough, the SU carbs had tamper-proof plastic seals around the jets. A hammer and chisel soon shifted those! Half an hour with a colourtune had it running much better, but it was still a gutless wonder. Then came the electric windows and sunroof. If you were doing more than 30mph, the motors were incapable of closing any of them! The first time I left it out in the rain, the glove compartment filled up with water! The paint on the bonnet crazed, and despite a respray, continued to do so. A few years earlier, I had had a Rover 2000 on loan for a couple of weeks. The build quality was infinitely superior. The suspension was infinitely superior. The engine was infinitely superior. The SD1 felt cheap in comparison. On the plus side, the steering on the SD1 was pleasantly high geared, the seats were comfortable, and the hatchback made it very useful. But the handling was inferior to the car it was meant to replace, as was the build quality. After two years, I sold it to a work-mate, who was a Rover fanatic. I warned him that it was more 1950s Triumph that 1980s Rover, but he wanted it all the same. He discovered that the screw retaining the points in the distributor was too long, and was stopping the advance/retard working correctly. After replacing it, I asked him if it improved the performance at all. "Not much!", he replied. He passed it on to another work-mate shortly after, and he scrapped it a short time later. As for me, I bought another Australian Ford, an LTD, which I kept for fourteen years. I needed a big car to carry around a wife, two boisterous young children, and a grandma. It served that purpose very well.....

[@frogandspanner]

In about 1982/83, when I was working in financial services, when I had to go off site I was provided with one of the company cars of one of the directors or one of the senior managers. The former was a V8 SD1 automatic, the latter a Sierra 2 l (I think) automatic. The SD1 was crap. I hated it on drizzly days following a dry spell, when roads were as slippery as a well-buttered ice rink: the gearbox seemed to know when the car was cornering, and changed down - causing the rear to step out. It had rattly, tinny doors, and a general feel of a downmarket producer trying to fake a quality car. It could have been much better, if only there was not the them-and-us management style that was popular then, and even more popular now.

[@UncleJoeLITE]

Great car, despite everything. As a kid, a mates mum had one & I just loved it. I wanted a Rover & a Triumph S. Cheers from Canberra 🇦🇺

[@cedricthefrog]

Very informative documentary. My dad wouldnt touch Rovers in the late 70s/ 80s due to reliability issues, same with Jaguar of the time. But the Ford Cortinas/ Granadas were not inpiring at all, but Ghia models were smart. the 70s werent a notable time for reliable cars in general, more renowned for rust!!!

[@andrewkilby3656]

I had a 2600 SD1 bought new in 1980. After a few weeks the starter ring fell off the flywheel. Fixed under warranty. Then after a couple of years it needed a new gearbox as 3rd gear ceased to work, Apart from those two problems I loved it but couldn't resist the offer of a BMW 525i when the lease was up after 3 years. The next three years I had no car problems at all.

[@adrianlang6550]

Mum had been given an old Daimler but dad had replaced his Golf with from memory a 2.3 White SD1. It was the manual car i learned to drive in so used to hair around in it😂😂😂. Once i passed my test!!! I remember the bonnet front getting rust in it despite the car not being that old.

[@feedingravens]

Just a few hunded meters away, here in Munich, someone got 2 of them. And two Auto Union 1000s (3 cylinder 2-strokes from the 1950s - 1960s - I have an image of me behind the one of my father, but no memories). What is (sadly) long ago, someone near had a Triumph Stag that I saw a few times. My after-midlife-crisis toy is what is in Britain a Vauxhall (here Opel) Calibra, from 1994, V6 24V, 170 hp.

[@ModelsExInferis]

My uncle had one of these in the 80's. I didn't see him often, but when I did I loved looking at that car, I thought it was properly posh back then! My dad had a MKII Escort and, in hindsight, I'd much rather have one of those now than the SD1, it's just a nicer classic imo (although my passion is for Polo's!). It's nice to see old British cars brought back to life though. I'm pretty sure Ben over on Tasty Classics mentioned wanting to get and restore an SD1 so might be worth keeping an eye on his channel in case he ever does!

[@deannewman45]

Thanks

[@Cambuster-1]

I worked as a BL buyer at the South Aftica division where we had to fit a tint strip across the top of the tailgate glass - to prevent the almost constant sunshine from burning the top of the heads of the rear seat passengers (not such an issue in northern Europe).

[@cmb1972]

I have only ever been in a Rover SD1 once, in 1980 when I was 8 I got a lift home from a friends Dad in his MK1 3500, I really liked the burble of the V8 and how comfy the velour rear seat was, plus the treacley smooth gear shift from the auto, I noted the cool cabin design& space and must say to have remembered all this after nearly 45 years means these were and still are special cars.

[@robbierobson3251]

We had 2600 SD1s as Area Cars in the Met Police right up to the end of production. They looked fantastic, but the automatics we had were gutless, nothing like the much faster P6 3500 that they replaced. This was just as all the yobs discovered the Ford Escort XR3. The early ones had very poor quality interiors, but the later (Series 2s?) were much better in that respect. The last one we had was a Vanden Plas 2600 model, re-sprayed white from the original metallic red, with the sunroof sealed up and the VDP badges removed. From memory, it was registered E***LHX. We never did get the 3500, although Traffic Patrol units did.

[@edwardharris9810]

My mum had a Rover SD1 but my biggest memory of them is seeing one in the 1986 RAC Rally (now Rally GB) no idea who was driving it but they were really throwing it around

[@Simon_W74]

My Dad Had the V8 Vitesse, One of the car he had that I liked the most. what I can't workout is why he went from a Mini Metro City Plus to the Rover is beyond me. It was the start of a run of owning Rovers, as he then had a 213, which I ended up with, then there replacements the 214 and 414. I even had a 216 that later became the 25. I bought it as a 214, and thought it was very nippy for the engine size. On its first MOT the Garage noticed that the VIN didn't match the engine size on the documents. Rover had accidently given me the wrong car. Not that it was the Car I had ordered. I had originally order the Car in Blue, which was dropped and I then had to choose another colour. So instead of getting the car in August when the R registration was released I only just got the car in time for Christmas. I very nearly had to drive home in a Rally Prepared mk3 Escort. As I was I Germany at the time and it was a left hooker I would have no doubt been pulled over a few times by our Boys in Blue down to how loud the thing was. It still had a stereo, not that you could hear it, or hold a conversation without shouting. So I was pleased to have my own car to take me home for Christmas. Still would have been fun in the Escort.

[@tjroelsma]

The one thing the government and the bean counters never understood was that it totally made no sense to bring all those different brands into Leyland Cars, as they were each other's main competitors and "us vs them" thinking ran very deep within those companies. Then there's the problem this video already addressed: Rover was competing with both Triumph and Jaguar, so they were kind of stuck in the middle with nowhere to go. In the lower range they weren't allowed to compete against Triumph and in the higher range they weren't allowed to compete against Jaguar. Which left only a very small market for Rover. The ever present strikes the British industry had become so (in)famous for, were the final blow not just for Rover, but Leyland Cars in general.

[@iaindouglas6861]

You needed wellingtons in mine, the floors were always saturated after light shower.

[@monkieie]

As a young sprog I bought an SD1 in 1991 and drove back to my camp in Germany. It was for me my second car (after a Ford Cortina,1979) and felt like pure luxury. The straight six was sweet but the clutch was a real bugger in town. Heaviest that I habe ever had, in a light vehicle. Still, I loved that car. One could drive it like an armchair all day