The MYSTERY OF THE LOST ROVER CARS - The Rover 55, R16 And More!

In this video we explore some of the most incredible and mysterious Rover cars ever made that are lost to time, from the Rover R16 the Rover 800 replacement to the Rover 55 intended to replace the 400 and 200 and join the 75 as a new luxury Rover range and even the Rover R30.
We explore how each of these incredible projects ended and what happened to these mysterious lost cars
ARonline is a great source for information; www.aronline.co.uk/
Follow me on Instagram for more cool stuff: / tomisdrivingcars

[@arkhsm]

The 75 Coupe....wow, just WOW !!

[@user-ed4rr9nw1l]

Rover 55 so stylish compared to the then current Jaguar Range.

[@tomdrives]

I love it, it’s aged well.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

The 55 is a true ‘one that got away’ - the styling model looked fantastic.

[@whatacnut]

I always thought it looked exactly like the 2000s Bentley Continental. Same overall looks, albeit less beefy.

[@alancobbin]

Thanks Tom ,the Rover 75 Coupe would have been superb.

[@tomdrives]

It would have been, the prototype looks great.

[@alanbrowne441]

There was a guy on the 75 and ZT owners club who built one. It looks awesome!

[@RobertBlake-zd4cs]

Wow that Rover 55 looked great. Would look good even now I think.

[@oliverstemp9132]

The 55 looks ridiculously good. Should have made that.

[@gafrers]

The R55 looks good and perfectly "2000s"

[@stephanievaughan258]

I worked for an MG Rover dealer between 95 and 2005 and sadly the demise was obvious long before it happened but this video shows just how many opportunities were lost. As a close friend of our area manager at the time I got lots of inside information from him and visited Longbridge regularly and was devastated when the end came in 2005

[@peterriggall8409]

Yeah, I think it looked like a small Bentley. That and the 75 Coupe. WOW.

[@darrensmith6999]

Nice one! Thank you for making these videos they are so important in documenting the now deceased British Motor Industry for future generations.

[@dgodiex]

After many weeks of watching your videos (while researching during the process of acquiring a pre-project drive 75 2.0 Club in inmaculate conditions!) I finally subscribed. Thanks Tom for your love of Rovers and your great content.

[@tomdrives]

Thanks for being here! And score on the great car!

[@bentullett6068]

The Rover Oden looks remarkably like a certain Honda CRV MK1. Maybe that is where the lost concept ended up because at the time, Land Rover Discovery MK1 models were seen in Japan with Honda badges. So to keep Honda happy for using their body shells they probably sold it on to them not realising that they would produce a small SUV in the near future.

[@andrewboulton9928]

Honda Crossroad ?

[@bentullett6068]

@@andrewboulton9928 Land Rover supplied the Discovery for the Crossroad model. Looking at the Oden concept shape though it is very similar to the MK1 Honda CRV which came out at the exact same time as the production Freelander. It makes you wonder if this concept design was sold to Honda as part of a deal because if you look up Honda CRV mk1 concept car there aren't many drawings or show concept cars, which makes me assume the disappearance of the Oden was one where it went to Honda Japan.

[@MINKIN2]

OK. Now I want an off road Maestro van.

[@adriandeb2710]

The great video the blue rover 55 should have been made a bit bigger than a rover 75, a flagship model, the 2006 rover 75 update looks good as well, the coupe amazing

[@tomdrives]

Thanks and yes I agree

[@paulandjana]

That Rover 75 coupe is stunning. What a trick they missed with that.

[@tomdrives]

It was, same way they missed out on the MK1 800 coupe.

[@michaelleese4626]

New subscriber here tom and thx it still pains me to this day what happened to Rover they made some beautiful cars and I had a few unfortunately always wanted a 75 and got one well a Friday afternoon one an 04 diesel and boy was it a mare but I still love the brand and always will that coupe just oozes class thanks for the video ps my all time love is the SD1 ❤

[@Grumpyowd2hat]

Great content, very interesting as new to the Rover scene 😆

[@salvagedb2470]

The Rover 75 certainly looks like a right Head turner , as was the Rover 55 ..Great vid as Always.

[@stuartfletcher5755]

Another superb video Tom.

[@colsparky651]

I wish Rover survived and was still British. Such a shame .

[@tomdrives]

Same here

[@sarah-ws2tg]

Much appreciated and great narration…some lovely looking models there, especially that R55👍👍

[@01greekman]

Tom brilliant work as always

[@paulm3033]

I owned 2 Rover 75's, both excellent cars, inside and out .

[@edgarbeat2851]

A fantastic video. 👏

[@Curiousdriving]

Superb video, great research Tom

[@tomdrives]

Thanks Ian!

[@stevenmanning6884]

I still feel sad when watching any video on Rovers down fall. Why the domestic mass car producer of the UK couldn't have been saved bugs me still. Yes the unions have to take some of the blame but management or the lack of it has to take the majority of the blame. Hondas time was a blessing and a curse but BMW was never a good choice. Did the initial tie up with BMW spoil the Honda relationship or was Honda just greedy. The Phoenix four like previous management were far from good, and questions should been asked directly where the money went in detail gained from BMWs payout. It's all water under the bridge now but still sad.

[@paulillingworth1242]

Shame Rover has gone, had x2 620s loved them my late dad had a few earlier Rovers, great cars, shame about stigma and bad management, bad decisions and bmw was final nail in coffin. R55 still looks modern and if it had been made would be a good seller in current day. BMW didn’t want its underdog out doing them!

[@matthewc.419]

Very interesting Tom , thank you , that 55' design looked super cool !! Yeah yeah do the 2000s !!! Of Rovef

[@tomdrives]

Thanks Matthew! Yes I’d love to, got to put it all together over the next few weeks

[@kawarps]

Really beautiful designs.

[@MegaRetr]

Wow that Rover 55 looked great!)))

[@bigbird2100]

Great video 👍 Rover 55 nice but due to the usual rubbish management in the uk it was inevitable that it would come to a sad end.

[@LostsTVandRadio]

The Rover 700 would have been a good car. The front end of the prototype needed a bit of sharpening up (it looked like the target customer would have been a silver-grey alien from Area 51) but the rear looked good.

[@sainta2667]

The Rover 55 was realy beautiful! Much more beautiful then many car today.

[@GAZZA.B]

Hey, Tom. Love the videos, have you checked out the Rover 416i and quintet , Rover Australia! Quirky!

[@davidpeters6536]

First time I have ever seen a Rover 700 (R16), simply stunning.

[@graham581]

I have a massive soft spot for Rover and Austin Rover cars. 2 family members worked at the Cowley site for many years. I worked for a Logistics partner on the Cowley site and was 1 of 2 people loading the R75 body shells onto lorry's to be taken to Longbridge when BMW were swapping the 75 and Mini production lines. Due to the many contacts me and my family members had, I have many stories from the factory.

[@a11csc]

75 coupe and700 and r55 may have been salvation Tom

[@asa1973100]

I had a rival 400 as a company car when they were new and it was the most comfortable lovely drive imaginable. It really was a good quality car..

[@user-pk9nt3gv2e]

Thaaaaanks youuuu

[@manofthehour6856]

Another amazing production, Tom! Despite reading several car magazines regularly (including Car) at that time here in the States, I somehow missed the R16 reporting / photos, and was unaware of the Rover 55. The R16 is VERY attractive in a conventional way, and although the 55 looks a bit awkward in some respects, the stance is very nice indeed. As a British car lover, it was very disappointing that BL, Austin Rover, and Rover Cars Ltd kept stumbling and refraining from entering the US market full force with a complete range of models. I got to drive a friend's Sterling 825, and I would have loved to have owned one. To me, the best chance design-wise was the 1970s because all BL cars looked futuristic and modern compared to anything mainstream on the USA market but the quality and lack of dealer network / resources undermined a proper British invasion. The return with Sterling was not much better, and then BMW pretty much gutted the company and excised Mini as the reborn MINI. Its a shame that the stars never aligned for Rover. In some respects, I wonder if the name worked against it because it seemed to exude "old man's car", just as in the US, you really don't want to be behind a recent Buick. You can sell a young man's car to an old man, but not vice versa....

[@turnercraig9953]

Hi... Excellent video. I'd have loved to have seen the R30 in production. The Xsara/Focus sized cars sold well at that time

[@tomdrives]

Thanks :) and same here

[@bridgetoofar]

Hello. I enjoy your videos very much. Would you be able to cover the story of the Rover 200 BRM LE?

[@SimonGreenway-ih8lh]

As always Tom excellent. I'm not too sure if the Rover 75 coupe would have made it though. I recall both the Volvo C70 and the Peugeot 406 both coupes of the same era being total flops sales wise. Its a great sham it all failed with Rover as there were so many good looking car that could have been.

[@davidpeters6536]

Amazing stuff Tom, BAe were not worthy owners.

[@ronniewilson6597]

75 coupe looks fantastic. 👍🏻

[@thatcheapguy525]

the R75 had the looks of a winner

[@Cull-every-Tory]

Great work Tom, thank you 👍

[@paulmoor595]

Wow....we were so stupid.Some great cars in this video...the coupes in particular were way ahead of their time.

[@user-db8bl1me9e]

I'll just copy other comments, great informative video, stunning 55/75 coupe, Ive owned 2600s/3500se SD1's in the past, and also derply regret Rovers demise.

[@howardlake6178]

I think BMW and Honda tried to help Rover, but then bullied him to death

[@markthacker9387]

They sold it to BMW, who then asset stripped it, should have sold to honda, who by the way did more for rover than BMW did and got short changed for all their efforts.

[@TheMileswin]

The Rover version of the Freelander is a major loss by not going into production. Wow I didn't know this car existed and it was a completely new market segment for Rover and potentially a life saver. It makes me wonder whoever cancelled this vehicle should have been fired. The new Mini and the R30 should have had the Rover K series engines but BMW scuttled the idea and the the rest is history.

[@K9Weddings]

Even towards the end Rover had a few talented people who were able to design good looking cars. For them to succeed however you would need decent management and staff who cared enough to build them properly.

[@waldenhouse]

R55 all the way! And the ‘MG’ derivative would have been orgasmic, I’m sure. The Rovers/MGs I had were the best cars I’d ever had. Their demise was like a bereavement to many.

[@rjs1138]

Good God, the 75 Coupe is knockout! This could have made for a range topping MG ZTC or something 🤔🤯

[@richardevans2247]

“When Rover met BMW” is a fascinating documentary

[@bensonbright]

That 55 styling would be a massive seller today . It a beautiful car . Why on earth didnt they throw the kitchen sink at it? It could well have saved the company.

[@OldFArt-gx9fh]

Tragic! That is only word that comes to mind.

[@noonoo6079]

That R55 was stunning…. What a shame

[@sibbaker]

Brilliant video thank you please can you do a video on the rover mini convertible that rover made my dad had one wish he still had it

[@tomdrives]

Ah is that an official Rover model? I’ll look into that.

[@sibbaker]

@@tomdrives yes I most certainly was not many made but a official rover car

[@stevemull2002]

Ive had 3x sd1, a 820 a 416, a 45, a 75 tourer, Rover cars were in our family, and we always had one, the 75 was a terrific car, Also Dad had 4 x Sd1, and a 416, Sadly it all went wrong when those twits at BMW got there hands on Rover

[@robertmiddleton5663]

love all what you doing .can you go one day into the bmc cars built in italy and spain 1100s with trumph looking boots i believe a company built fiber glass minis also in spain .i think their was bmc cars built or assembled in south america not sure if was guyana also africa zimbabwe prevously rhodesia had assembly plants their aswell south africa aswell .what i love is the diversity little differences seats door handles windows ect you great keep at it

[@tomdrives]

I will soon yes!

[@paulelverstone8677]

There are some truly horrendous facelifts here, bar the R55 and 75 coupe. Bizarrely, I found the Maestro 4x4 oddly suitable. Go figure...

[@chrisblay]

Working for Rover design and development must have been one of the most frustrating jobs in the world. Everything was either cancelled or scaled back.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

I worked for a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer as a product designer many years ago, and faced much the same thing - yes it’s insanely frustrating to sweat over a new design to only see it shelved!

[@Canguterio]

In my country Spain Rover sold very well ❤you can still see a lot of 45 and 75s

[@bitsbobs8613]

I still have two 75s one diesel and a v8 both with low mileage, I did 275 ,000 in my first 75 diesel , it was still driving like new , I gave it away to buy another , but only years later I realised how rare it was , heated windscreen. Only 18 made. It was a demonstrator and was worth 32,000 so that’s about 13,000 in extras

[@brianp7022]

Just my opinion but I definitely see the lines of 3 series from that era in the curves of the headlight and the way the light cluster incorporates both headlamp and indicator as one colour.. Maybe it's me😂

[@dodgydruid]

If you ever fancy doing a rare Ford, the MK2 Fiesta 1.4i Tickford is a story worth telling and scrapped because the damned things were just too lethal in Ford's mind. I quite like the last Rover's, I would love to own a MG Express in that gawjus metallic mid blue :)

[@TheAllMightyGodofCod]

That design for a premium 35 looked a lot like a Lancia, specially the Ypsilon

[@PollieBrooon-cz5yg]

I was the proud owner of a Rover 200 (Tomcat) 1.6 sports coupe with T-bar glass roof (removeable).

[@felix_five]

Rover were so inept they managed to stuff up adding reliable Honda engines and running gear into their cars.

[@In_memory_of_Dad]

If they had put the Rover 55 into production I would definitely of brought one! 😞

[@MyHumanWreckage]

I know it’s a cliche, but I still think these Rovers were some of the most beautiful cars at the time and still hold up well today…what could have been…

[@5hqLeicester]

The r16 looks like some of the new BMWs and looks very nice and would look great on the road today such a shame that rover has gone.

[@TIMMEH19991]

A friend of mine ended up with a G series engine, but as it was lacking any form of injection system he ended up scrapping it. I'm not sure if any others survived?

[@Life_Of_AL]

As we all know, BMW just wanted the 4WD tech from Land Rover. R35 could be so many cars, with the most common theory of it becoming the 1 Series, which is by far the least obvious. I always said it went on to become the Alfa 147. It’s also reminiscent of the later released Chrysler Ypsilon, bearing in mind Rover did have business links with Chrysler at the time.

[@craig3916]

there a low quality film right at the start at about 10 seconds in of a grey P6 with no hubcaps and the US style bonnet and an Ice alert and some sort of overriders on the blinkers on the frontr wings. the suspension is raising upwards. do you know what that car is , especially interesting is the suspension that seems to be raising up on air or hydraulics ? was it a proposed modification for the saloon cars or maybe a test bed for the RR series. its particularly intestring as that car car had completely unique front and rear suspension design n mounting and any sort of modification is difficult and certainly not ever any sales of factory or aftermarket adjustability . cheers

[@kymvalleygardensdesign5350]

I would have bought that Rover 55 it looks superb! Governments eh who would have them Rover should have been nationalised and saved.

[@user-pk9nt3gv2e]

Thanks for responding about the Rover 400 I needed this your great man,Now I will push my luck for you to do the P6 and P4 whenever you get a chance

[@tomdrives]

No worries Ralph made a note when you asked to shed some light on it. I’d like a P6 or P4 hands on so someone will need to lend me one, I’ll seek one out for the summer.

[@user-pk9nt3gv2e]

@@tomdrives You are the best may peace,joy and success be with you at all times,how is your SD1 project coming along?are they worth money and should I restore my relative's one since its manual and V8

[@azza8249]

I reckon the Rover 55/75 is now the rolls royce the 55/ 75 was maybe the rolls royce prototype

[@jondickinson2864]

People blame BMW for the eventual collapse of Rover, I would say the penny pinching and asset striping that took place under BAE's ownership is just as much, if not more to blame.

[@tomdrives]

The decline was set in motion in 1968.

[@jondickinson2864]

I agree, but a good owner at the time of the Honda tie up may have been an opportunity to turn things around. Maybe Im just dreaming! Another great Vid btw, thanks.

[@AL_THOMAS]

None of these cars would have made a difference. Looking at a picture without knowing how reliable, well built, and how good it is to drive and live with it's all conjecture. Nothing seems to do anything unique or that's a game changer. Without international sales, better reliability, marketing, management, productivity etc nothing would have changed.

[@rabit818]

6:22 This Rover SUV has a similar front end as the Saturn SUV, a GM company killed off

[@jamieeedden777]

My friend just had to scrap a mint and i mean mint 75 due to just a fuel pump no rott never been welded or anything like that it was a 1.8 k series with no leaks or rattle and had a great history

[@pod9538]

The coupe 75 definitely. Still a sad story. What could have been.

[@davidbarnsley8486]

That last rendering of the 75 update looked really good and modernised What a pity they ha no money to keep going We were unfortunate enough to buy one of those a first generation minis what a pile of crap that was Expensive and so cheap inside and just kept breaking down all the time

[@brianp7022]

You can definitely see the BMW influences in the headlights of the 55

[@realMaverickBuckley]

Can you? 😬 Which BMW does it look like?

[@janfswedane]

The 55 is very much a 300C lookalike.. Nice though....

[@tomdrives]

The 300C is one car that’s grown on me recently

[@helenloughton2418]

What a great looking car .poor management I'm afraid

[@nigelwest3430]

I have a large collection of styling drawing "rescued" from the design studios based at RDS Automotive in Southam when Rover collapsed....................... BTW it's Vanden "Plah" NOT plas !

[@davidboaz8154]

In the L Series diesel engine the group had developed a potential world beater. It was improved by introducing the common rail version and was to be developed in 5 cyl and 6 cyl forms. Then the sale to BMW who, with hindsight we realise, only wanted the 'Mini' brand and the four wheel drive/off road capability knowledge from Land Rover. BMW dumped the L Series to use one of their own diesel engines and fuirther development of the engine was abandoned.

[@chucky2316]

The 75 coupe should have the pre face-lift front it would be the shex. Looks tacky with that horrible post face-lift front end on

[@fairmania]

The Rover 35. Oh dear, where did I put the eye-bleach! I have had a few Rovers, but that one is a good miss for me.

[@rulebritannia1553]

Owned a Rover 214si and 218is great cars

[@MarthaMansbridge]

And the biggest achievement of all Rover created Land Rover…

[@dancollier9837]

That R55 looks suspiciously like the first generation jaguar XF which would have launched about 18 months after MGR when under

[@BobAbc0815]

Unfortunately Disaster never went on Strike😂

[@adampowell5376]

I think Rover failed in part because they spent too much time focusing on novelty models that did not make it and not enough time on "bread and butter".

[@antonyandrews3047]

A Rear wheel drive Rover 75 coupe.. That would have been a winner... A diesel version of the petrol Rover V8 was talked about in the late 80's.. project 'Ice burg' was proposed for the Range Rover and would have made a lovely engine for Rover to of had. Any more info on that? Rover were also behind the development of the Gas Turbine/ Jet engine.. Rover was not given the credibility or investment it deserved..... A real shame

[@chucky2316]

The r55 is some great looking car shame they screwed up, should have dropped the 100 and concentrated on the 200 which was a great looking hatch in its day.the 25 replacement looked shoddy

[@pavloarmand4070]

The Rover 55. To my eyes it's absolutely beautiful ! Having owned three Rover 75's I was gutted to see the collapse of Rover, presided over by Labour. What is wrong with the people running politics and industry in Britain? France and Germany still have their motor industry and marques.

[@MarkMinetti]

I believe the R35 would have been successful and saved Rover. Such a shame it didn’t come out before the Rover 75

[@rovercoupe7104]

Thank you and thank you for saying Vanden Plas correctly. M.

[@tomdrives]

No worries, straight from the museum :)

[@alfieakaronaldog]

“The 700 to replace the 800” Kind of sums it up really 🤔

[@tomdrives]

yeah I found that a bit odd myself