The INDIAN ROVER SD1 That BANKRUPTED IT'S MAKER - The Standard 2000 - India's Most Luxurious Car

[@markwilliamson2864]

That arrangement with the Standard engines and locally produced parts was doomed from the outset. Excellent video as always, Tom.

[@tomdrives]

I agree, thanks Mark

[@gerardleahy6946]

Ironically the Standard was a godsend to classic car enthusisats as the stockpile of body panels was imported to the UK and sold to repair Rover SD1s. These are a rare but welcome sight at classic shows.

[@RikAindow]

My grandparents worked for British Leyland (Leyland Trucks and Unipart to be precise). We all lived in Leyland and their house was right across the road from Stokes Hall which was a training centre until the late 80s if I'm not mistaken. He had a Rover SD1 2000 in red which he claimed was some sort of protype. He loved the car and it was a huge barge for the time, albeit very slow. Anyway, it was written off on our way to the newly opened All Seasons Leisure Centre in Chroley (I think it was opening day). I was in the front passenger seat when someone came round a bend on the wrong side of the road causing my grandad to swerve and slide in to a post which hit the door and shattered glass over me. Such a shame as his replacement cars were interesting, but never as luxurious as the SD1. The 800 has a fond following but to me doesn't cut it the same way the SD1 should have done.

[@michaelbraybrook1316]

I bought one of these cars new when I lived in New Delhi from 1984 to 1988. It was to replace an Ambassador. Body and interior a big improvement over the Ambassador. Engine agricultural.

[@Frenchcrop]

“Its” as the possessive does not require an apostrophe. An apostrophe is only used in the case of a contraction of “It is”.

[@Lot76CARS]

Really interesting video Tom. Having been involved with automotive manufacturing in India over the last 10 years I was aware of the more recent players but not the history of the Standard Motor Company.

[@tomdrives]

Didn’t know you were, sounds like a very interesting job!

[@Jonathan-dq8hb]

Wasn't the Plymouth Horizon/Dodge Omni assembled in India ? I heard that tooling was sent there after production ended in the U.S.

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

Indian enthusiasts now buying spares from Rimmers ? Brilliant !

[@tomdrives]

It’s all kinda gone full circle

[@akhilnandhramesh6029]

I don’t think the standard 2000 didn’t sell in huge volumes at all and there are not many still on the roads😊

[@thatcheapguy525]

I always love the stories of cars which have been adapted into new markets, often creating something quite bizarre.

[@jimtaylor294]

Indeed. The *Triumph Acclaim* & *Alfa-Romeo Arna* spring to mind 😅

[@thatcheapguy525]

@@jimtaylor294and what about the Peugeot RD/ROA, the Iranian built Hillman Hunter & Peugeot 405 love child.

[@muckle8]

The Turkish or possibly Iranian built Ford cortina mk4 and mk5 being produced well into the mid 90’s I believe.

[@jimtaylor294]

@@thatcheapguy525 Them too; though they weren't without merit.

[@SteveBernard42]

Great video! Was a salesman at an Austin Rover dealership in the early eighties, oh the stories of quality issues!

[@tomdrives]

Thanks Steve! Dare I ask what issues? I’ve accepted my drivers side glove box has a water collection feature rather then a quality issues at this point 😂

[@leonardgoldberg2879]

My Father got a 2000 SD1 in the 80's as a company car. He had nothing but problems with it. Mainly gearbox failures. He did get almost 120mph out of it on the M62 one saturday morning.

[@muckle8]

Timeline 0.07 a Volvo broken down with the rover coming to its aid - haha 😂

[@tomdrives]

Parallel universe

[@muckle8]

Haha yep must be!

[@knutarneaakra6013]

During my time as a car owner I had and still got a lot of expensive cars. In my memory one stands out. Rover sd1 3500 vanden plas. Still miss that one,first car I truly fell in love with. Been looking for one in mint condision for some years now. 😊

[@fredericksaxton3991]

At 2:56, a 4 door Herald!! WTF...!!!

[@tomdrives]

It’s almost like an optical illusion

[@Namburiadityasairam2605]

​@@tomdriveswait, did the UK not have a 4 door herald? In India the ones I remember seeing (they're rare as many didn't survive) were cabrios or 4 door

[@philtowle4683]

I remember some older friends having SD1s the 3.5 V8 was the appeal. There used to be a used car sales place near my school in Chesterfield that sold virtually only SD1s and there were some still kicking around there till fairly recently.

[@jonathanj8303]

My father had an X reg SD1 2000 manual in moonraker blue, the only new car he ever bought. Needless to say pretty much the entire brake system was replaced at a few months old when everything except the handbrake failed, and it was found to have been assembled from sub standard parts. Performance was OK for the time I guess, but it was definitely a lot of car for the engine to haul around, especially with 5 passengers and luggage. Can't imagine what the standard version was like with even less power.

[@caeserromero3013]

Wow, and we all thought British Leyland was the last word in stupidity 🤣

[@ianstewartorr8455]

Very very interesting video thanks greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@tomdrives]

Thanks Ian, good to see you here again

[@bentullett6068]

Its interesting that many old British designed vehicles were sold to be relaunched in India. It is still seen today because if you ever visit some countryside shows you will sometimes find some smaller agricultural dealerships selling TAFE Tractors which are old UK 1960's to 1990's designed Massey Ferguson Tractors with different engines fitted.

[@steviemac8075]

Excellent content 👍🏻

[@DarthTrotter]

You need to do a video on the South African SDX to complete the series.

[@tomdrives]

Was the SDX domestically built in SA?

[@DarthTrotter]

Yep at Leycor in Blackheath Cape Town. Was totally unique version that had to be reengineered due to the local content regulations at the time.

[@danieleregoli812]

@@DarthTrotter Oh I would love to learn something more about the SDX, and SA-produced Rovers in general. I also seem to remember that the P6 was assembled by Leykor up to 1977 or so??... as well as in Rhodesia?? Can someone confirm???

[@danieleregoli812]

@@DarthTrotter I seem to remember that the SDX used the Oz 2,6 BMC unit of the Kimberley and P76....

[@DarthTrotter]

@@danieleregoli812 Yep!

[@gafrers]

Interesting as always 👌👌

[@tomdrives]

Thanks again!

[@michaelmcqueen4305]

Had to cast my mind back re P6... Well built vehicle, was disappointed with vinyl covered seats. Experienced problems were rust on trailing edge of the roof, a water hose leak in the "V" between carbs which caused o/heating and difficult to detect due to evaporation on a hot motor !

[@naeemkhan-rz4vx]

I have a rover car sd1

[@betamax80]

Either yes the Hillman Avenger in Iran, or possibly the Hindustan Ambassador - that was an interesting situation.

[@andysaunders3708]

Avengers for sure, DO IT! SD1 Vitesse. Nice to drive when it would go. That's my review of that particular POS.

[@jamespoyser106]

Great again Tom

[@Eric_L456]

My Mum had anSD1 2000 in the 80s (A94WOF where are you now?) Oporto metallic was a really nice colour, it was economical and reliable, a really nice car . They weren’t all as bad as their reputation!

[@john1v6]

According to the DVLA: Untaxed since Feb 1 1996, last V5 issued Aug 24 1995. No MOT records available.

[@Eric_L456]

@@john1v6 thanks for that

[@Jonathan-dq8hb]

Imagine if they could've gotten a supply of PRV6 motors...especially the even fire version developed by Volvo .

[@diydave3034]

Any chance of a video on the Hindustan VX4/90 clone, please?

[@tomdrives]

I’d love to, I’ll bare that in mind.

[@ukman9797]

Excellent as usual.

[@tomdrives]

Thank you!

[@ivanvisanich]

That Standard Herald looks tragic. Especially the red convertible. Looks like a car with a badly rotten chassis.

[@grahamariss2111]

I am surprised they did not offer them the 6 cylinder engine as that died with the end of the SD1 and so all the tooling and the line could be shipped from UK. The gearbox would be an issue as that was at the heart of the Range Rover and Discovery power train, however there was the Triumph box from Dolomite/ Marina which had an overdrive option.

[@michaelf.h8507]

Good video and interesting: could you possibly do a piece of Authi cars built in Spain for BL and Innocenti in Italy starting with the Austin A 40..

[@gwheregwhizz]

When it was launched, the average income in India was around $300 per year and the car cost almost $20000. A simple car like a Reliant Kitten or Mini would have been a better choice.

[@James-cs2wi]

Used to drive my dad'sdi 2000 around Dagenham when I was around 14 years old it was silver and I love that car chocolate brown interior miss it❤❤

[@edwardlloyd1516]

In hindsight, the recently discontined Morris Marina / Ital would have been a far better car for the market and could have been sold at a far lower price. Fitted with the 1275cc A-series it was both spritely and economical. And it was far more modern than Hindustan's Morris Oxford based Ambasador.

[@nickbarnett2737]

Back in 1995 I had a 1982 SD1 that had a 2 litre engine. Apparently from a Sherpa Van snd made for the company car market. Never seen one since. Rare one?

[@gerardleahy6946]

A few 2000s were sold in Ireland as our tax system was easier on sub 2 litre engines.

[@Schlipperschlopper]

Please make a video about the Hillman Imp and Leyland Princess 2200 HLS wedge!

[@TheAndyPerfect]

Great video pal

[@patrickyorke3028]

Fascinating vid, never knew anything about it.

[@Jonathan-dq8hb]

Tom , have you done a video on the DeLorean ? It too enjoyed a second life , this time in the U.S.

[@Jonathan-dq8hb]

Renault 25 was restyled by Giugiaro , sent to Canada , and produced as the Renault Premier. After Chrysler purchased AMC , it became the Eagle Premier, then with a new grill, the Dodge Monaco. It used a 3 liter even fire PRV6. Rarely seen nowadays.

[@seanwheeldon9315]

The 2.0 engine looked so out of place in the engine bay but was more reliable than the 2.3 and the 2.6

[@minimaxi802]

I have never seen a four door Triumph Herald that has a different front end to one in Britain. Gazelle obviously a Singer name.

[@van_trippin5260]

What a hideous pig these things were, with usual British quality of the period (none). Styled to look like a Ferrari? through the bottom of a pint glass if you squint maybe. Glad we rarely see them now.

[@shaunfleming8668]

Exactly. Then we wonder why we have no car industry......we made utter garbage.

[@a11csc]

nice one tom

[@tomdrives]

Thanks Chris

[@charliecoco2115]

Try and do the Austin Apache.

[@jimtaylor294]

Half Car; Half Helicopter Gunship 🤔👌

[@chaimshamza5850]

Sd1, 1975 launch, the factory paint shop for it was decades behind in health and safety, shortend life span, life changing health issues associated with staff that use it . The state of the art paintshop came along in 1978. I think it was asking too much of workers to compromise their health for the success of what indeed was a great car.

[@WintonMc]

Anyone who makes videos about the Mk3 Contina and Rover SD1 is good by me. How about a video about the Mk2 Contina 1600E?

[@fliedlice88]

I like how the video makes it sound to the uninitiated that the SD1 was a decent, well built car that was messed up by India, conveniently ignoring the fact that it was rubbish from the start.

[@tomdrives]

Owned one?

[@stustones8tyanar276]

The Indian montego with a maestro front end is another flop great video again top stuff

[@BarryFarman-z1b]

Ar sd1, yeah, my dad had a few of these motors when I was a kid 3500 v8 beasts!! But I'm in my 40s now, so yeah, a few years ago!!😮 the sound of the things ha 😆

[@nlpnt]

India really should've been driving used cars from Japan.

[@ianheath4332]

I had a 3500 it broke down in a car wash Ands a 2000 auto which leaked oil badly I do remember when I worked on the ital that it was shipped for production in India does anyone know about this

[@wickiezulu]

Should Standard have opted for using a modernised Triumph Toledo and Triumph 2000/2500? Know Indian politics and the license raj undermined things (including Leonard Lord's stymied attempts at establishing an Austin factory pre/post-WW2), however the Indian market had potential for British carmakers like Mexico and South America did for Volkswagen. The short-lived Sipani Rover Montego with its 2.0 Perkins diesel and O-Series petrol engines might have been better-suited for the Standard 2000 in place of the Wet-liner petrols.

[@BritishCarsandForecourtsGroup]

Brilliant thank you

[@andysaunders3708]

I'd go for the Vauxhall derivative, every time. Built like brick ****-houses.

[@rob5944]

B.L. Seemingly an entity that can bankrupt a company by mere association!

[@matthewc.419]

@4.26 " it's the same , but different " As Indians do say

[@tomdrives]

I wonder how the story would’ve played out if they put the right engine in it

[@matthewc.419]

@@tomdrives yeah I agree , love watching them tear fown truck engines in the street , and sll there old tooling machines

[@Marco-iy7lt]

The Iranian Paykan (Hillman Hunter/Arrow)

[@nightswimmer3612]

I'd love to know the history of my first car, Talbot Alpine SX

[@jonlyons1033]

Ooh bloody blimey

[@iansteel5569]

I have a Rover STI 3.5 memory,a friend of mine was very proud of his Rover 3.5, particularly the on board computer which showed what mpg was being achieved. So we checked it as we went out to get some food, 6 mpg! Even my VW Beetle was doing 30.

[@Jonathan-dq8hb]

Our '96 Chrysler New Yorker had a similar feature. A digital readout which showed real time MPG. At the top of a steep hill , you could take your foot off the gas at watch it climb all the way to 99 MPG. That was it's maximum reading.

[@chrishenniker5944]

Why didn’t the Standard 2000 get the Rover V8?

[@jimtaylor294]

Not sure. Likely something to do with India's typical fuel for cars being poor quality, and the average owner having other incentives (from red tape to cost) to have a smaller engine. The UK had a similar problem in the early 1900's, in that while they existed (Rolls Royce & Napier being notable examples), V8's were very expensive and the limited number of good roads, government reg's that made high horsepower largely a no-go at the time made having a V8 a bit pointless 😅

[@chrishenniker5944]

@@jimtaylor294 The Indian People were cheated. If only Austin-Rover had a joint venture with Standard and Hindustan Motors to bring horsepower to the people, bring the Rover V8 to the Subcontinent. Even the Austin T-Series would do.

[@jimtaylor294]

@@chrishenniker5944 I'm not saying the decision was right, rather that there were various factors in why a V8 option was unlikely. Only reason I can see why Standard of India didn't get the O Series [mentioned in the video] or even the basic but reliable & efficient A+ engine from the Austin Metro, is presumably the price they'd negotiated with Austin-Rover didn't cover engines 🤔 . (Standard after all was short on money at the time)

[@danieleregoli812]

That's the Standard 2000, right!?

[@johnje4285]

It was a beautiful car

[@bokhans]

So the Volvo broke down and here comes the Rover SD1. Well you can do anything in commercials but then that awful reality comes back to bite you in the ass. How many SD1 are left in the world and how many Volvo 240? I rest my case! Cheers from 🇸🇪

[@tomdrives]

I think they filmed this on location, in a parallel universe

[@brunobandiera2062]

It's - ITS maker....

[@bannovboris1256]

Катался на таком ровере в 90 х годах двигатель 2000 руль левый был пригнан в Россию из Латвии сборка Англия отличный и надежный авто для своего времени не то что сегодня гавно в красивой обертке

[@garymorris801]

Massive mistake but great video and content

[@tomdrives]

Massive mistake on the video? Or the Standard 2000 was a massive mistake?

[@netowork3d]

Frente de Ferrari Daytona... o resto ao estilo Alfa GTV6...

[@brian3174]

HILLMAN hunter NOT avenger became peykan

[@Jonathan-dq8hb]

Sold in the U.S. as the Plymouth Cricket.

[@brian3174]

Avenger was Plymouth cricket not arrow series hunter etc later sunbeam was avenger floored new clothes old car@@Jonathan-dq8hb

[@Jonathan-dq8hb]

@@brian3174 Sunbeam Rapier sold in the U.S. as the Alpine GT.

[@tomdrives]

The Avenger did make an appearance in Iran

[@simonwoolley592]

Please look at rolls Royce.

[@beachboy0505]

Funny story 🤣

[@deanstevenson6527]

🥝✔️

[@garychilds1130]

Why do you speak so quickly its not a race

[@tomdrives]

I can’t go any slower or it would just be lifeless.

[@garychilds1130]

What about if you take a breath of air it's hard to understand

[@tomdrives]

@@garychilds1130Even though i disagree Gary, i'll take it on board, I do agree i need to switch the dynamics of it up a bit.

[@AwSso-x6j]

I had rover. SD1stand. 2000 cc + 2,6 cc + 3.5 cc v8 ....ato v8 were best but I heard one side was longer than other nice cars .....better rover 800 they were crap

[@Fireman9ify]

Worse quality than an sd1, thats a bold claim 🫣👀