We’ve bought a cheap (and ridiculously rare) forgotten ’90s performance car!

Thanks to Car Vertical for sponsoring this video! Check if your car has ever been damaged or stolen with a 10% discount with CarVertical here: www.carvertical.com/gb/landin...
It's new car time! Mike Fernie and Ben Collins have treated themselves to new motors, and in this video Mike reveals his 1990s performance saloon that most people will have forgotten about.
Check out Ben Collins' KZbin channel here: / @bencollinsdrives
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/ @drivetribe
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[@Drivetribe]

Thanks to Car Vertical for sponsoring this video! Check if your car has ever been damaged or stolen with a 10% discount with CarVertical here: www.carvertical.com/gb/landing/v3?a=DriveTribe&b=1e4c9523&voucher=DriveTribe

[@112boatman]

J moore classic cars has one of those just sitting waiting to be stripped for parts

[@hmarci]

Carvertical is pretty much a scam. Don't waste your money on it!

[@mclarenjohnf1]

At first I was hoping it was a Rover 220 Turbo Tomcat

[@VXGaming]

MIke explaining stuff and Ben zoning out. Mike is the new James May.

[@mikedrivetribe8314]

Much more Rover stories in the vault for our next meeting 🤓

[@Sledgeh101]

Ben is a great replacement for Jeremy.

[@BandiMasha]

Mike gets on my nerves

[@Emjackson89]

😂😂😂

[@MG-ce3dx]

​@BandiMasha true ,with that accent 😅

[@cadillacjohn1994]

The Stig playing a gameboy! 😂 😂😂

[@BeardedFrog]

Naw he was just sending an email.

[@stiprus_garsas]

Chad moment

[@revolume]

Some say he sits in a forest near a parked Rover just to write an email on his Game Boy. And he's reponsible for buying 99% of Game Boys in the recent times, because he throws them away after losing a race. All we know is, he's not The Stig, but he is The Stig's unmasked cousin!

[@cadillacjohn1994]

@@revolume some say that he’s secretly an alien from the planet Stigtopia, and that he was responsible for the creation of Mario Kart 8. All we know is, that’s two video game franchises he’s made famous.

[@Bumbaclot213]

@@stiprus_garsaswhat?

[@ek8710]

I absolutely love Ben, he's genuinely hilarious.

[@xhorxhi77]

yeh especially when he is working for Lucid

[@mrfashionguy1]

I mean the Stig was funny and that was a voiceless, emotionless entity.. The man clearly has a comedic side

[@adamhewitt1499]

My dad owned this car a few years ago, I can tell you all it broke down every other week 🤣🤣, he even asked me if I wanted it at one point, I said no thanks🤣🤣 Also I got my dad a picture of this car with love hearts and sparkly frame for fathers day and now he keeps it on his bedside table🤣🤣

[@kamilianos]

this comments should be pinned :) more likes please

[@M3PH11]

i can assure you the car was keeping up it's impeccably accurate weekly visits to the now long gone dealer. tbh i'm surprised this one hasn't dissolved like the rest of them

[@skylined5534]

What a load of old bollocks. I had one for three years and in that time little went wrong and it never broke down. Things that DID go wrong: Thermostat. PAS pump. Worn gear linkage. Sticking rear calliper. That's it for R139DGC.

[@kristoffer3000]

@@skylined5534 That's the thing with anecdotes like yours, they're singular experiences. Someone might've owned a total lemon that never ran right, rusted to bits despite being washed meticulously every week, was broken down every other trip whilst yours was largely exemplary.

[@Dolphin-gr5ec]

I've got a t reg 620 ti. No rust and not had to fix a thing on it in the 3 years I have had it. As a sleeper car it surprises people when it leaves modern cars behind!

[@ellenwood2167]

More of Ben driving and Mike being a nervous passenger please! Great video and nice banter between these two! Looking forward to more videos about both cars.

[@dejanzelko8361]

Ben and Mike what a great combination 😊

[@Franface31]

I won't blame Ben, that Ferrari game for the GB is hard as nails.

[@adamhousden6349]

Nah. Just keep practising, it was easy back then and probably just as easy now

[@Nick-vp7lp]

The genuine look of fear on Mike's face as Ben's driving 😂

[@zeddist7472]

Mike is becoming an MG Rover ambassador. I keep persuading myself on the rarity factor when buying yet another MGR, but more videos like this might actually give the prices a little push.

[@clivehewitt904]

Wasn't expecting to see my old car being driven by the Stig, looking forward to seeing how it turns out with all that tartan. And Ben, I would buy it back😂

[@piuthemagicman]

ooh nice! I hope you get a chance to buy it back :)

[@clivehewitt904]

It would probably be too much with the work that's going to be done. But it was a great car to drive.

[@skylined5534]

​@@clivehewitt904 I had a late 'phase two' car in white gold. Absolutely brilliant Q cars.

[@kingpin20042003]

imagine seeing ben blow past you in a rover 620ti lol. Loved this video these 2 have great on screen chemistry.

[@latrinedveen]

Part of me is upset we didnt see Ben past the helmet till recently. Genuinely excited to see more antics with the stig.

[@NorthernMouse52]

Don't you mean "Romantic Novelist" and Brown stig!

[@autoanimals]

Mike, don't listen to Ben, this is an absolute gem and it's great to see it saved and being given some love. Buying a car like this is about the emotional attachment and the way it makes you feel. Whether that's based on your own personal history or anything else that makes them appealing to you, it shouldn't matter. Ignore the haters, do what your heart says ❤️

[@AthanImmortal]

This is a great video and you two have the perfect energy. I was saying on Ben's channel the other days someone needs to give him a car show, but I would LOVE more of Ben Vs Mike videos, this is FUN!

[@gavalaa2974]

Fun fact the power was limited due to the gearbox not being able to handle all of it. They're such an underrated car we currently have 2 620ti's

[@skylined5534]

The diff bearings specifically. Steel caged bearings sort the issue.

[@gavalaa2974]

@@skylined5534 True. We've already done the steel cages on one of them

[@Vidata]

Well you need two for when one breaks down 😂

[@skylined5534]

​@@Vidata You actually edited that and didn't delete it? 😂😂😂😂

[@vidsava]

I'm from Bangkok Thailand and I still drive Rover 623GSI everyday. I love the design everything about it. Thank you to share.

[@DannyColdhill]

So funny! I just started to save a 620ti that havent been on the road since 2013. Weight is about 1450 kgs and dont forget it has a torsen lsd from the factory 😀🤘 Will follow this project for sure!

[@ashleyphotog]

my second car was a 620sli, it was a handsome car and was so comfortable to drive

[@ericprice3225]

I had one of those many many years ago as a company car for a few months. It was in dark red and I do remember it being quite nice compared with the other cars I drove around that time.

[@Offensivebeast]

Seeing this gives me more motivation to work on my facelift ZS 120

[@joonassummanen6130]

I'm glad to see Ben back on this channel.

[@lostalone9320]

Some say that he was the original PewDiePie, all we know is that he is KZbin Stig.

[@redline589]

Best video I've watched on this channel, the production and the banter were great.

[@EdgyNumber1]

Nissan Bluebird 1.8T was also a bit of a dark horse too. Try finding one of those! Another honourable mention is the Daihatsu Charade 1.0 GTti!

[@P6UL_K]

Yes! I’m all over this! I used to own the bigger brother to the 620TI, I had the 820 Vitesse with the K series 2 L turbo engine, I used to get called grandad a lot but it was a great car and made all the right noises… A proper sleeper back in the day!

[@cjmillsnun]

It also had the T series. The K series was a maximum of 1.8L (apart from the KV6), and yes I've had many 800s including a VItesse Sport...

[@ghomerhust]

ben roasting cars is sooooo much fun

[@TheOffertonhatter]

Will be interesting on the restamod on it. Personally I still love the 600 looks, purely from a design point of view. Even today it is clean, has nice subtle curves, and in many ways quite ageless, unlike some saloons that look old hat. It is certainly not sporty, but that does not matter. Keep the upgrades simple, sort out the front-rear chassis balance problem, make the T-series bullet proof, possibly sort the front lights into a subtle LED inspired "boomerang" daylight beam, and provide a more jewel like reflector for the main beam and dipped beam, just to make it more up to date, but keep that classy silhouette as much as possible. A Q car for the 2020's to be honest.

[@skylined5534]

Agreed. I'd love to see it brought back up to and beyond where it was. The brakes were pretty strong anyway but maybe bigger front and rear discs and 4 pots up front? Steel caged diff bearings, subtle supporting mods to allow a modest boost increase and a few extra horses. The torsen diffs in these were pretty effective from the factory it has to be said. I always wanted to fit climate control from a Honda Ascot Innova but that would have been a serious project!

[@jeremymoyse]

I kinda agree with Mike, I thought the 6 series, especially in this colour, were always rather elegant with the thin pillars large glass area and fairly classy interior. ..and on a long trip with Mike talking, probably the most energising car possible for passengers ... zzzzzz

[@_Fractaal]

I thought I’d recognised the reg! I used to see this driving around the Isle of Wight when I lived there.

[@ArnoldClarke]

Yes at last the 600 getting praise!!!

[@mrmikemotors]

The Stig nearly binned it! Actual fear on Mike’s face. 😅😅

[@PlayMoreGolf-RipOff]

Mike reupholstered the passenger seat with his 💩

[@iantaylor1524]

Not a chance lol 😂😂

[@outwrite11]

Tony Dron drove me round a lap of the Nordschleife in a Rover 620ti, which sounds unlikely, yet true.

[@HBCBMovies]

The 620Ti also had chocolate gearboxes, a colleague at work had one back in the day and it went though at least 2 gearboxes in short succession (replaced under warranty). Also when it was mentioned about exhaust gases in the cabin I seem to remember they suffered from cracked manifolds which he also had. Fair play though they were pretty quick but lots of understeer.

[@EdgyNumber1]

The diff on them was pushed to do things it was not supposed to. I do remember that Rover had to electronically limit the torque to maintain the service life of the Honda derived PG1 gearbox (supposed to be 10 years generally). Best thing to do is to replace it with a more modern Honda item and fit an adaptor plate. Quaife ATB and getting the suspension set up properly is a must to reduce the torque steer and understeer.

[@winjinsinjon]

Actualy the gearbox wasnt the problem it was the plastic caged bearings, wait until they fail and replace them with steel caged bearings and they were perfectly fine.

[@gemspotting6252]

Wasn’t it a Honda gearbox in these? As was most of the platform aside from the engines in the ti and diesel models?

[@EdgyNumber1]

@@gemspotting6252 PG1 box was Honda derived and built by Powertrain (engine and transmission were treated as a separate business division within Rover Group.) It had serious torque limitations which meant the full potential of this engine would never be released from the factory. I have read in _Car and Car Conversions_ of power figures just over 900hp. Obviously that's not the norm but its not impossible. That said, few people took the opportunity to tune them. The YB was always the first unit on tuners' minds.

[@skylined5534]

They didn't suffer understeer at all. If you drove them properly the 'trick' front diff would haul the car around and out of the bends. Go in light or trailing the throttle or brake late and you could induce understeer. And as mentioned the gearboxes were just fine but the plastic caged diff bearings were the weak point. Very early PG1 boxes with the gold ID sticker were as I recall using steel caged bearings (early MG Montego EFi/Turbo models).

[@simonhenson358]

I have a strange soft spot for these.

[@johng.3906]

The banter between these two guys is great fun to watch. Keep it up!

[@Bigrichie2001]

I'm American and when I saw the back end I thought "it looks like a weird Honda". Oh, how happy I was when he said it's an Accord chassis.

[@dubplatenate]

I want the same email programme Sir Stiggy has. Also, love his response to the Scot. Underwhelmed to the max!

[@xKiNx]

One of the best Drivetribe videos so far. All hail the Stig!

[@trwsandford]

My parents had a 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis. Back in January I bought a 1993 Lincoln Town Car. The nostalgia play is palpable. Other than slightly better materials and leather seats, the interior feels the same as that Mercury.

[@JakobusVdL]

Brilliant video.. I always enjoy Mike's enthusiasm, and whats not to love about obscure 1990s cars?

[@jamesyork48]

Love this! dad had a red one when i was a kid. I remember it being pretty quick for the day. Yes the gearbox failed but once replaced seemed to be ok the car passed through the family for years and did well over 200k with minimal repairs!

[@benzakonium]

These guys make a great duo. Looking forward to this series.

[@DesertWolf392]

Ben is very much a Jeremy Clarkson/Gordon Ramsay character

[@bunter6]

I had a P plate one in the same colour, the 17" 800 Vitesse Sport alloys really suit them, has a wee bleed valve on it and a very burbly but not too loud cat back Powerflow exhaust on it. Great Q car.

[@stevesscrap9091]

One of my favourite cars and a dream car for me too. Funnily enough my dad also had a 600 when I was younger. His was the 623GSi Auto. What a comfy barge that was. I still remember the smell of the leather

[@geoffshilton6998]

Is there any YT car page that HASN'T been 'sponsored' by Car Vertical.

[@skylined5534]

Why is that an issue?

[@opexo]

those two are something! Make me smile every time with their arguing :D

[@marcusdamberger]

Mike and Ben are a great combination, great chemistry.

[@dyggiprahl9881]

I remember them, they were quick things. My dad had a MG Montego with 620ti engine in it and yes, it did smoke most other cars. Remember the power delivery was horrendous, it gripped and then it just lost the front end when on the power 😂😂

[@skylined5534]

I remember a couple of turbo t series Maestros and Montegos knocking about... Lots of fun! I had a Maestro 1.6L... with a Rover 800 MPi 16 valver in it, one of my favourite cars!

[@Volfmech]

Love Mikes enthusiasm. I had a 620ti and I loved it. Lowered slightly on Bilstein shocks, T28 turbo unit, a few tweaks here and there exhaust and the like, it went like the clappers. Out of all the cars I've owned, I miss that one the most.

[@mattmaher3814]

Keep the rover flag flying, Mike! I have a 200 2 door sprint, which is 1 of only 3 on the road. Can't wait to see what the 600 will turn out like.

[@thedetailingdoctor5746]

Oooo Mike you may have to let me get my hands on that 620 as well as the ZS. Was great meeting you at shedfest the other day!

[@althejazzman]

The dynamics between these two are perfect. I love Ben's attitude of pretending not to care but actually noticing every fine detail.

[@MediocreSpider-Mike]

Oh that Rover absolutely deserves some fun mods! Make it pretty, Mike!

[@crewat58ltd22]

If you love driving the roads between the city of Wells and the Chew Valley (particularly the Old Bristol Road, Plummers Ln, and the mighty B3135) then this video is for you!!

[@bravebird10]

i remember talking to mike for ages at the NEC about rovers so glad hes rescued this one!!!

[@MatSpeedle]

Had a mate back in the day that had one of these tuned up and it was RAPID! It was a proper sleeper even back in the early 2000's. No idea what it was running but back then there wasn't much about that could touch it.

[@ITRY381]

This was both interesting and super funny the banter was on point and Ben and his straight faced roasts just made it funnier

[@malcolmjcullen]

My boss had one of these in the late 90's. It seemed pretty fast at the time.

[@benpenagonzales6014]

We had many ex police Rover SD1s back in the mid and late 80s. And yes, my Dad drove the wheels off it racing a golf gti 16v

[@64bakes]

Great choice of car. Have a soft spot for these. My uncle was one of those mid-level managers that had a 620ti as a company car. Fond memory of the family driving to France, with us in my Dad's 190E Cosworth and my uncle & cousins in the 620ti. They did have a bit of fun trying to outpace eachother.

[@colinscutt5104]

I'm loving Bens dry sarcasm

[@tomgardner2638]

Some say he's not really crazy about your car and that he had a great nap while you talked! All we know is he's called THE STIG!!!!

[@bghoody5665]

Ben still walks like The Stig. Great video - these two together is a near perfect mix of learning and laughs.

[@nazerr86]

Just putting a cone filter on it will give you all the spool and tssh you need. I used to own a rather nice Kinversand orange example

[@janne65olsson]

A Collin in a Drivetribe episode. Automaticley bring a thums up 😎👍

[@benjaminwillis9227]

Love rovers sad people have forgotten have 3 a sd1 , 45 spirt s and 416i

[@liviubita4238]

It is a Ti, so Nvidia green would be the appropriate shade of green. Plus some engine tuning and better cooling with copper radiator and an acrylic side reservoir just to get in the PC custom cooling vibe.

[@benpenagonzales6014]

I like Ben doing his roving reporter role across YT. And you forgot about the 827 coupe with the Honda V6 engine!

[@colinbrown8316]

Yes! A Rover! Brilliant!

[@PaulB58]

I love the car im always up for the underdog it needs to be saved

[@deanjackson8368]

I tell you what, the sideshot of the front wing at 2:02, if you squint a little (read: a lot), has echoes of the 90's Aston Marton Vantage! Beast

[@danieleaton1399]

Absolutely love a 620ti it was such an underrated car when it came out now very much sort after

[@Mattofthevalley]

I think the key to this project is to do an OEM+ build

[@lettuce984]

But knowing Mike he’ll probably ruin it fairly quickly

[@skylined5534]

​@@lettuce984 Eh?

[@theogbeardedwonder]

OK, I really rate these cars, they were great to drive and went well

[@marcjudge680]

Brilliant episode. What is it lately. It seems to be older 90s Rovers and Allegro resto moded. Yes i this a 15ml drop at the front with adjustable coilovers also a stage 1 remap, new exhaust manifold . Larger intercooler anda few trinkets will see this 90s under the radar classic get 240 ish Bhp . But put more emphasis on the handling and gear change. So nice to see these 90s on the screen. Great content. Thank you for saving another brilliant British underdog.

[@ScenesThroughTravels]

I love Ben's Reactions , "Embrace it Ben" it's not all about POWERRRR It's all about Rarity and a classic cool 90's Rover . I wish it was mine . I wonder what Ben has chosen for his car ?

[@Captain_Scarlet_SIG]

It’s the perfect retro Q car or as they call it now a sleeper for £1500 😵 and your actually comparing it with a Cosy up to £1m and it’s got a better interior I’d have one if I could get a decent one but then I’ve got a Rover25 Gti 😁 which is getting just as rare but lots of fun for little money. Can’t wait to see this car develop into a cool fun car.

[@BallStAlum96]

How much do I have to pay to get cursed at by Ben Collins??? Im being serious. I want it as my voicemail greeting

[@TheCormTube]

I had a 95 620ti. Wolf in sheeps clothing, unruly round every corner....had a host of problems with mine but it was a very memorable car and i enjoyed driving it.

[@konrad7492]

Love the very ambiguous use of bg music in this video! Feels like yet another step-up in production quality. Way to go guys!

[@digiscream]

Careful with the tuning - if it's got a PG1 gearbox, they can't really handle more than 175lb-ft even if it's the same as went in the MG ZS (maybe even as low as 155 if it's not), and the engine's _supposed_ to be electronically limited to protect it. Upgrade the gearbox, and you can probably get more oomph out of it just by tweaking the ECU and removing the limiter.

[@cjmillsnun]

IIRC the 620ti should have the Torsen diff and uprated bearings. It's normally the diff and diff bearings that go on PG1s

[@user-fd8jc3zg7j]

It was the plastic cages in the beaeings that is the issue. Replacing them with steel cage bearings and the gearbox are reliable

[@skylined5534]

False information... Sort of. The gearboxes themselves were fairly tough units but as mentioned the plastic caged bearings for the diff was the weak point. Unfortunately all the torsen boxes got plastic caged bearings as well as for lesser variants. Steel cage bearings were only used in earlier MG Montego EFi/Turbos which also featured a closer ratio gear set.

[@Subcat001]

Not entirely true. Replacing the diff bearings with steel caged ones solves all the issues. Plenty of cars ran 400+ on PG1s

[@Clubman99]

I miss my 620Ti, it was hilarious!

[@skylined5534]

In what way 'hilarious'?

[@Clubman99]

@@skylined5534 mine had the boost wound up so it was mega fast in a straight line which no one expected.

[@serialgrillaz6669]

I had one of these and I loved it, still a sleeper.

[@leemichaelgeller4420]

When "tartan interior" was mentioned and Ben rolls his eyes... 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@burnzy3210]

My first car was a rover, much nicer cars than people give them credit for.

[@darrenlight1987]

Was known as "a wolf in sheeps clothing" back in the day. What a car

[@adriches406]

You two compliment each other so well. Brilliant.

[@wync8142]

Weirdly share your passion for Rovers Mike...looking forward to following this :)

[@HondaRider750]

How about the 80s Rover Vitesse powered by a 3.5 V8?

[@SpitfireFortyFour]

That was the SD1 which they talked about in the video. Very cool cars!

[@skylined5534]

​@@SpitfireFortyFour Getting expensive too these days!

[@silvenshadow]

Ben = GOAT. I can't wait to see the next one

[@skylined5534]

Oh please.

[@willeyex]

I had a 600 back in the day and it was a great car, very reliable. I then had a 600 ti and it was great fun, old school turbo lag and just all round fun. So hard to find now

[@skylined5534]

I'd love another ti but as you say, increasingly rare these days. A lot of them got plundered for their engines and gearboxes. Which is apparently also the fate of R139DGC, my old car 😞

[@thecremeegg]

I agree that the 620ti is a handsome car, the side profile just works

[@kal1mm]

Its a rover, 2 wheel drive, the guy behind it is barely alive

[@VXGaming]

It's a rover ........ the engine won't turn over

[@davidknowles2491]

@@VXGaming Mine did.

[@JamesChurchill3]

​@@davidknowles2491Did you roll it?

[@AbhiTek_]

It’s a got a single paint coat; been towed so many times it thinks it’s a boat

[@davidknowles2491]

@@JamesChurchill3 Nope, started first time every time. Only reason I got rid of it was due to rust.

[@WH250398]

Aaaah, that purple gameboy color. Takes me right back.

[@skylined5534]

I'm so happy I never had to suffer any iteration of the 'Gaymeboi'.

[@benjamindoyle668]

Lovely car. I would be thrilled to take it for a spin. Wonderful rolling shots, a quite fetching car after all these years.

[@davidaloughman]

I had two of these cars and they were brilliant.

[@Ingens_Scherz]

It's a miracle that the sun roof works.

[@skylined5534]

Not really.

[@Max-gz7ik]

Finally. Some more Rover content!

[@ggc]

You forgot to mention the LSD, Recaro seats and the Garrett turbo. In terms of modifications I would put a klinger head gasket, port polish, lightened flywheel, lightened drive shaft put the battery in the back to help with weight distribution. Change all the bushes for poly bushes and uprate the suspension and lower a little 20mm maybe. Personally I would try putting an infotainment with android auto but that's just me :) OH and Rover has the best automotive badge...... in the world! so I would make more of the badge make it bigger or something hehe :)

[@gcv10]

I always loved these cars and have been close to buying one a few times. Very sad to hear only 2% of Rovers exist...

[@grumpyoldguy4817]

Some say he does not like the 1999 Rover 620ti, all we know is, he's the man! I love Mr. Collins, he seems like a wonderful guy.

[@skylined5534]

His loss.