Rover SD1
Manufacturer:	British Leyland
Production:	1976–1987 95,880 produced
Predecessor:	Rover P6 Triumph 2000
Successor:	Rover 800
Class:	FR full-size car
Body Styles:	5-door hatchback
Engines:	2.0 L I4 2.4 L Diesel I4 2.3 L I6 2.6 L I6 3.5 L Rover V8

Rover SD1 is the code name given to a series of large executive cars made by British Leyland and Austin Rover Group from 1976 to 1987. Red Rover SD1 Vitesse, 1985, right frontal view File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The British Leyland Motor Corporation (often abbreviated to simply BL), was a Britain in 1968. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Rover P6 series (named 2000, 2200, and 3500 for their engine displacement) was a group of saloon automobiles produced from 1963 through 1976. ... The Triumph 2000 was a mid-sized automobile produced by the Triumph Motor Company between 1963 and 1977. ... The Rover 800 series was an executive class automobile introduced by the Austin Rover Group in 1986. ... In Automobile design, an FR, or Front-engine, Rear wheel drive, layout places the engine in the front of the vehicle and drive wheels at the rear. ... 2001 E38 Dinan BMW 750iL A full-size car is term used in North America for an automobile larger than a mid-size car, usually having a wheelbase greater than 2. ... A hatchback is a type of automobile design, consisting of a passenger cabin which includes an integrated cargo space, accessed from behind by a hatch or flip-up window. ... The straight-4 or inline-4 is an internal combustion engine with four cylinders aligned in one row. ... Jump to: navigation, search Diesel fuel is a specific fractional distillate of fuel oil (mostly petroleum) that is used in a diesel engine invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel, and perfected by Charles F. Kettering. ... The straight-4 or inline-4 is an internal combustion engine with four cylinders aligned in one row. ... The straight-6 (also inline 6, I-6, or I6) is an internal combustion engine with six cylinders aligned in a single row. ... The straight-6 (also inline 6, I-6, or I6) is an internal combustion engine with six cylinders aligned in a single row. ... Rover V8 in a Sunbeam Tiger The Rover V8 engine is a compact, aluminium block V8 internal combustion engine produced by Rover in the United Kingdom. ... Jump to: navigation, search A BIG FAT ENGINE WITH 8 CYLINDERS ALIGNED IN A V. AUSSIES ARE BIG FANS. GO DOWN UNDER! WOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... Jump to: navigation, search Cars is: The plural of the car Cars, a single by Gary Numan Cars, the seventh Pixar movie, scheduled for release in 2006, and the final Disney/Pixar movie. ... The British Leyland Motor Corporation (often abbreviated to simply BL), was a Britain in 1968. ... The Austin Rover Group was a British motor manufacturer, which was formed from the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BL), and existed between 1982 and 1987. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

History

In 1971, Rover, at that time member of British Leyland, began developing a new car to replace the P6 and the Triumph 2000/2500. The designers of both Triumph and Rover submitted plans for the new car, of which the latter was chosen. David Bache was to head the design team, inspired by exotic machinery such as the Ferrari Daytona and the Pininfarina BMC 1800 proposal of the late 1960s; Spen King was responsible for the engineering. The two had previously collaborated on the Range Rover. The project was first code-named RT1 (for Rover Triumph No. 1) but then soon changed to the now familiar SD1 (for Specialist Division No. 1) as Rover and Triumph were 'put' in the new Specialist Division. Jump to: navigation, search 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1936 Rover 10 1962 Rover 80 Rover 2000 1995 Rover 200 Rover (the MG Rover Group) is a manufacturer of automobiles in the United Kingdom, based at the famous Longbridge plant in Birmingham. ... The British Leyland Motor Corporation (often abbreviated to simply BL), was a Britain in 1968. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Rover P6 series (named 2000, 2200, and 3500 for their engine displacement) was a group of saloon automobiles produced from 1963 through 1976. ... 1974 Triumph GT6 Coupé The Triumph Motor Company had its origins in 1885 when Siegfried Bettmann and Moritz Schulte started producing Triumph bicycles at Coventry, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... The Triumph 2000 was a mid-sized automobile produced by the Triumph Motor Company between 1963 and 1977. ... See also Ferrari 365 for the round-bodied 365 California, GT 2+2, GTC and GTS The Ferrari Daytona (correctly named the 365 GTB/4) was a Gran Turismo automobile produced from 1968 to 1973. ... The Pininfarina badge See also Battista Pininfarina, founder of the company, and his son, Sergio Pininfarina Carrozzeria Pininfarina is an automobile coachbuilder and specialty vehicle maker in Turin, Italy. ... First-generation Range Rover The Range Rover is the top luxury SUV model of Land Rover. ...

The new car's design was done with simplicity of manufacture in mind, on the contrary to the P6, whose design was rather complicated in areas such as the De Dion-type rear suspension. The SD1 used a well known live rear axle instead. This different approach was chosen because surveys have shown that while the automotive press was impressed by sophisticated and revolutionary designs the general buying public isn't, as long as the results are good. However, with the live rear axle came another retrograde step - the car only used drum brakes at the rear. A de Dion tube is an automobile suspension technology. ... Jump to: navigation, search Solid axle and Panhard rod on a 2002 Mazda MPV A live-axle (also called solid-axle, beam, or dead-axle) suspension is an automobile suspension that uses a single-piece axle to connect the front or rear wheels, side-to-side. ...

Rover's plans to use its then fairly new 2.2 L four-cylinder engine was soon abandoned because BL management ruled that substantially redesigned versions of Triumph's six-cylinder engine were to power the car instead. Of course for the top-of-the-line version Rover's legendary ex-Buick V8 was fitted in the engine bay. Rover V8 in a Sunbeam Tiger The Rover V8 engine is a compact, aluminium block V8 internal combustion engine produced by Rover in the United Kingdom. ...

This car was launched in June 1976 in hatchback form, with the SOHC 2.3 L and 2.6 L sixes following a year later. The car was warmly received by the press and even received the European Car of the Year award for 1977. It was only offered as a Rover, as the TR7 was to continue the Triumph line. While an estate/wagon was planned, it did not get past prototype stage. The good news is that a one-off wagon still survives to this day. Jump to: navigation, search June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with a length of 30 days The month is named after the Roman goddess Juno (mythology), wife of Jupiter and equivalent to the Greek goddess Hera. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Single overhead cam (also SOHC) refers to the internal combustion engine design where one camshaft is located above the valves. ... European Car of the Year award The jury for 2005 consisted of 58 motoring countries. ... Jump to: navigation, search For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... The Triumph TR7 was a sports car manufactured from 1975 to 1981 by the Triumph Motor Company, then part of British Leyland (and subsequently, BL Ltd. ...

The SD1 was intended to be produced in a state-of-the-art extension to Rover's historic Solihull factory alongside the TR7. This was largely funded by the Government, who had baled BL out from bankruptcy in 1975. Unfortunately this did not do anything to prove the spotty build quality that plagued all of British Leyland of the time. That, along with quick-wearing interior materials and poor detailing ensured that initial enthusiasm soon turned to dissapointment. Jump to: navigation, search Map sources for Solihull at grid reference SP1579 Solihull High Street Solihull (IPA: , or , or some combination of the two; occasionally ) is a town in the West Midlands in England with a population of 94,753 (2001 census). ... Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Between 1976 and 1981 there were some very minor updates to the car including new badging (front and rear) and chrome wing mirrors. 1979 saw the introduction of the high-performance V8-S model, available in metallic green with gold-coloured alloy wheels many years before the Subaru Impreza would more famously pull off the same styling idea! 1997 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport 2005 Subaru Impreza Sport Wagon 2005 Subaru Impreza GX Sport UK in WR Blue For the high-performance versions of the Impreza, see Subaru Impreza WRX and Subaru Impreza WRX STi The Subaru Impreza is a compact car that was first introduced by Subaru in...

Major restructuring of BL following the infamous Ryder Report saw the SD1 production line being moved to the former Morris plant in Cowley in 1981. The Solihull plant was turned over to produce Land Rover models, following on from that marque's separation from Rover in 1978. The hugely expensive extension to Solihull that was built specifically for the SD1 and Triumph TR7 was closed, and only in recent times with Ford's takeover of the plant have there been discussions of it re-opening. Morris Motor logo, from a UK Royal Mail van 1927 Morris Cowley 1928 Morris Minor Saloon 1946 Morris Ten Series M 1953 Morris Minor Series 2 1971 Morris 1000 Traveller The Morris Motor Company was a former English car manufacturing company. ... Cowley in Oxfordshire is a residential and industrial area within the city of Oxford, originating with the former villages of Cowley, Temple Cowley and Cowley St John. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1981 (MCMLXXXI)is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Land Rover was the name of one of the first British civilian all-terrain utility vehicles, first produced by Rover in 1947. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search The Ford Motor Company (often referred to simply as Ford; sometimes nicknamed FoMoCo, NYSE: F is an automobile maker founded by Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, and incorporated on June 16, 1903. ...

Mid-life facelift

Early in 1982, Rover unveiled the Cowley-built, facelifted line to the public. These cars benefited mostly from small cosmetic changes on the exterior as well as a quite extensively redesigned interior. Beginning car-spotters can distinguish the two series by the headlights, which were chrome-rimmed on the later, recessed on the earlier series, the deeper rear window, and by the C-posts, which were flat on later, ribbed on earlier cars. Other details, which are not as easy to assign include the rear wiper, the trim strip under the taillights, etc. Jump to: navigation, search 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

It was also the year when patient SD1 buyers could finally opt for a four-cylinder engine when the two-litre O-series of the Morris Ital was dropped in the engine bay. It was definitely not a shoehorn job: the engine looked almost as if it could get lost in the huge engine bay designed to accept a V8. Jump to: navigation, search The Morris Ital was launched in 1980. ...

The crown of the SD1 model line-up was undoubtedly created when Rover introduced a fuel injected version of its V8. At first it was only offered in the Vitesse model (which was effectively the successor to the previous sports model, the V8-S). The injected V8 was later implanted into the luxury Vanden Plas to create the Vanden Plas EFi. The idea behind this model probably was that some consumers were not buying the Vitesse for its sporting value but simply because it was the most expensive SD1. To meet the demands of this clientèle who usually preferred an automatic transmission, Rover first offered an auto box as an option in the Vitesse, but later withdrew that checkbox on the order form and lured the customers to the Vanden Plas EFi instead. This car had all the standard comforts of the Vitesse, such as power mirrors, windows and locks, a trip computer, an adjustable steering column and a four-speaker stereo (something special at that time). Additionally it added leather seats, an electrically operated sunroof and cruise control. Very rare indeed are the "Twin Plenum" Vitesses; These had two throttle bodies mounted on the plenum chamber instead of one, and were produced in very small numbers as homologation for the twin plenum racers. Today they command quite a premium over the standard Vitesse.

Standard 2000

After its cancellation in the UK, the SD1 emerged very briefly in India as a Standard 2000. However, the "Indianized" SD1, powered by an ancient two-litre engine, was also a failure and Standard ceased automobile manufacture soon after.

External link

• Rover SD1 timeline