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The perfect butler - Rover 3-Litre in the (historical) test

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Created in 1962

Text:

Olaf von Fersen

Photos:

Archiv

33

Archiv

33

Rover 3 Litre (1960) - stately appearance

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Rover 3 Litre (1960) - a test car

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Rover 3 Litre (1960) - Beach scene

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Rover 3 Litre (1961) - the Austin decision-makers took the P5 as their benchmark when they had ADO 61 developed

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Rover 3 Litre (1959) - pontoon shape interpreted in a modern way

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Rover 3 Litre (1961) - front view

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Rover 3 Litre (1960) - Test car in the right-hand bend

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Rover 3 Litre (1958) - David Bache is credited with the design

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Rover 3 Litre (1958) - In rural surroundings

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Rover 3 Litre (1962) at the Geneva Motor Show - improved in details of the bodywork (rotating wings in the windows) and by modifying the steering geometry

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Rover 3 Litre (1959) - popular two-tone paint finish

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Rover 3 Litre Convertible Graber (1963) - converted by Graber, to be built in series in cooperation with Rover

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Rover 3 Litre (1961) - the sedan from the side

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Rover 3 Litre (1963) - Coupé and Saloon Mark II

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Rover 3 Litre (1960) - Entry

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Rover 3 Litre (1963) - interior and control panel - instruments in a central unit, gearshift moved to the rear

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Rover 3 Litre (1960) - Dashboard of the automatic version

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Rover 3 Litre (1958) - Interior of the right-hand drive automatic version

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Rover 3 Litre (1958) - the armrest in the door lining was customizable

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Rover 3 Litre (1960) - View of the rear seat

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Rover 3 Litre (1960) - Driver and passenger seat with armrest

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Rover 3 Litre (1958) - spacious trunk

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Rover 3 Litre (1961) - Chassis and complete saloon at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show

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Rover 3 Litre - View of the technology - Geneva Motor Show 1959

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Rover 3 Litre (1958) - the subframe for the entire mechanical system of the front end of the car

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Rover 3 Litre (1958) - front suspension and engine on the front subframe

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Rover 3 Litre (1963) - upright exhaust valves and suspended intake valves as a special feature - performance could be further increased

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Rover 3 Litre (1960) - the straight six-cylinder engine

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Rover 3 Litre (1961) - the front subframe with the drive unit

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Rover 3 Litre (1959) - rear suspension on rigid axle with leaf springs

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Rover 3 Litre (1961) - Front suspension with torsion leaf spring

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Rover (1964) - Advertisement from 1964 -

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Rover (1962) - Advertising in the USA in 1962

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Summary

The Rover 3-Litre or P5, launched at the end of the 1950s, was by no means particularly exciting; it was far from extravagant. This would also have defeated its purpose. As a sedan chair for the well-to-do, it impressed with its reliability, discretion and willingness to fulfill its crew's every wish. In addition, it had innovative mechanical features, all of which were aimed at maximizing travel comfort, as this test report shows.

This article contains the following chapters

Quality above all else
Externally conservative
115 hp on velvet paws
Well-spaced gearbox - shifted with criticism
Steering and brakes
Comfort and equipment
Plenty of space for luggage
How it drives

Estimated reading time: 12min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The "Rover" brand is one of the most traditional in the international automotive industry. It was created when two mechanics, John Kemp Starley and William Sutton, joined forces in 1877 to produce bicycles in Coventry. Cars were not yet a thing back then, and the bicycles had a large wheel with pedals at the front and a small support wheel at the back... Rover built the world's first rear-wheel drive bicycle and a strange tricycle with a drive axle already fitted with a differential. One example can still be admired today in the factory museum. The first Rover motor vehicle was a two-wheeler with 2.3 hp and was followed in 1904 by the first automobile to bear the Rover name. Rover only became really famous immediately after the First World War with a small car with an 8 hp engine that weighed just 400 kg, cost £230 and was built in more than 17,000 units - quite remarkable figures for the time!

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