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Rover 3 Litre - the poor man's Rolls Royce?

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Created on April 10, 2014

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

23

Balz Schreier

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Archiv

37

Bruno von Rotz

23

Balz Schreier

20

Archiv

37

Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - you automatically feel like an English lord

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - the car was quite tall for its time

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - a classic design

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - not a sprinter, but a glider

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - classic three-volume sedan

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - unique look even at the rear

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - Country roads are good for the car

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - a left-hand drive version built for continental Europe

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - a pleasant touring sedan

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - elegant lines, the trim strips came with the Mark III

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - relatively high waistline, typical of the Ponton phase

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - Bearing edges on the front fenders

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - no-frills rear end

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - classic front with large radiator grille

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - indicated fins on the fender

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - comfortable entry and club atmosphere

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - Club chair and comfortable armrests

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - pretty steering wheel with horn ring

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - no rev counter

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - the Rover-R is also on the foot pedals

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - the central instrument panel was a modern feature at the time

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - Gearshift indicator in the speedometer

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - better safe than sorry - reserve circuit for the fuel supply in addition to the display instrument

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - probably almost from back then, the cassette player from Clarion

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - voluminous headrests

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - Cupholder already 50 years ago

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - Leather and wood also on the inside of the doors

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - the in-line six-cylinder in the front

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - heavy engineering

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - a voluminous air intake covers half the engine

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - Lucas electrics

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - Maintenance and use instructions in the engine compartment

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - supplier clearly recognizable

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - there is definitely enough space for club badges

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - the vertical bars make the radiator appear higher

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - the Rover trademark proudly displayed on the nose

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - driving light, position lamp and indicators in separate housings

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - external indicators

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - pretty door handles

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - Rover lettering on the rear

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - vertical rear lights in the style of the time

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - all marked, type and series

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - stylish wheel covers

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

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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 (1958) - spacious trunk

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

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

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

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

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

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Rover 3 Litre (1960) - a test car

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Rover 3 Litre (1960) - Entry

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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 (1960) - stately appearance

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Rover 3 Litre (1960) - Beach scene

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

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

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

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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 (1961) - the windshield on every window is clearly visible

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Rover 3 Litre (1961) - front view

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

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Rover 3 Litre (1968) - A look at the production of the Mark III

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Rover 3.5 Litre (1970) - the 3.5-liter was also available as a four-door coupé

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Rover 3.5 Litre (1970) - picture in the sales brochure - what were the advertisers trying to tell us?

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Rover 3.5 Litre (1970) - remained popular as a company car until the end

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Rover 3.5 Litre (1970) - also popular with women

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Rover 3.5 Litre (1970) - that's the way to live

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Rover 3.5 Litre (1970) - the coupé was largely identical to the sedan, the 3.5-liter engine originally came from Buick

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Rover 3.5 Litre (1971) - visually the P5B hardly differs from the P5, the innovation was the lightweight aluminum V8 from Buick

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Rover 3.5 Litre (1972) - the four-door coupé with V8 engine

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Rover 3.5 Litre (1972) - the perfect company car for the English member of the House of Commons

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Rover 3.5 Litre (1970) - the aluminum engine from Buick

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Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - ein klassisches Desgin

Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - kein Sprinter, sondern ein Gleiter

Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - klassische Dreivolumen-Limousine

Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - eigenständige Optik auch am Heck

Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - Landstrassen behaben dem Wagen gut

Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - eine für Kontinental-Europa gebaute Linkslenkerversion

Summary

It was often referred to as the poor man's Rolls-Royce, but of course Rover's luxurious three-liter was not for those on a tight budget. As the company's first self-supporting saloon, the Rover 3 Litre combined tradition and modernity in both design and technology. This was well received, as the model, also known as the P5, was built for 15 years. This vehicle report describes the development history and technical features and shows the Rover P5/P5B in historical and current images as well as in contemporary sales literature.

This article contains the following chapters

Premiere in October 1958
Technical features
Weighty quality
Manageable driving performance
Continuous improvements
The first four-door coupé
The leap to the V8
Long construction period
On board the Mark III
Further information

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Anyone who bought a Rover 3 Litre of the P5 series in the sixties was not allowed to be really poor. In Germany, you had to invest at least 17,250 marks, while in Switzerland you could become the owner of the stately saloon for 19,900 francs. Anyone who had emptied their account accordingly and paid the equivalent of around three VW Beetles could sit in the lavishly wood and leather-lined interior and almost feel like they were in a Rolls-Royce. The new Rover 3 Litre was unveiled at the Earls Court Motor Show in London in the fall of 1958. And the car was well received, not least because of the unobtrusively elegant and thoroughly contemporary body line, for which David Blache was responsible. He had skillfully mixed traditional and modern elements and created a harmonious overall appearance.

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Images of this article

Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - ein klassisches Desgin

Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - kein Sprinter, sondern ein Gleiter

Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - klassische Dreivolumen-Limousine

Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - eigenständige Optik auch am Heck

Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - Landstrassen behaben dem Wagen gut

Rover P5 3 Litre Mark III (1967) - eine für Kontinental-Europa gebaute Linkslenkerversion

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