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Rover Scarab - The "Beetle" that wasn't a Volkswagen

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Created on November 15, 2024

Text:

Karl Ludvigsen (Übersetzung: Paul Krüger)

Photos:

Ludvigsen Partners

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Ludvigsen Partners

29

Rover Scarab (1931) - there was room for four people in the small car

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Rover Scarab (1931) - with the top folded back. Even with the roof closed, there is enough headroom in the rear

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Rover Scarab (1931) - drawing by Joseph Bamford, dated September 1930

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Rover Scarab (1931) - early model with wire wheels

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Rover Scarab (1931) - side view with mounted door windows and the later discarded wire wheels

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Rover Scarab (1931) - side view without windows, but already with the later disk wheels

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Rover Scarab (1931) - Elegant: light-colored wheel rim with dark wheel disc. All kinds of instrumentation on the dashboard bears witness to test operation

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Rover Scarab (1931) - pre-series vehicle, already with disk wheels, but still without door handles

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Rover Scarab (1931) - under the front "hood" there are only pedals and battery as well as (here removed) the spare wheel

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Rover Scarab (1931) - the engine in the rear. Good to see: the covered bumpers to the rocker panels and the exhaust pipes

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Rover Scarab (1931) - Easy-to-fill, common oil circuit for engine and gearbox

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Rover Scarab (1931) - test drives on rough terrain

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Rover Scarab (1931) - two in one picture. The front one with side windows so that the Homburger is not blown off the driver's head

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Rover Scarab (1931) - the three of us on a test drive

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Rover Scarab (1931) - The radiator grille was only a dummy. The track rod visible to the right and left of it, however, was absolutely functional

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Rover Scarab (1931) - easily accessible and removable spare wheel in the front of the car

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Rover Scarab (1931) - with the top up at the filling station. Fed by "downpipe" fuel, the engine has no fuel pump

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Rover Scarab (1931) - possibly the example on display at Henlys to give Rover dealers a first look at the new model

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Rover Scarab (1931) - the two-tone Henly exhibit from a different perspective, with the Sphinx in the background

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Rover Scarab (1931) - Early sectional drawing that suggests a two-seater. The shape of the rear wishbones is also quite far removed from reality

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Rover Scarab (1931) - Front and side view of the front suspension with two tension springs

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Rover Scarab (1931) - cross-sectional drawing of the V2 with blind cylinders, with the intake manifold and the cooling fan mount between them

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Rover Scarab (1931) - longitudinal section drawing of the three-speed gearbox. The circle on the left represents the crown wheel on the drive shaft. In it: the "loop" in the shift linkage surrounding the shaft

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Rover Scarab (1931) - view drawings of the drive and rear suspension. Clearly visible: the upper cross member (l) and its central bearing (m)

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Rover Scarab (1931) - full-page advertisement

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Rover (1932) - Full-page advertisement. Includes: "England's cheapest car with four wheels" for 89 pounds

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Rover Scarab (1931) - The advertising department went to great lengths, as this ad shows - unfortunately in vain

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Rover Scarab (1931) - The symbolism of ancient Egypt and the scarab beetle as a lucky charm illustrated the brochure

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Rover 8 (1922) - as an open two-seater. Here concealed by the wheel: the cylinders of the boxer engine protruded from the side of the hood for airflow cooling

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Summary

Rover wanted to overcome its sales crisis with an affordable volume model. But instead of a conventional, cheaply produced small car, a handful of engineers were asked to come up with a completely new, unconventional concept. The plan almost worked - but only almost. This article tells the story of how the almost forgotten Rover Scarab came about and its technical features

This article contains the following chapters

Buses and tanks
A small car for reorganization
Front axle with tension springs
Swing axle with roll stabilization
Air-cooled V2
Compact three-speed gearbox
First driving report
Main problem: tire wear
Trade fair presentation
Abrupt end

Estimated reading time: 21min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In the late 1920s, the products of the Rover Motor Company from Coventry were primarily known as sedate cars in the mid-price range. British dealers were therefore somewhat puzzled when, on September 1, 1931, they received a brochure with a silhouette of a new car against the backdrop of the Egyptian pyramids. Ancient Egypt was all the rage at the time, as the discovery of the tomb of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun by English archaeologists was less than ten years old. The description in the sumptuous green suede-covered brochure announcing the Rover models for 1932 simply stated that the new car would be called the "Scarab" and would sell for 85 pounds - a price that would make it a lively competitor not only to mass-produced small cars but also to motorcycles with sidecars. Affordable transportation was in short supply in a Depression-stricken Britain. The price was still low when it was finally set in October: 89 pounds.

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