Assistance system from the old days - on the Rover P6
02/06/2018
Admittedly, you have to take a closer look to understand the ingenuity of the solution. But up close, you can see the small prism installed above the position lights of the Rover P6, which sits on top of the corner of the vehicle. This can be seen from the driver's seat and, and this is the clever bit, it is illuminated when the parking lights are on. This means that the front corners of the vehicle can be clearly seen even in the dark.
Although this innovative solution did not require highly complex computer technology or elaborate mechanics, it gave the driver of a Rover 2000 or 3500 V8 from the 1960s/70s a valuable advantage, similar to the way some assistance systems do today.
Why didn't this intelligent approach catch on? The restrictions on the design were probably too great and perhaps the prism cost a few extra coins and was therefore later deleted.
You can read more about the Rover 3500 V8 in the driving report we published a few weeks ago.
