Rover 2000

Key facts

Year

1967
Country

Great Britain
Capacity

1,978cc
Cylinders

In-line 4
Valves

Overhead camshaft
Output

90hp @ 5,000rpm
Performance

104mph, 0-60mph 14.35 Seconds
Price new

£1,357
Owner

National Motor Museum Trust
Manufacturer

The Rover Co. Ltd

The Rover 2000 was the first of the P6 series and did much to update the company’s old fashioned image. The new model was far more cutting edge than anything they had built before. Innovations included an all-new engine, four wheel disc brakes, a De Dion rear axle and many safety features. In the years that followed the P6 range grew to include the 2200 and V8 powered 3500 models.

During the 1950s Rover’s image was based on the solid, reliable and rather unexciting P4 Series or ‘Auntie Rover’. In a break with tradition, the new P6 Series combined the latest styling, engineering and safety ideas. Assembly took place in a new building at the Solihull factory whilst gearboxes and axles were supplied by a new factory in Cardiff. The Rover 2000 won the AA Gold Medal for Safety in 1965.