Rover 3. 50. 0 SE SD1 A Brilliant Exit Strategyfirst posted 12. A fitting companion piece to todays Sterling CC    After Rovers promising start with the advanced P6, it didnt take too long for their relationship with North American consumers to sour. Perhaps it was its overly complex design, or the poor dealer network, but Rover cars quickly gained a lemon reputation. As a last chance shot at redemption, Rover made an effort to right the wrongs with the simplified, handsome and V8 powered 3. SD1but it was not to be. On paper, the outgoing P6 Roverin its twin carburetor, four cylinder 2. TC variant, and even more as the 3. A fitting companion piece to todays Sterling CC After Rovers promising start with the advanced P6, it didnt take too long for. V8 versionwas a remarkably advanced and complex car. It was a sophisticated, sporting, luxurious saloon that was more affordable than a Jaguar and offered more performance than a Mercedes. The Art Of War III: Retribution Full Movie Part 1 here. After failing to live up to the hope and hype in North America, Rover retreated from that market for a serious re think. While the P6 styling was strong, the car certainly had a few quirks, including its extra tall front turn indicators. TvM2kOmXaw/hqdefault.jpg' alt='Road Rovers Episode 1 Youtube' title='Road Rovers Episode 1 Youtube' />Since British Leyland intended to replace both the P6 and the Triumph 2. With its intended successor, styling proposals were accepted from both Rover and Triumph. Car and Driver Car and Driver 2017 Range Rover SVAutobiography Dynamic A tightened chassis and 550 horsepower make this heavyweight hustle. Land Rover Range. Vehicle Virgins, for those shamefully not up on their YouTube car channels, is a wildly popular channel run by Parker Nirenstein, a man whos been featured here. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. This World Environment Day, see Canadas parks like never before with Google Street View. Even more Account Options. Sign in Search settings. The effort to use social media to vet immigrants and refugees is part of the extreme vetting overhaul Trump has promised his base in order to block terrorists. Best Site To Download Free Series Fear. Hearst Magazines and Hearst Digital Media are divisions of Hearst Communications, Inc. The Triumph teams effort was code named Puma, and featured Michelotti styling the Rover proposal, named P1. The Rover team, which was headed by David Bache, edged out Triumph, and British Leyland went with the more daring and exotic styling direction. It was initially renamed RT1 to indicate both Rover and Triumph influences however, the corporate masters decided Triumph should focus on smaller cars, and the project was renamed SD1 Specialist Division Number 1 as a Rover exclusive. Clearly, the SD1 took some styling direction from the groundbreaking 1. Pininfarina BMC 1. It wasnt the only car influenced by that very advanced concept, which also inspired the Citroen GS and CX, among others. One of the SD1 proposals included exotic and cutting edge for the time scissorgull wing style doors thankfully, these didnt make it to production on both cost and sanity grounds. Pininfarinas 1. 96. Ferrari Daytona was another obvious influence, especially at the front and the concave side accent line. The Daytona style was watered down a bit for the North American market, since Rover was forced to fit dual sealed beam headlights in place of the European lenses. The fenders were reworked slightly as wellas a friend of mine found out the hard way when he tried to repair his collision damaged Canadian car with a British market fender. The SD1s mechanical specification was greatly simplified from the earlier P6, and to many it looked rather like a seriously retrograde step. The complicated and costly de. Dion rear suspension was tossed in favor of a conventional live rear axle fortunately, it was well located, utilizing Watts linkage, and proved to be more than acceptable. Also, rear drums replaced the disc brakes. Just to prove it wasnt going all caveman tech, there were self leveling shocks at the rear and standard radial tires, although the latter was pretty typical by then. Up front, the almost ubiquitous Mac. Person type struts were utilized. The power steering system was updated, now requiring only 2. The SD1 was very well regarded in terms of both quickness and handling feel. Any unique P6 engineering had been erased by the run of the mill, time tested solutions on the SD1. It all looked very promisingespecially for the North American market, whose customers and mechanics didnt generally appreciate the advanced tech once the car actually drove off the lot. In the UK, the basic specification made the Rover much more appealing to the very large and important company car market. Engine wise, the SD1 was only available in the North American market with Rovers fine 3. V8. Purchased by Rover from Buick, it enjoyed a prosperous second life in several Rover saloons as well as Range Rover, Leyland P7. MG B GT V8, Triumph TR8, and innumerable British specialty vehicles. It was truly the UK equivalent of a small block Chevy V8. Released initially in dual SU carbureted form, the V8 was eventually fitted with Lucas L Jetronic fuel injection in order to meet emissions regulations in North America. The SD13. 50. 0 could be fitted with either Rovers fine LT7. North America, a Borg Warner three speed automatic. The five speeds 0. Rover fine high speed cruising ability, as well as impressive for the era acceleration. European cars achieved 0 6. North American cars were only slightly slowernot bad for a good size car with a claimed 2. Imperial mpg. It was both faster and more economical than almost all its European rivals, many of which cost significantly more. Understandably, early press reaction was extremely positive. Back in the UK, other engine options soon became available following the V8 only launch. Obviously, a smaller engine was needed for the 2. TC as well as the Triumph 2. At the time, V8s were out of the price, tax, and fuel economy ranges of most European buyers even of premium brands, and were very uncommon. The Rover four cylinder, which was considered a bit crude even back in the 6. Triumph straight six was offered in 2. Originally, the six cylinder was supposed to be a straightforward SOHC conversion of the Triumph 2. TR6 unit, but ultimately was so extensively re worked that it ended up a completely different design from the OHV unit, with which it shared no parts. Starting in 1. 98. O series four cylinder was also offered, which was especially important for company car sales. A 2. 4 liter four cylinder diesel was also on tap for those who valued fuel economy over any kind of performance. Inside, the SD1 once again differed dramatically from the earlier P6. Gone was any trace of traditional wood, as the designers had gone for a very modern seventies minimalist design. With an eye to export markets the dash was symmetrical, with an instrument cluster in a pod and a swappable steering column and heating vents. The second glove box, under the steering column, is a rarely seen nice touch. Unfortunately the materials, although nice to look and touch when new, didnt seem to hold up very well over the years, eventually giving older examples a bit of a rundown look. North Americans also missed out on the oh so 7. TR6 or MG B aftermarket catalog. Given the positive press reaction, consumer buzz  and multiple car awards in the European market, the future of the SD1 looked rather rosybut this being British Leyland, one just knew they were very capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. And they didnt disappoint in that regard. It began by launching the car in the spring of 1. In the home market, lightly used examples were being sold for more than list pricerather ironic, given their extremely poor resale value a few short years later. It didnt take long for whispers about quality control issues to become shouts. Predictably, there were worker strikes as well, with some cars taking up to six to eight weeks to produce. Just as Rover was able to tool up to meet the large initial demand, it sharply dropped off. The UK cars would gain a minor facelift and several further enhancements to quality, but the North American cars didnt last long enough to benefit. The Rover 3. 50. 0 wasnt certified for U. S. In that year, sales in the all important U. S. Technically, the following years sales numbers improved, all the way to a whopping 7. There are also a few titled as 1. While growing up, I remember seeing a reasonable number of 3. Ive a number of friends who owned one, but Canadian sales numbers seem to be impossible to track down. Given that the Canadian market, as a whole, is smaller than Californias, the totals were probably still quite small despite the relatively greater popularity. In the storage yard are two examples to choose from Both are similar, with the grey one being the earlier of the two and titled as a 1.