Tests and Reports

Dream Rover - Auto, Motor und Sport - Issue No. 8, 1968

A few years ago, when the British car company Rover was still doing their turbine car experiments in Le Mans, Peter Wilks (today Technical Director) and Spencer King (today Chief Engineer) thought that a sporty high-performance coupe would be worthy of the reputation of the renowned car manufacturer. The dynamic Rover General William Martin-Hurst, who at the time was toying with his favourite idea of buying from Buick the licence and the facilities for the production of the light alloy V8 engine, was taken with the idea, especially as the technicians assured him that a number of Rover 2000 power units would be able to be used. And the light alloy V 8, with a displacement of 3.5 litres and weighing no more than the 2-litre four-cylinder engine of the 2000, was the perfect choice for the project. Under King's direction, an unusual and, for the tradition-conscious Rover people, almost sensational car was secretly created. King said to himself: "The prerequisites for a sporty car with adequate engine power are to get this power on the ground under all conditions and to have excellent driving characteristics. So there was only one solution: to arrange the V8 as a mid-engine, which transmits torque to the rear axle via a shaft via a four-speed gearbox located in front (in the direction of travel). The gearbox, drive shafts and DeDion support tube are all from the 2000 model, and a few modifications to the carburettors and exhaust system increased the output of the V8 engine from 160 to 185 hp. As the prototype with its steel body weighs only 1070 kg, the excellent value of 5.8 kg/hp is the result. The inclined radiator and the tank befinden are located under the front bonnet, the luggage compartment behind the engine in the rear. The engine itself is a little bit shifted to the right, so that beside it behind the driver's seat a third, as it is called, more comfortable seat was made possible.
The bodywork of the Leyland Rover BS - as its name suggests - was not done by the styling department but by the technicians, and you can really see that. But the body of a prototype, as long as it is handmade, can easily be replaced by another one. One should not judge the car by it. The testers of the English "engine" did not do that when they were given the opportunity to drive and test the advanced BS. On 12 printed pages they published their impressions and results of measurements, and the reader can literally feel how bright enthusiasm softens the thick skin of British coolness. They cannot remember, they say, ever driving a car that seemed to stick to the road as much as this one in all conditions. Its acceleration values (0-96 km/h 6.6 s, 0-128 km/h 11 s, 0-160 km/h 17.4 s) and top speed of around 225 km/h indicate enormous driving ability. In terms of suspension and driving comfort, the BS could be compared to a cultivated touring car, and all this at a precisely calculated sales price of around 1500 pounds, corresponding to 14 400 DM.
The only regrettable thing about the promising new Rover prototype is that the project had died long before management agreed to let the press know about it.

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