Development History

The development team for the ROVER 3500, as the SD1 is officially called, proudly stands next to its product.

On the right is Spencer King, Director of Engineering and Product Planning, Leyland Cars. At the front is David Bache, Director of Styling, Leyland Cars. In the front seat: Gordon Bashford, Chief Engineer.
The other gentlemen are leading employees in the areas of technology, styling and development.

 

ROVER SD1 - Timeline of the development phase

March 1969
ROVER approves the development of the project "P10" as successor of the series "P6".

March 1970
Development of the "P10" as a four or five-seater with a large tailgate. Designs for a four-door sedan and a two-door coupé are also created.

June 1970
The "P10" design drawings are submitted to the design department for preparation.

February 1971
The project takes shape - David Bache creates six scale clay models, five of them with large tailgate, one with notchback.
After combining ROVER and Triumph the project is renamed to "RT1" ( = Rover Triumph 1) - it shall now also replace the Triumph series 2000/2500.

April 1971
The project is renamed again - it is now called "SD1" ( = Special Division 1). The plans for the four-door saloon and two-door coupé are discarded in favour of the five-door hatchback version with rear rigid axle.

May 1971
A first equipment list for the project "SD1" is submitted.

July 1971
The preliminary design "A" is released by the British Leyland - leadership for the construction of prototypes.

December 1971
The clay model of the final exterior design ("B" design) is released for production by the BL-Management.

February 1972
A transparent model showing the exterior and interior design is accepted by the BL-leadership.

March 1972
All drawings of the A-version are finished. The drawings for the body shell are tackled.

July 1972
The later use of six-cylinder engines is decided.

August 1972
The data of the final design "B" are forwarded to the body development.

October 1972
The drafts for the interior design are approved. They do not yet contain any details, so that the early "B" prototypes do not have to be equipped according to detailed drawings, but according to rough specifications.

November 1972
The plastic model of the "B" variant is used for vehicle heating tests in the cold chamber.

June 1973
The construction of pressing tools for the car body begins. It is planned to start pre-production in January 1975. Pre-series production is scheduled to start in March 1975.

November 1973
Late delivery of the drawings becomes a problem - the availability of optional extras and various equipment parts is checked. The goal is to tighten the schedule for the basic model.

December 1973 / January 1974
Residues have arisen in the production of individual components. This is due to the introduction of the three-day week at BL. The construction of some "B" prototypes is delayed.

February 1974
Recommencement of normal working time. Pre-production is now planned for November 1974, final design acceptance is scheduled for September 1974.

March 1974
A quick shot is made to develop a cost-saving central locking system.

April 1975
The first car of pre-production is built. On and with it (cost-saving) production methods are to be developed.

September 1975
The first pre-production car goes through production.

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ROVER SD1 - Chronology of changes

One of the first press photos of the ROVER 3500, series SD1, June 1976.

June 1976
The SD1 series is introduced with the Model 3500. The engine used is the V8 with 3528 cc displacement and electronic ignition. Otherwise there is a 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission, independent front suspension, rigid rear axle with level control, power steering and servo-assisted brakes - front discs, rear drums. The SD1 "3500" officially replaces the 'P6' 3500.

October 1977
The models 2300 and 2600 are launched with 6-cylinder engines with displacement of 2350 ccm and 2597 ccm respectively. A manual 4-speed gearbox (optional 5-speed or automatic) is standard on the 2300, a 5-speed gearbox (optional automatic) on the 2600.

October 1978
The model 3500 is equipped with safety belts in the font as standard, the model 2600 is now equipped with a standard power steering.

July 1979
The "V8-S" is introduced. It corresponds to the 3500, but has a sunroof, sun protection strips on the windscreen, gold-coloured light alloy wheels, windscreen wiper/washer system for the headlights, air conditioning as well as headrests front and rear as standard.

September 1980
The model "V8-S" is discontinued. The range now includes the models 2300, 2300S, 2600S, 3500 SE and 3500 Vanden Plas. The equipment of all models is extended - new exterior mirrors, revised heating and ventilation etc. The 2300S comes standard with power steering, central locking and velvet padding, the 2600S with a sunroof, electric windows, central locking, automatic rear axle level control and the revised 5-speed transmission, which is also available in all manual 3500 models. The 3500SE comes with alloy wheels, halogen fog lights and automatic seat belts at the front and rear. The 3500 Vanden Plas comes standard with leather upholstery, cruise control, electric sunroof, electrically adjustable exterior mirrors, headlight washer and bronze-tinted windows.

January 1982
The body is discreetly reworked: larger rear window with wiper/washer system, flush front headlights with revised front grille. The instrument panel is also being revised. The model 2000 with 1994 cc - four-cylinder (O-Series engine) is introduced. All models are equipped with the same technology as the revised 2300 model, while the V8-engine models are equipped with a revised mixture preparation system. Manual 5-speed or 3-speed automatic transmissions are available for all models except Vanden Plas. The Vanden Plas is equipped with automatic transmission as standard, with the manual 5-speed transmission as an option.
The models 2000 and 2300 now have black bumpers and velour cushions. 2300S, 2600S and 3500SE come with steel sunroof, lower front spoiler and central locking. The models 2600S and 3500SE have walnut applications in the interior, the 3500SE also has electrically adjustable door mirrors. The Vanden Plas equipment corresponds to the previous version, the cruise control is now standard.

June 1982
The model 2400 SD Diesel Turbo with Italian 2393 cc 4-cylinder turbo diesel (from VM) and 5-speed transmission is introduced. The equipment corresponds to that of the 2600S.

September 1982
The 2600SE is launched in the UK. Technically it corresponds to the 2600S, the equipment of the 3500 SE including cruise control, headlight washing system, fog lamps, alloy wheels and velour upholstery.
All models now have tinted windows. The 2000 and 2300 models are now equipped with central locking. The 2300S now has electric windows, electric mirrors and cassette radio. The 2400 SD and 2600S models also have electric windows and a cassette radio with two loudspeakers. The 3500SE and Vanden Plas models are available with either 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission without price difference.

October 1982
The Vitesse model comes with a 3528 ccm-V8 with petrol injection and a power of 190 bhp, 5-speed manual transmission, light lowering and sport suspension, variable power steering and internally ventilated front disc brakes. The equipment corresponds to that of the 3500SE, plus rear spoiler, wheel arches, tinted windows, electric windows, central locking, trip computer, sunroof, sports seats and stereo cassette radio.

August 1983
For the 2300S the 3-speed automatic transmission is now standard, the 5-speed manual transmission remains optional.

October 1983
The automatic transmission is now also available for the Vitesse model.

July 1984
The 2600 and 3500 Vanden Plas models replace the previous SE models. The Vanden Plas EFi model comes with the Vitesse technology, but exclusively with automatic transmission and without lowering. The equipment is very extensive: electric sunroof, cruise control, leather equipment and electronic stereo system. The other models are enhanced with electric windows, stereo cassette radio, new velvet upholstery, adjustable lumbar supports in the front seats, walnut door inserts and passenger handles. 2000 and 2300 have stainless steel trim on the outside. 2300S, 2400SD and 2600S are enhanced with alloy wheels, double trim lines, special velvet upholstery, walnut door inserts, dual-band stereo cassette radio and engine compartment lights. 2600 and 3500 Vanden Plas will be fitted with on-board computers, headlight washer, an improved stereo system, rear headrests and special door applications in polished walnut. The Vitesse remains unchanged - except for new wood applications on the doors and dashboard

October 1984
On all models the choke is replaced by a microprocessor-controlled carburettor. The 2000 and 2300 models are fitted with electrically heated exterior mirrors, manually operated sunroof, wipers with interval switching and a 2-band stereo cassette system with four loudspeakers. 2300S, 2400 SD and 2600S are now equipped with an electric sunroof, electronic stereo radio system with four speakers and new velvet cushions. The Vanden Plas versions are equipped with the S models, an additional 3-band stereo cassette radio and different velvet cushions. The Vanden Plas EFi model can be fitted with special velvet upholstery instead of leather upholstery on request without any price reduction. The Vitesse comes with an electric sunroof, new front spoiler, side body parts and modified side decoration - the previous side Vitesse stickers are no longer required.

February 1986
New audio equipment from Philips.

July 1986
The model range is reduced to 2300, 2600 Vanden Plas and Vitesse - the new Rover 800 models are here.

February 1987
Production of the series is stopped.

Notes
What began with a few models - 2300, 2600, 3500 - grew to a wide range at the beginning of the 1980s with several equipment variants marked by letters. The basic models without add-on, 'S' for Special, 'SE' for Special Equipment and 'Vanden Plas' as top equipment.
The 2300 remained the 2300, the 2600 became the 2600 S, the 3500 became the 3500 SE, the 3500 V8-S became the 3500 Vanden Plas.
Added to this was the 2300 S - the 2300 with the interior equipment of the 2600 S.
1982 the basic model 2000, the diesel 2400 SD, the 2600 SE and the 3500 Vitesse were added. The SE were further developed to the Vanden Plas.
Amazing that the V8-S 1979 was equipped with air conditioning as standard, while this became an extra chargeable extra for all later models.

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ROVER SD1 - The prototype in Norway

In Norway, the prototype of an SD1 is "caught". It is erroneously regarded as the successor to Triumph sports car models.

On April 13, 1974 the German magazine "Auto, Motor und Sport" (issue 8/74) published the following text:

"In the far north, British Leyland is testing a new sports car. When the car was loaded onto a ship after test drives in Hammerfest to head home to England, the photographer (Moberg) got several pictures in which, despite the voluminous sheet metal coverings at the bow and stern, it can be seen what it is about: The 2+2-seater coupé with Mercedes-style ribbed combination rearlights will be built under the BLMC brand Triumph, replacing the last two classic roadsters of this company. The new Triumph will succeed the Spitfire, the TR6 and the GT 6 Coupé with an expected displacement of between 1.3 and 2.5 litres - when this will happen is not yet known."

Either the research was wrong or the press was deliberately "glued". In any case - in retrospect - it can be clearly seen that it was an SD1.

Despite the sheet metal construction, the hood of the SD1 with its characteristic air intake is clearly visible. The windscreen is also typically SD1.

The rear end with the grooved lights - already all SD1. The roof rack comes from the P6, for which it was specially designed at that time.

From the side one can already clearly guess the line of the SD1. Even the position of the radio antenna on the left front mudguard is very close to standard.