The Development History

Austin Rover and Honda signed the contract for the development of a successor model of the "Rover 213/216" series (Mark I) at the end of 1984. The market data showed that the "Austin Maestro" should also be replaced. Therefore, the decision was made in favour of a fifth hatchback saloon instead of a more "exclusive" fourth.
Different from the parallel development Honda Legend / Rover 800 Sterling - where there were only 20% identical parts - a common parts quota of 80% should now be aimed for. This also, so that Honda could avoid the voluntary Japanese export quota. The projects "YY" (Rover 200/400) and "HY" (Honda Concerto) started.

The designs for the Honda- and Rover versions were made in Canley, then the teams separated and continued working in their home countries. When problems arose, they would meet again in Canley. Both companies tried to avoid such meetings - as a result, both "YY" and "HY" were developed mainly in Japan; only recent modifications were then carried out again in the UK.
Honda adopted both the Austin Rover concept for the interior design and the seats, and the decision was made, if not for the overall design, to fine-tune the suspension on the British side.

The decision for a styling concept for both cars was made very early: the clay models of Honda and Austin Rover did not differ much. There should be external differences - grill, headlights, front mudguards and rear end - but both teams would design them in parallel with the joint development of the cell.

In 1985 and 1986, British developers flew back and forth between England and Japan to stay in touch with the "YY" program - now called "AR8" by Austin Rover. The British had influenced much of the design, but then Honda took the lead. Honda adhered very strictly to the designs - it may be doubted whether without the participation of Austin Rover such a car shaped on European ideas would have been created. In any case, the cooperation went excellently.

From the beginning Austin Rover wanted to make the car quite conservative. The design should generally follow the style of the "XX" - Rover 800 Sterling.
Roy Axe, responsible for body design, continued the "understatement look", but a somewhat softer appearance was developed for the smaller "YY/HY". The flanks were pulled down further and the glass surfaces enlarged. Other details such as the grille/front headlight section remained unchanged.

However, the first clay models made the car appear very top-heavy. After discussions between Roy Axe - Rovers design boss - and Honda the sideline was raised again to achieve a "more European" appearance. Aerodynamics was mediocre with a cw value of 0.35.

The dashboard was developed by Austin Rover. They decided on an instrument carrier with two large round instruments and a large storage area next to it. The seating and driving position remained almost unchanged from the 800 series. Austin Rover was very proud of the acceptance of their proposal for gearshift and instrumentation by Honda.

This prototype from 1988 with the MG logo was shown at several motor shows. Like the later Tomcat coupé, it is a pure R8 from the hulls down, only the roof line makes the - decisive - difference. The idea of making the car appear as an MG was rejected when it became known that British Aerospace had released funds to develop an open MG on its own chassis (the later MGF).

Austin Rover wanted the new "K-Series" engine developed since 1983 to be used. Like the M16 engine, the K engine was primarily a dohc 16 valve with roof-shaped compression chambers. This achieved a high specific performance with low emissions. The "K" engine differs from the "M16" - and all its competitors - in that the individual aluminium parts are held together by several 16 inch long steel bolts - from the cylinder head to the crankcase - and whose passages serve simultaneously as crankcase deflators and oil outlets. This concept, patented for Rover, evenly distributes the loads on the engine block and reduces the risk of deforming the cylinder block under extreme loads known from aluminium engines.

The motor of the "K" series as a cutaway model: The machine is very compact. The 1,396 cc-16 valve delivers a healthy 95 bhp at 6,250 rpm and 91 lb ft of torque at 4,000 rpm.

Initially 1.1-litre 8-valves, 1.4-litre 8-valves and 16-valves were produced, but the engineers had already planned stronger versions at the design stage - which became important in the years after the R8 was introduced.
After the company was renamed "The Rover Group" in 1986, the car division became "The Rover Car Company". The "AR8" project was renamed "R8". It was decided to establish the 1.4-litre engine as the basis. Kevin Morley, head of marketing, stated that by entering the upper market segment, the need to have loss-making entry-level models in the range could be confidently left to competitors Ford and Vauxhall with their models "Popular" and "Merit".

Knowing that Honda would provide its high-tech 1.6-litre engine for the new car, Rover was sure to offer a "premium" range of mid-range cars. It was also important that the engine of the "K" series did not have to hide behind Honda technologically, on the contrary - it overshadowed the Honda engine developed from the Civic Shuttle.

Austin Rover had spent £250 million developing the "K" engine. A budget was now lacking for the development of a matching new transmission. It was decided, as with the "Maestro", to purchase a competitor gearbox: This time at PSA. Unlike the "Maestro", Rover improved this transmission using a lot of time and engineering performance. All the connecting parts were developed and built in-house, and the transmission housing was reinforced to match the higher torque of the "K" engine over that of the "Citroen AX" and the "Peugeot 205" from which it came.

Very early in the project Honda pointed out that Austin Rover was better able to develop a chassis for European requirements. MacPherson struts were chosen for the front suspension and the independent wishbone suspension of Honda on the rear axle - both for the Rover models and for the Honda models intended for Europe.

1988 and 1989 different versions of the "R8" were developed in Canley, including this 3-door model with a large tailgate, which was later also used as a base for the GTi.

In 1987, the development programme was in full swing. Rover was aware that with the "R8" they had an excellent, future-proof basis on which a number of other models could be developed. During negotiations with British Aerospace, the "R8" and the "K" engine were presented again and again as the result of excellent engineering performance. Graham Day repeatedly referred to the company's goal of positioning itself in the upper market segment; Professor Roland Smith also saw this as a boost to share value. The "R8" project, for example, was very much pampered in order to get the maximum out of the car. Reason enough for the management to give Gordon Sked free rein to develop a wide range of cabriolet, coupé, three-door and estate versions. Honda, on the other hand, would never produce anything other than four- and five-door versions of the "Concerto".

As with the "Legend/800", the Honda versions of the car were presented first - 16 months before the Rover versions. The Japanese were disappointed with the new car, but its importance was internationally recognized. The "Conterto" was a very conservatively designed car, especially compared to the progressive "Civic" introduced in 1988. Nevertheless, he was the springboard for Honda to attack the European market. And it was a car you could imagine very well with Rover logo.

The picture shows the Honda Concerto in European version presented in June 1988: a solid, not very spectacular car. But he stands for the cooperation between Honda and Rover, from which both benefited. Honda learned a lot about the ideas the Europeans have of a middle class car.
Honda's Kenzo Suzuki clearly expressed the different points of view: "We learned in the collaboration that the Austin Rover people first define the demands of the passengers and then develop the car around them. We tend to first define the exterior of the car and then design the interior accordingly. The Concerto is the result of what we have learned in this collaboration."

The Honda Concerto in its Japanese version was also equipped with independent wishbones at the front - this required a completely new floor construction - as Honda wanted to continue its technical concept. An all-wheel drive version was also developed for the Concerto, using Honda's "Intrac" power transmission from the all-wheel drive civic shuttle. Unfortunately, Rover did not adopt this approach in his considerations, although they could have solved the later traction problems of the 220 turbo coupé.

1989 made Rover last marketing decisions: The naming was simple, as the new car was to replace the well-established 200 models; one would keep their simple naming conventions, with "214" standing for the 1.4-litre K engines and "216" for the versions with the 1.6-litre Honda engine. There was no need to worry about replacing the Maestro. As early as 1988 it was decided to continue building it so that car production would be maintained in Cowley even though the plant was underemployed. It was said behind the scenes that they would continue to produce in order to have a car against the competition in the basic models - such as Ford Escort Popular and Vauxhall Astra Merit - and as reinsurance if customers were offended by the higher Rover prices.

In October 1989 the Rovers "214" and "216" were introduced. The new cars were worth the wait. Their technically high-quality 16-valve engines and the luxurious equipment seemed to represent the spirit of the times. Within a few weeks they became bestsellers on the British market.

And - another parallel to the "800/Legend" rover - the models were introduced in phases. But this time the mistakes of that time - delivery bottlenecks, preferred presentation of the top models - were not repeated. From the very beginning it was emphasised that the new 200 series would be offered in various equipment levels - and the price of the entry-level model 214Si was aimed exactly at the 1.6-litre competition. The marketing came at the right time, as the buyers of the competing models with their Escorts and Astras were disillusioned and regarded their cars as "getting on in years".

The new Rover made a lasting impression on the car testers! No other Rover had ever been so enthusiastically received. No wonder, considering the competition: His class was dominated by the 1980 Ford Escort, 1984 Volkswagen Golf and 1984 Vauxhall Astra. So the new car arrived in time, because new models of the competition were to be expected at the earliest in one year. Until then there were simply no competitors for the new Rover. Even the Volvo 340 and the Alfa Romeo 33 did not reach the equipment level of the Rover 200.

The interior of the Rover 216 GSi with its leather equipment shows the way the company had taken in the six years since the publication of the "Maestro". The equipment of the old Austin model wasn't bad at all, but compared to the class of the new Rover it looked quite old.

Rover's expectation that people would pay for the privilege of driving something really outstanding was fulfilled.
Soon it became obvious that the "Rover 200" was far above its 1989 competitors. Rovers new Managing Director, George Simpson, explained in an interview with the magazine "Autocar" that Rover is in the process of gaining a foothold in a higher market segment without wanting to leave the volume market. "We are not aiming at BMW and will not become BMW. We do not want to leave the volume market. We want, and the "200" is the start in this direction, to set our models apart from the popular mass business and position them at the top end - where the name Rover belongs."

The magazine "Autocar" compared the Rover 216 GSi with the then leading competitors in England Fiat Tipo, Renault 19 and Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia - and the 216 was far ahead of them. As much as the 216 outperformed its competitors, compared to the 214 with the K-engine it didn't look quite as good. Rover was very proud of the K-engine and its long construction period - in a time in which engines always had to be changed because the emission limits constantly changed, the K-engine proved to be fundamentally well designed. As with the Rover 800 in 1986, the magazine "Car" praised the 214 SLi to the skies in comparison with its competitors. Performance, handling and equipment convinced, above all also the high-quality interior equipment. "Autocar" came to a comparable result and said that the Rover was worth its extra price.

Like the SD1 in 1986, the new Rover also received a whole series of high awards from the trade press both in the UK and the rest of Europe. In the "Car of the Year" election, he only narrowly lost to the Citroen XM. Since the SD1, it has undoubtedly been the Rover that was most popular with the public from the very beginning, especially since it reached Japanese production standards from the first car. Rover made sure that the 400 million pounds Honda robots at Longbridge worked as precisely as those at the main Suzuka plant. Forty Honda production specialists were hired for the start of production so that no outliers could happen..

In 1991 the next version was a three-door version.

In 1992 the model series was again expanded, this time by the 2-litre turbo engine, which was taken over directly from the 800 series. After models with high-revving Honda engines, this was the return to high-torque British engine design for a quieter driving style. Rover followed with other models: the Tomcat Coupé followed at the end of 1992, the Cabriolet appeared in 1993, not to forget that the 400 series was also based on the R8.

The Tomcat Coupé was the nicely wrapped version of the Theme R8 and also the introduction of the T16 turbo engine on the compact chassis. The acceleration was lively with 0-60 mph in 6.2 seconds, but the enormous power (200 bhp) also clearly showed the limits of the front-wheel drive. With Honda's INTRAC system this might have been a bit more cultivated.

Originally, the three-door GTi versions and the Tomcat Coupé were to appear as "MG" models. But after the Mazda MX5 (Miata) stirred up the roadster market, British Aerospace wanted Rover to drive the PR3 roadster program (which was released as MGF in 1995). That is why British Aerospace did not want to burden the "MG" label with pimped up limousines beforehand, as had happened in the 1980s. Therefore, all open and powerful "R8" offspring appeared as Rovers.

As already mentioned, the widest range of vehicles that Rover has ever produced on one base was created:
• 1989 Five-door hatchback versions 214 / 216 (later also 216 DOHC, 220, 220T, 218D and 218TD)
• 1991 Three-door hatchback versions 214 8v and 214 16v, 216 SOHC, 216 DOHC and 220
• 1992 three-door coupés 216 / 220 / 220T (later K-Series 1.8VVC)
• 1993 two-door convertibles 214 / 216 / 220.

On the same basis:
• 1990 Four-door sedans 414 / 416 SOHC and DOHC (later also 420, 420T, 418D and 418TD)
1994 Five-door Tourer 416 / 420 /418 TD

In 1994 the 200 and 400 received a chrome grill - a simple screw-on part - to create a certain Rover identity on the one hand and to create a visible connection to the Rover 600 just presented on the other hand. But this was only a partial success, since the 200 and 400 already looked a little old. Not that they were no longer competitive; but the competition had meanwhile brought successors for their models onto the market: in 1991 a new Astra came, the Golf III followed a little later. This showed a certain weakness of the "R8", which was also characteristic of the 800: they were based on Honda's five-year model change. And vehicles designed for a short service life are rarely timeless.

Of course Rover had been working on successors for the "200" and "400" since 1990. But unlike the "R8" - and frustratingly for Rover - the projects that ran under the names "Theta" and "HHR" were developed exclusively by Honda. It seemed as if Rover had learned nothing from Honda, but this much from Rover - or did the profit orientation of British Aerospace now gain the upper hand?