Sharper Claws

The Rover ‘R8’ was a winner for Rover but nobody expected the rangetopping model to offer 200 bhp and 150 mph.

- Paul Wager

We’ve alluded before to the ‘Golden era’ of Rover history which broadly begins with the launch of the original 800-series in 1985 and ends rather abruptly with the BMW takeover in 1994.

Creating a range of cars which was genuinely desirable was a tall order for the ashes of what was once BL, but with Honda’s help, the so-called R8 200 (hatch) and 400 (saloon) range was a real winner. Launched in 1989, the R8 was based on the European-market Honda Concerto but with a neatly styled Rover interior and was more of a collaborative effort than earlier Rover/Honda projects. Indeed, the Rover range included coupe, convertible and estate versions of the design which weren’t offered by Honda.

A sporting range-topper was added in the shape of the 220/420 in 1991 by dropping in the 138 bhp 2-litre M-Series Rover engine, essentially a twin-cam development of the old O-Series engine and this created a very competent package.