Database: Rover P6 (1963-1977)

We chart the life and times of the advanced P6 which was a real high point for Rover and created a whole new market sector.

- Paul Wager

Rover’s P6 is one of those cars which on the surface might appear to be an unassuming family saloon but which under the skin hides some technical advances which were really quite radical. Certainly its engineering was in many ways more adventurous than the much-lauded Jaguar XJ and it represented a dramatic shift in image for the old-established Rover company.

Aimed straight at the new market for smaller, lighter, more efficient and generally more nimble executive cars, the P6 – and its BMC bedfellow the Triumph 2000 – created a new so-called ‘2-litre market’ which became so popular and which is still with us today, albeit dominated by German brands. It’s a shame that its maker has perished along the way but the P6 remains a high point of the Rover story and has the distinction of being the last car to be developed by an independent Rover concern.

BACKGROUND

Since its origins in the 1800s, Rover had gained a reputation for producing soundly engineered cars which may have been conservative in style but which displayed great depth of engineering quality. Jump into a P4 or P5 saloon and the quality of the cars shines out immediately, with little features like the chromed ball-and-socket linkage for the P4’s gearshift letting you know that here was a car produced by a company with engineers at the helm. Rovers of this era had a quality which newcomers in the market Jaguar simply couldn’t match – look behind the dash or under the trim on a typical ’50s Jaguar and you’ll see that the money was spent on the bits you could see and feel, whereas Rover made sure the hidden bits were just as nicely finished.