***RARE CAR ALERT***

I seemed to have come across a car that wasn't very popular here in the USA. It is a 1980 Rover 3500. This was a V8 powered car. According to Wiki, only 800 were sold over here.

I've always thought they resemble a four door 365GTB. Build quality was supposedly quite bad, that one looks pretty nice though

looks like the rover SD1?

edit

did a quick search.. that is the "americanised" version of the SD1. I never knew they imported them

Rover SD1

It's on my bucket list, near the top actually.

But it has to have (or get for it) the SD1 headlamps.

A version was used for many years by the police in London. I drove a US version when it was introduced to the US market.. Not a bad GT 4-door cruiser. Engine parts shouldn't be that hard to find, and with so many made in England, you shouldn't have any problems finding trim pieces to import. (I've imported parts for the Spitfire, and sometimes the shipping was cheaper--I don't know why, but, it was) Much more pleasing body than the earlier versions, IMO.

And I thought it was going to be a Toyota Crown...

Some cars are rare for a reason.

Keith wrote: Some cars are rare for a reason.

Which make them all that more desirable.

Hmmmm....I don't know much about Rovers....don't really feel the need to, either.

"So, in essence, it's the 'Rover swap,' but with a few more cubic inches and a cast iron block with aluminum heads — just like the original OHC "Twin-Dolomite" boat anchor. No 8 foot long single row Simplex timing chains or any other English-engineered tomfoolery (at least under the hood!)" - Murilee Martin

qdseeker wrote:

Keith wrote: Some cars are rare for a reason.

Which make them all that more desirable.

Umm, no.

There's definitely a difference between rare and desirable.

Keith wrote:

qdseeker wrote:

Keith wrote: Some cars are rare for a reason.

Which make them all that more desirable.

Umm, no.

It's all in opinion, really. Some people zero in on certain things. Others are more open-minded. Not really a big deal.

I lived in England when the SD-1 was introduced. The overall design was far ahead of its tme and widely admired. Typical British auto manufacturing quality of the time let it down, though. I've seen a few in the US and all were rolling wrecks. Interiors especially fell part after a few years.

Basil Exposition wrote: I lived in England when the SD-1 was introduced. The overall design was far ahead of its time and widely admired. Typical British auto manufacturing quality of the time let it down, though. I've seen a few in the US and all were rolling wrecks. Interiors especially fell part after a few hours.

Fixed that typo for you.

I've often wondered where the concepts for the Porsche Panamera came from...

isn't that the one clarkson on topgear UK used when they had to find a car from the British Leyland company...

as I recall the door fell off... lol...

This is the real one

Anything can be a race car

motomad1 wrote: I've often wondered where the concepts for the Porsche Panamera came from...

Honestly, when I first saw it, I thought it was a 2nd gen Celica.

donalson wrote: isn't that the one clarkson on topgear UK used when they had to find a car from the British Leyland company... as I recall the door fell off... lol...

That was my first thought as soon as I saw the car. Great episode, really bad car.

I used to work on these downunder and they are dogs.

A local MD had one of those. I'd see it at the club occasionally until 6-7 years ago. This town had the last Rover dealership in NC (and probably one of the last in the US) before Rover pulled up stakes in the US for a while.

qdseeker wrote:

Keith wrote:

qdseeker wrote:

Keith wrote: Some cars are rare for a reason.

Which make them all that more desirable.

Umm, no.

It's all in opinion, really. Some people zero in on certain things. Others are more open-minded. Not really a big deal.

If you're accusing me of not being open minded, I recommend you check out my garage listing. It's not just Miatas. Heck, there's a real Rover and two British Leyland products. But I am willing to acknowledge that some cars simply suck.

Keith wrote: If you're accusing me of not being open minded, I recommend you check out my garage listing. It's not just Miatas. Heck, there's a real Rover and two British Leyland products. But I am willing to acknowledge that some cars simply suck.

And some stupid people love cars that suck, or at least that the majority of people thing suck.

I see one of those guys in the mirror each morning, I think.

That US front end isn't doing that thing any favors.