Rover: The 1988'ers with a trade-in guarantee
Robber had a hard time. Just like almost the entire British car and motorcycle industry, which was plagued by poor management and strikes. But Rover continued to struggle to keep the ship afloat. The result was the SD1, a mature 5 door top model positioned among the Jaguars of the same business group. The SD1 experienced the greatest success with the second Auto of the Year prize in 1977. The model entered the books as "the last real Rover."
Help from Japan
Not much was left of Rover's once so proud reputation. It was at a time when British cars from the regular to higher end segment simply had a bad reputation for being bad. Japanese Honda came to the rescue of Rover in 1981. And that was more for business reasons than pure charity. After all, Honda was busy conquering the world. The help consisted of having the Honda Ballade model built in Longbridge. This cuckoo cub immediately became like Triumph Acclaim released. Because the brand Triumph no longer strong enough, the successors were marketed under the Rover brand.
In the eighties and nineties, Rover built several new models "together" with Honda
These were actually Honda's, but some models were equipped with the British Rover K engine. The Honda Legend was sold as Rover 800 and Sterling, the Honda Concerto as Rover 200 and 400, and the Honda Accord became the Rover 600 series. The Honda Civic 5 doors became the second generation Rover 400.
That Rover 800 did not come out optimally in tests
In the higher market segment, therefore, sales did not run smoothly. But that was also due to the historically grown sentiment that "Robbers are no good."
But in 1988, Rover did its very best. The production was largely robotized. Cars were even delivered to fleet owners again. A tip was that the best chic 800s were not there with a diesel engine. And that while 'in-house' a turbo diesel was already being used in the Range Rover.
Austin Rover offered LPG as an alternative and the IMCO gas installation was a good thing. Characteristic was that the car always started on petrol and then switched imperceptibly to LPG. 1988 was also the year that Rover introduced the (non-transferable) trade-in guarantee.
In 1988 you could again step into a Rover 800 without any worries
The interior made a successful attempt to look British (the dashboard had a walnut-like look) but did not deny its Japanese influences. And the finish? It was as good as at the Japanese level. The entire operation was well organized and well placed. The steering column was adjustable. The Rover also convinced technically. Because the 800 belonged to the better kind of automobiles, the front side windows were electrically operated. Just like the side mirrors. The heating and ventilation were now also okay. The future was secured by an anti-corrosion wax treatment and the rest of the rust protection was also seriously addressed. With its six-cylinder 2495 cc engine of over 170 hp, the fully equipped 800 was certainly not a wallflower.
In the meantime, the Rover 800s are quite rare.
And cheap.
Very cheap indeed.
An acquaintance bought a great copy for 1200 euros ...
Too bad nothing is said about the Turbo version (800 TI) fantastic car with a standard Recaro interior. unfortunately the Honda gearboxes were not up to the power (180 or 200 HP). I have such a Turbo now really rare I think. I also have a miniature of the 800 with grill.
Dear writer,
First of all, I really like that the Rover 800 comes by, but the piece isn't quite right. It seems more like an opinion than actually. If I want to see / read that, I will turn on the NOS. 😉
Honda deserves idd a lot of praise for their help and input.
But a Rover 800 is not a Honda Legend with a bit more chrome and British flair. If that were the case, I wouldn't have a problem with that, because I think Honda is a great brand. But what is not correct is not correct.
The Rover 800 not only had an 2,5 liter but also an 2,7 liter. The Rover 800 is not only supplied with the K-Series (KV6) (in the last 2 year) but also with the Rover M-Series 2 liter 4 cylinder and later in the MK2 the T-Series 2 liter 4 cylinder engine.
Delivered engines:
M series 2.0 Rover was replaced by:
T series 2.0 Rover
C25A V6 Honda was replaced by:
C27A V6 Honda was replaced by:
KV6 V6 Rover
2.5 diesel VM Motori
Large parts of the Honda and the Rover do not match. Even the sheet metal in the engine compartment, underbody, sheet metal and elktronica is different. It is true that Rover and Honda initially planned to make an identical car with a different nose and butt, but this plan soon did not work. Rover wanted something different from Honda, but they both wanted to meet certain agreements. The format of the cars should not differ too much and the chosen suspension was used in both. The engines would also be placed transversely and Honda would provide the 6-cylinders and transmissions and Rover would provide the 4-cylinders and the associated transmissions.
Despite the fact that Honda had made a great engine with the C25A 2.5 V6, he had little torque and Rover then gave advice on how to get more torque. Honda applied this and the C25A was deleted to be replaced by the C27A 2.7 V6.
Standard things such as exhausts, sensors and things like that do not match.
It has really been a collaboration in which the manufacturers left each other free. If you think for a moment, it would be very stupid for Honda to give away its technology to Rover to build its name. Honda had 20% shares in Rover and Rover had 20% shares in Honda. Rover helped Honda design the Legend. Before the collaboration between the two, Honda had a very different appearance. Rover has helped with the so-called "folded envelope design". Honda, on the other hand, contributed well to the Rover 400, 600 and early 200's that were more like Hondas with a Rover body. A lot of models from these series also often had Rover engines on board. Thanks to Honda, Rover has been able to make a good fleet and the Rover brand has been quite successful in the 90s.
Also that the dashboard is at Japanese level is really not true. The Honda Legend is better finished but less atmospheric. The above article makes you believe that it is a Japanese dashboard with some wood on it (real wood by the way!) But nothing could be further from the truth. The dashboard is a pure Rover design with its own electronics. The latter is a disadvantage because the electronics Rovers is also not the most reliable type. Fair is fair.
Oh yes, the Rover 800 is launched in 1986 and not 1988. Fast In 1988 the fastback was introduced and the new C27A 2.7 liter.
Furthermore, it is a nice article! Better than some copy passes. 😉
Regards,
Marc
Proud Rover 800 owner.
Sorry no more Car Craft in Zoetermeer anymore.
Auto Ambacht is located in Zoetermeer, which I think does also in Rover
Goes has a specialist in older Rovers: Akkermans. Nice company, it always has a dozen.
The older models can rust well in any case, I saw a while ago at another garage. But those at Akkermans look fresher.