Editing Rover SD1 (section)

==History==

===Background===
In 1971, [[Rover (car)|Rover]], at that time a part of the British Leyland (BL) group, began developing a new car to replace both the [[Rover P6]] and the [[Triumph 2000]]/2500. The designers of both [[Triumph Motor Company|Triumph]] and Rover submitted proposals for the new car known as the Triumph Puma <ref>{{cite web |last1=Adams |first1=Keith |title=Triumph Puma - the promising replacement for the 2000, canned by BLMC |url=https://www.aronline.co.uk/concepts-and-prototypes/triumph-puma/ |website=AROnline |language=en-gb |date=29 October 2019}}</ref> and Rover P10 <ref>{{cite web |last1=Adams |first1=Keith |title=Rover P10 - the missing link between the P6 and the SD1 |url=https://www.aronline.co.uk/concepts-and-prototypes/rover-p10/ |website=AROnline |language=en-gb |date=29 October 2019}}</ref> respectively, of which the latter was chosen. [[David Bache]] was to head the design team, inspired by exotic machinery such as the [[Ferrari Daytona]] and [[Ferrari 365 GTC/4|365 GTC/4]], and the late 1960s design study by [[Pininfarina]] for the [[BMC ADO17|BMC 1800]], which also guided the design of the [[Citroën CX]]. [[Charles Spencer King|Spen King]] was responsible for the engineering. The two had previously collaborated on the [[Land Rover Range Rover|Range Rover]]. The project was first code-named RT1 (for Rover Triumph Number 1) but then soon changed to SD1 (for Specialist Division Number 1) as Rover and Triumph were put in the new "Specialist Division" of British Leyland.

===Design===
The new car was designed with simplicity of manufacture in mind in contrast to the P6, the design of which was rather complicated in areas such as the [[DeDion axle|De Dion-type rear suspension]]. The SD1 used a simple [[Live axle|live rear axle]] instead. This different approach was chosen because surveys showed that although the automotive press was impressed by sophisticated and revolutionary designs the general buying public was not unless the results were good. However, with the live rear axle came another retrograde step&nbsp;– the car was fitted with drum brakes at the rear.

Rover's plans to use a new 2.2-litre DOHC 16-valve Slant-Four engine<ref>{{cite web |last1=York |first1=Chris |title=Opinion : An engine for the Rover P10 |url=https://www.aronline.co.uk/engines/an-engine-for-the-rover-p10/ |website=AROnline |language=en-gb |date=28 May 2019}}</ref> with Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection were soon abandoned as BL management ruled that substantially redesigned versions of Triumph's six-cylinder engine were to power the car instead. The [[Rover V8 engine]] was fitted in the engine bay. The three-speed [[automatic gearbox]] was the [[BorgWarner]] 65 model.

[[File:Rover_SD1_3500_V8_interior.jpg|thumb|left|LHD Rover SD1 NOS series 1 interior]]
The dashboard of the SD1 features an air vent, unusually, directly facing the passenger. The display binnacle sits on top of the dashboard in front of the driver to aid production in left-hand drive markets, since it avoided the expense of producing two different dashboard mouldings for LHD and RHD versions. The air vent doubles as a passage for the steering-wheel column, and the "podular" display binnacle can be easily fitted on top of the dashboard on either the left or right-hand side of the car.<ref>[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|''Top Gear'']], Series 4 Episode 8 18 July 2004</ref><ref name=RT3500>{{cite journal | ref = RnT | journal = Road & Track's Road Test Annual & Buyer's Guide 1981 | issue = January–February 1981 | title = Rover 3500: Rover, Rover, now you can come over | editor-first = Tony | editor-last = Hogg | page = 160 }}</ref> This concept was not entirely new; it had also been used on the Range Rover and was used again on the Mk.1 [[Austin Metro]], both of which were also designed by David Bache.  The interior of the Series 1 was notable for its lack of wood embellishment in comparison to previous Rover saloons, with an extensive use instead of modern soft-feel plastics, and a new "skeletal" version of the Rover badge would appear on the bonnet - Bache was keen that the SD1 should make use of the latest industrial design trends and be a clean break from the past.

An estate body had been envisaged, but it did not get beyond the prototype stage. Two similarly specified estates have survived, and are exhibited at the [[Heritage Motor Centre]] and the [[Haynes International Motor Museum]] respectively. One was used by BL chairman [[Sir Michael Edwardes]] as personal transport in the late 1970s. The two cars as befit prototypes differ in the detail of and around the tailgate. One car has a recessed tailgate, while the other has a clamshell arrangement, where the whole tailgate is visible when closed.

The SD1 was intended to be produced in a state-of-the-art extension to Rover's historic [[Solihull plant|Solihull factory]] alongside the TR7. It was largely funded by the British government, who had bailed BL out from bankruptcy in 1975.  Unfortunately, this did nothing to improve the patchy build quality that then plagued all of British Leyland. That, along with quick-wearing interior materials and poor detailing ensured that initial enthusiasm soon turned to disappointment.

===Series 1 (1976–1982)===
This car was launched on its home market in June 1976<ref>Ambitious sales targets for new Rover car. ''The Times'', Wednesday, Jun 30, 1976; pg. 5; Issue 59743</ref> in [[hatchback]]/[[fastback]] form only, as the V8-engined Rover 3500: [[SOHC]] 2.3&nbsp;L and 2.6&nbsp;L [[Straight-six engine|sixes]] followed in November 1977, when the Rover P6 and Triumph 2000 were finally discontinued. Although there was no four-cylinder version of the SD1 at this point, [[British Leyland]] produced 1.8, 2.0 and 2.2 versions of the smaller [[Princess (car)|Princess]] in order to compete with the entry-level versions of the [[Ford Granada (Europe)|Ford Granada]], as well as more expensive versions of the [[Ford Cortina]].

The car was warmly received by the press and even received the [[European Car of the Year]] award for 1977.  Its launch on the European mainland coincided with its appearance at the [[Geneva Motor Show]] in March 1977, some three months after the Car of the Year announcement. Dealers had no left-hand drive cars for sale, however, since production had been blocked by a tool makers' strike affecting several [[British Leyland]] plants and a "bodyshell dispute" at the company's [[Castle Bromwich]] plant.<ref name=Autocar197703>{{cite journal |editor-last=Hutton |editor-first=Ray |journal=Autocar |title=Rovers in Europe – with what? Opportunities aplenty – but no cars |page=14 |date=19 March 1977}}</ref> Closer to home, the car and its design team received The Midlander of the Year Award for 1976, because they had between them done most in the year to increase the prestige of the (English) [[English Midlands|Midlands]] region.<ref name=Autocar197706>{{cite journal |editor-last=Hutton |editor-first=Ray |journal=Autocar |volume=146 |issue=4205 |title=News: The Midlander of the Year Award.... |page=18 |date=11 June 1977}}</ref>

[[File:Rover SD1 2300 engine bay.jpg|thumb|right|Rover 2300 six-cylinder engine, in situ in SD1]]
Poor construction quality was apparent even in the company's press department fleet. The British magazine ''[[The Motor|Motor]]'' published a road test of an automatic 3500 in January 1977, and while keen to highlight the Rover's general excellence, they also reported that the test car suffered from poor door seals, with daylight visible from inside past the rear door window frame's edge on the left side of the car, and a curious steering vibration at speed which might (or might not) have resulted from the car's front wheels not having been correctly balanced.<ref name=Motor197701>{{cite journal |editor-last=Bell |editor-first=Roger |title=Motor Road Test: Rover 3500 auto |journal=Motor |pages=4–7 |date=22 January 1977}}</ref> Disappointment was recorded that the ventilation outlet directly in front of the driver appeared to be blocked, delivering barely a breeze even when fully open; the writer had encountered this problem on one other Rover 3500, although he had also driven other cars of the same type with an abundant output of fresh air through the vent in question.<ref name=Motor197701/> Nevertheless, in March 1977, Britain's ''[[Autocar (magazine)|Autocar]]'' was able to publish an article by [[Raymond Mays]] – a famous racing driver and team manager during (in particular) the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s – in which Mays explained why, after driving it for 12,000&nbsp;miles, he considered his Rover 3500 was "the best car he [had] ever had", both for its many qualities as a driver's car and for its excellent fuel economy even when driven hard.<ref name=Autocar19770319>{{cite journal |journal=Autocar |first=Raymond|last=Mays |title=The best car I've ever had |pages=48–49 |date=19 March 1977}}</ref> Similar ventilation problems persisted until 1980.

Another area of concern was flaking paint on early models, forcing British Leyland to spend a lot of money on repainting cars.<ref name=bilguiden>{{cite magazine | magazine = Automobil | title = Bilguiden Rover SD1: Lyx till lågpris |trans-title=Car guide Rover SD1: Low-priced luxury | language = sv | first1 = Kjell | last1 = Åkesson Broberg | first2 = Staffan | last2 = Swedeborn | location = Vällingby | publisher = Paper Maker AB | issn = 0280-1981 | number = 5 | date = June 1983 | page = 50 }}</ref>

In television shows [[John Steed]] in ''[[The New Avengers (TV series)|The New Avengers]]'' and George Cowley in ''[[The Professionals (TV series)|The Professionals]]'' both used yellow Rover 3500 models.

[[File:Rover SD1 series1B rear.jpg|thumb|right|Rover 3500 (with badging and chrome door mirrors of the late pre-facelift cars)]]

====Cosmetic tweaks and range expansion====
Between 1976 and 1981 there were some very minor updates to the car including new badging (front and rear) and chrome backed door mirrors - the traditional-style Rover Longship emblem returned for the 1981 model year, thus replacing the 'skeletal' version, although the latter continued to be used on the hubcaps, and indeed a variant of this Rover logo was later used as a hubcap emblem on both the later SD3 Rover 200 and Rover 800 models as late as 1989.  1979 also saw the introduction of the then range-topping V8-S model with no mechanical alterations, available in a rather bright metallic "Triton" green amongst others with either gold or silver-painted alloy wheels depending on the body color. Interior specification included air-conditioning, thick luxurious carpets, [[velour]] seats and a headlamp wash/wipe system. This now very rare model was replaced in late 1980 with the Vanden Plas (VP) model, which came with a leather interior as standard.

====North American market models====
[[File:SD1 headlights.jpg|thumb|upright|US exposed headlights on top]]
In 1980 Rover obtained US type approval for the SD1 and re-entered the American market after a ten-year absence. The car was only made available as a single variant, using a modified version of the [[V8 engine]] and badged simply as "Rover 3500".<ref name=RT82>{{cite journal | ref = 81bg | journal = Road & Track's Road Test Annual & Buyer's Guide 1981 | issue = January–February 1981 | title = 1981 Buyer's Guide | editor-first = Tony | editor-last = Hogg | page = 116 }}</ref> The equipment and trim levels were similar to that of the UK market's then top-of-the-range V8-S model. The main differences were a smaller steering wheel, the manually operated sunroof  being a cost option and rear passenger head restraints were not available at all. Small [[Union Jack]] badges were fixed to the lower section of each front wing, just ahead of the doors, to promote the car's British origins.  Canadian market cars had V8 badges instead of the Union Jack.

The five-speed [[manual gearbox]] was supplied as standard, with the three-speed [[automatic gearbox|automatic]] version being a cost option.{{sfnp|Pender|1998|p=153}}

[[Headlamp#Headlamp styling in the United States, 1940–1983|US safety legislation]] (that first applied to the [[Citroën DS]]) demanded that the [[headlamp]] arrangement exclude the front glass panels. Also larger, heavier [[Bumper (automobile)|bumpers]] were required, increasing the overall length to {{convert|191|in|mm|sigfig=3|comma=5}}.

American emissions regulations necessitated replacing the [[carburetor]]s with [[Jetronic|Lucas' L-Jetronic fuel injection system]], using dual [[catalytic converter]]s together with a modified exhaust manifold and adding antismog equipment. The engine's [[compression ratio]] was modified to 8.13:1.

Beginning in the 1980 model year, the American version of the 3532 cc V8 used in the Triumph TR8 produced 133&nbsp;hp with carburetors, except in California where it produced 137&nbsp;hp with fuel injection.

Beginning in June 1980, the American version of the Rover 3500 produced 148&nbsp;hp with fuel injection, while the European version of the Rover SD1 produced 155&nbsp;hp with carburetors.

For the 1981 model year, both the Rover 3500 and Triumph TR8 produced 148&nbsp;hp with fuel injection, and 1981 would be the last year for both models in the United States.

Fuel injection for the 3532 cc V8 Rover engine was first introduced in the Triumph TR8 (137&nbsp;hp) intended for California, and then introduced in the Rover 3500 (148&nbsp;hp) later in the year when it was launched in America.

Fuel injection for the Rover V8 was introduced in Europe, along with other modifications such as having a hotter camshaft, when the 1982 Rover SD1 Vitesse was launched with 192&nbsp;hp.

strike: [Publicity material claimed it was capable of reaching 148&nbsp;hp (SAE) at 5100&nbsp;rpm<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.roversd1.nl/sd1web/usasd1.html | title = Rover 3500 sedan makes U.S. debut in 1980 | first = Rene |last=Winters | publisher = The World of the Rover SD1 | access-date =6 August 2013 }}</ref> but the car as sold actually peaked at 133&nbsp;hp (at 5000&nbsp;rpm).<ref name="scimp">{{cite book | title = Standard Catalog of Imported Cars, 1946–1990 | first=James M. |last=Flammang | publisher = Krause Publications | page = 553 | year = 1994 | isbn = 0-87341-158-7 }}</ref>{{sfnp|Pender|1998|p=154}} ]

Since August 1978, a carbureted engine, with antismog equipment, had already been on sale in Australia with {{convert|102|kW|hp|0|abbr=on}}. Beginning in the 1981 model year, Australia received a version of the fuel injected federalized engine with {{convert|106|kW|hp|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="SD1aus">{{cite journal | title = The Rover SD1 in Australia – 1978 to 1987 | journal = Freeheeling | publisher = The Rover Owner's Club | url = http://roversd1australia.com/index.php/history/ | date = 1987 | last1 = Turner | first1 = Rob | last2 = Cope | first2 = Tony }}</ref>

Despite the necessary modifications, Rover chose not to set up an assembly plant in the US but built and shipped the cars from the Solihull factory.

The SD1 gained positive reviews in the American press and was competitively priced against rivals such as the [[BMW 5 Series]] and corresponding [[Mercedes-Benz W123|Mercedes-Benzes]].<ref name=RT159>[[#RnT|''Rover, Rover, now you can come over'']], p. 159</ref> Despite this, the car still sold poorly, having achieved just 480 sales between its launch in June 1980 and the end of that year. The whole of 1981 attracted 774 sales, although most of these cars had actually been built and stockpiled the previous year.
[[File:Rover SD1 3500 V8 US spec.jpg|thumb|North American Rover 3500]]
Rover ceased the supply of American market SD1s at the end of 1981, although unsold cars remained available from dealers well into the following year.

Reasons for the commercial failure of the SD1 in the US are open to speculation. The weak value of the American dollar against European currencies at the time rendered imports relatively expensive in comparison to a home-built product. A significant rise in oil prices during 1979 led to many motorists opting for more fuel-efficient cars. Public awareness of the SD1 may have been low as the dealership network across America was small, while Rover's expenditure on the aforementioned modifications, testing, and approval for the US market left limited budget for publicity and advertising. (To save money the official press launch was combined with that of the [[Triumph TR8]].){{sfnp|Pender|1998|p=155}}

====Production shift====
Major restructuring of BL following the Ryder Report resulted in the SD1 production line being moved to the former [[Morris Motors|Morris]] plant in [[Cowley, Oxford|Cowley]] in 1981. The Solihull plant was turned over to produce [[Land Rover]] models, following on from that marque's separation from Rover in 1978. The hugely expensive extension to Solihull, which had been built specifically for the SD1 and Triumph TR7, was mothballed, and was finally brought back into use in 1997 for the [[Land Rover Freelander]] and in 2016 for the [[Jaguar XE]] and [[Jaguar F-PACE|F-PACE]].

1981 also saw the beginning of "Project XX" – a venture between BL and [[Honda]] for a new executive car expected to replace the SD1, although it was not anticipated for production until the mid-1980s.  Project XX ultimately emerged as the [[Rover 800 Series]] in 1986 and would be the replacement for the SD1.

===Series 2 (1982–1986)===
[[File:Rover SD1 Seitenansicht Spanien.jpg|thumb|right|A 1983 Rover 2000 (a Series 2 car with revised headlights, interior, and C-pillars)]]
Early in 1982, Rover unveiled the Cowley-built, facelifted line to the public (although the final Series 1s were also built at Cowley). These cars benefited mostly from small cosmetic changes on the exterior as well as a quite extensively redesigned interior. The biggest interior change was to the instrument binnacle, which was made both flatter and longer than the original, with the ancillary gauges and digital clock moved out of the driver's line of sight almost over the centre of the dashboard, whilst the dials themselves followed modern practice being under a glass hood instead of being deeply recessed as before.  Wood trim on both the dashboard and the door cards were included after criticism that the original interior looked downmarket.  Car spotters can distinguish the two series by the headlights, which were chrome-rimmed and flush fitting on the Series 2, recessed on the Series 1, the deeper rear window, now fitted with a rear wash wipe, and the new plastic wrap around bumpers which replaced the three-piece rubber and stainless steel ones. Other details, which are not as easy to assign include the full-width rear badge strip under the tail lights, engine size badges on front wings, and a range of new wheel trims and alloy wheels.  The automatic gearbox was now a French built GM Turbo-Hydramatic 180 model ( TH180 ), still offering three speeds but better ratios.  The electric window switch pack moved from the centre console to the driver's door (and is well remembered for lacking edge finishing trim around the recesses), and a fully automatic [[choke valve|choke]] appeared – eliminating the manual choke lever which had a tendency to break.

===Further range expansion===
1982 was also the year when SD1 buyers could finally opt for a four-cylinder engine since the two-litre [[BL O-Series engine]] of the [[Morris Ital]] was now fitted to the car, now called the '''Rover 2000''' - marking the first time an engine from the Austin-Morris division of BL would appear in a Rover. The engine was particularly aimed at company car fleets where its size enabled it to beat a taxation threshold. This broadened the SD1 range and made it more affordable to potential buyers, giving British Leyland an all-round rival to the [[Ford Granada (Europe)|Ford Granada]], which had always featured a four-cylinder version, although unlike the SD1 or earlier P6 had never been available with a V8 engine. The Rover 2000 was not particularly fast, with a continental magazine stating that the most one could say was that it was faster than diesel and turbodiesel cars in the same class.<ref name=AG78a>{{cite journal | ref = AG78 | journal = De AutoGids | number = 78 | volume = 3 | page = 93 | title = Gedetailleerde Wegtest: Rover 2000 | trans-title = Detailed road test | first = Philippe | last = De Leener | language = nl-be | date = 1982-09-16 | publisher = Uitgeverij Auto-Magazine | location = Brussels, Belgium }}</ref>

Another four-cylinder engine became available in the {{Convert|90|bhp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}} '''Rover 2400 SD Turbo'''. This was the only [[diesel engine|diesel-engined]] SD1, utilising the [[List of VM Motori engines#HR492|HR492]] motor from Italian [[VM Motori]] also used in the [[Range Rover]] Turbo D model, chosen for its petrol-like smoothness. BL had intended for a [[Rover V8#Project Iceberg|diesel version]] of the Rover V8 engine to be used in the SD1 (as well as other models) but the problematic development programme was cancelled in 1983 in favour of engines bought-in from outside manufacturers.

==== Vitesse ====
The flagship model was created when Rover introduced a {{cvt|190|bhp|kW PS|0}} fuel-injected version of its V8, with {{cvt|220|lbft|Nm|0}} of torque.<ref name=NLVitesse>{{cite web | url = http://www.roversd1.nl/sd1web/ | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20141021051024/http://www.roversd1.nl/sd1web/ | archivedate = 2014-10-21 | title = Rover's beast: SD1 Vitesse, 1982-1986 | work = The World of the Rover SD1 | first = Rene | last = Winters }}</ref> Applying technologies pioneered in the US and Australian markets (where strict emissions regulations meant the inclusion of high compression carburetted engines was not feasible) the new derivative was originally only available in the Vitesse model, but from 1984 onwards it was also offered in the luxury Vanden Plas range, badged as the Vanden Plas EFi. The Vitesse received ventilated front brakes with four-pot calipers as well as a strengthened transmission (with the same gear ratios), a sizable black rear spoiler, and cross-spoke aluminium wheels.<ref name=NLVitesse/>

To meet the demands of the luxury executive car market, where automatic transmission tended to be preferred, Rover first offered an auto as an option in the Vitesse, but later withdrew the option and lured those customers to the plush Vanden Plas EFi instead which had all the standard comforts of the Vitesse, such as electric mirrors, windows and locks, a trip computer, headlight washers, an adjustable steering column and a four-speaker stereo (something special at that time). Additionally, it added as standard leather seats (velour cloth was a no-cost option), an electrically operated sunroof (available on all models) and cruise control; the only option being air-conditioning.

The SD1 '''twin-plenum''' Vitesse was produced as a homologation special to aid the model's performance for the 1986 European Touring Car Championship season, and featured a new twin, side-entry throttle plenum fuel injection system. Although Rover quoted no power increase in their brochures, power output was actually increased to somewhere between 210 and 220 brake horse power as reported in the motoring press at the time. However, Rover didn't officially disclose the power increase as they couldn't afford to re-homologate the engine for their touring car racing programme. Production ended early during August 1986. Of a planned production run of 500 cars, somewhere between 200 and 250 are known to have been produced.

=== End of production ===
The SD1 continued until the launch of its successor, the [[Rover 800 Series]], in July 1986, the third product of the British Leyland/Austin Rover venture with [[Honda]], which had been in development since 1981 as "Project XX" and also formed the basis of the [[Honda Legend]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/rover/800/|title=Rover 800 (XX) development story - learning to work with Honda}}</ref>

Despite production ending in 1986, stocks of new SD1s remained available well into 1987, with the latest civilian spec examples were registered under the "E" registration prefix, with some stockpiled police specifications being registered even later, the fastback version of the 800 arrived in 1988.  The Rover V8 engine remained in volume production and continued to be used in Land Rover products until 2003.