James Taylor - Rover 800 Series: The Complete Story

ROVER 800
SERIES

The Complete Story

OTHER TITLES IN THE CROWOOD AUTOCLASSICS SERIES

ALFA ROMEO 916 GTV AND SPIDER Robert Foskett

ALFA ROMEO SPIDER John Tipler

ASTON MARTIN DB4, DB5 & DB6 Jonathan Wood

ASTON MARTIN DB7 Andrew Noakes

ASTON MARTIN V8 William Presland

AUDI QUATTRO Laurence Meredith

AUSTIN HEALEY Graham Robson

BMW 5 SERIES James Taylor

BMW M3 James Taylor

BMW M5 James Taylor

BMW CLASSIC COUPS James Taylor

CITRON DS SERIES John Pressnell

FERRARI 308, 328 AND 348 Robert Foskett

FORD CONSUL, ZEPHYR AND ZODIAC Graham Robson

FORD ESCORT RS Graham Robson

FROGEYE SPRITE John Baggott

JAGUAR E-TYPE Jonathan Wood

JAGUAR XK8 Graham Robson

JENSEN INTERCEPTOR John Tipler

JOWETT JAVELIN AND JUPITER Geoff McAuley & Edmund Nankivell

LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH Peter Dron

LAND ROVER DEFENDER, 90 AND 110 RANGE James Taylor

LOTUS ELAN Matthew Vale

MGA David G. Styles

MGB Brian Laban

MGF AND TF David Knowles

MGT-SERIES Graham Robson

MAZDA MX-5 Antony Ingram

MERCEDES-BENZ CARS OF THE 1990s James Taylor

MERCEDES-BENZ FINTAIL MODELS Brian Long

MERCEDES-BENZ S-CLASS James Taylor

MERCEDES-BENZ W124 James Taylor

MERCEDES SL SERIES Andrew Noakes

MERCEDES W113 Myles Kornblatt

MORGAN 4/4 Michael Palmer

MORGAN THREE-WHEELER Peter Miller

PEUGEOT 205 Adam Sloman

PORSCHE 924, 928, 944 AND 968 Glen Smale

PORSCHE CARRERA THE AIR-COOLED ERA Johnny Tipler

RELIANT THREE-WHEELERS John Wilson-Hall

RILEY RM John Price-Williams

ROVER 75 AND MG ZT James Taylor

ROVER P4 James Taylor

ROVER P5 & P5B James Taylor

SAAB 99 & 900 Lance Cole

SUBARU IMPREZA WRX AND WRX STI James Taylor

SUNBEAM ALPINE AND TIGER Graham Robson

TOYO TA MR2 Nigel Burton

TRIUMPH SPITFIRE & GT6 Richard Dredge

TRIUMPH TR7 David Knowles

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI James Richardson

VOLVO P1800 David G. Styles

ROVER 800
SERIES

The Complete Story

James Taylor

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2016 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2016

James Taylor 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 225 0

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Rover 800 was more of a milestone in the car industry than most people realize. It was the largest and most comprehensive joint project ever undertaken by two companies that were not only independent but also geographically and culturally separated by a vast divide. That it was any kind of success is certainly a tribute to the dedication of the engineers at Rover in Britain and at Honda in Japan who worked on it.

Was it a success? On Rovers side, it provided them with a large car that they badly needed and could not afford to design and manufacture on their own. It taught them new manufacturing disciplines and edged them towards the quality that had been lost during the British Leyland years of the 1970s. That it never sold in quite the anticipated numbers was mostly not the cars fault although the bad reputation that British Leyland had attracted still lingered to some extent and must have deterred many buyers. On Hondas side, it provided them with their first large car and gave them valuable experience of both the European and American large-car markets. The Japanese company has never looked back.

The 800 Series has taken a long time to become an enthusiasts car, but I was delighted to discover just as this book was in the final stages of preparation that it was to have its own formal club. The Rover 800 Owners Club was officially launched at the NEC Classic Motor Show in November 2015, and I wish it every success.

In putting this book together, I drew on the vast collection of material in my own archive, amassed since the 800 was new in 1986. I can still remember trying out an 825i demonstrator over the summer of that year, one of the Cxxx AAC registered cars, and being encouraged to see how fast it would go on the M4 motorway. I needed no encouragement, and a nervous salesman suggested that we should keep a sharp look out for police cars when the speedo nudged 115mph. So I backed off. I didnt buy the car, either, and will admit now that I was never a fan of the early 800. Once the Fastback became available, though, and then the facelifted cars in 1991, my view changed to one of keen interest.

I was pleased to be able to draw to a limited extent on the archives of the British Motor Museum at Gaydon (formerly British Motor Industry Heritage Trust), although surviving records of Rover 800 production are far from complete. I hope that more hard information comes to light in the future. I also drew on the collections and recollections of many others, most of whom may well not even remember passing on vital information all those years ago. Special thanks, though, go to the following: Richard Bryant, long-term friend and long-term enthusiast for Rover cars of all ages (and an 800 Sterling KV 6 owner himself); Paddy Carpenter of the Police Vehicle Enthusiasts Club; Sally Eastwood, whose recollection of the end of the US Sterling operation is recorded in ; Ian Elliott, formerly involved with PR and marketing at Austin Rover; Tanya Field, who kindly provided her 1991 820 Turbo for photography (she was lucky I gave it back); David Morgan, researcher and great enthusiast for Austin Rover cars; and Ron and Pam Winchester, for the loan of their Japanese-spec Coup while I was in New Zealand.

James Taylor
Oxfordshire
November 2015

FOREWORD

by John Bacchus, formerly Director in charge of the Rover-Honda relationship

In the mid-1970s, I was Strategic Planning Director for BL International. Id been watching Honda for some time; I found them fascinating because their US performance was astonishing. They had come from nowhere and now a Honda franchise was the absolute prize in the USA. They were also very advanced in their design as compared with their Japanese counterparts.

When Michael Edwardes took over, we quickly realized that collaboration was the way forward. This was unheardof in the industry, at least among the major players, even though it has since become common. A sensible choice at the time looked like an alliance with Chrysler Europe, who were being supported by the government just as we were. Then, before we made an approach, Chrysler was sold to PSA Peugeot-Citroen! Honda was our choice as a replacement collaborator.