March 17, 2024 • 13 mins
The Rover SD1 was so nearly a game changer. It was an amazing follow-up to the Triumph 2000 & Rover P6, but it caused so much damage to the Rover name. It was a "space age" shape that looked like it had come right off the set of Blakes 7. And this came out of old, stodgy, British Leyland - the company that had brought us the Morris Marina and Austin Allegro! So why was this amazing car do so badly? Video link: https://youtu.be/N9L7mrUj3mE
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
Welcome to episode two of the Big Car podcast.
This time we’re looking at the infamousRover SD1.
Where the Austin Metro was British Leyland’sfight for the small car market, the SD1 was
to be their fight back for the luxury sectorwhich they’d owned in the 1960s with the
(00:23):
Triumph 2000 and Rover P6.
Rather than making two cars, British Leylandthrew all their weight behind the SD1 and
it was so nearly a game changer.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
On with the show!
The Rover SD1 or 3500 was one of the coolestcars of my childhood.
(00:44):
The design looked like it had fallen througha time portal from the 21st century.
Sitting in one when it was launched, I imagineddriving it down to San Tropez to hob-nob with
all the coolest stars like Cilla Black orSasha Distel.
Well, I was 8 and naive.
I was wowed by the space-age dashboard thatlooked like it had come right off the set
(01:07):
of Blakes 7.
And this came out of old, stodgy, BritishLeyland - the company that had brought us
the Morris Marina and Austin Allegro!
So why was this amazing car do so badly?
Let’s find out!
(01:28):
Rover had made its name in the 60’s creatingthe amazing P6, but by 1969 it was clear they
needed to work on a successor.
Rover wasn’t an independent company anylonger.
It had been subsumed into the British Leylandbehemoth in 1966.
That meant any decisions went through themain Leyland board.
(01:48):
They saw the advantages of a new car.
The Rover P6 and Triumph 2000 had sold intheir droves in the prosperous 1960’s, selling
to middle managers who couldn’t afford aJaguar but wanted something more upmarket.
But Rover, Triumph (and indeed Jaguar) werenow a part of British Leyland, so a competition
was set up between the Rover and Triumph designteams to see which would create the new model.
(02:13):
Triumph was the first out of the gate withits “Puma” design.
This was the more dependable, safe concept,an evolution from the Triumph 2000.
Rover brought in their wunderkind, David Bache.
He’d designed the Rover P5, P6 and had ahand in the crazy/brilliant upmarket SUV that
was the Range Rover.
(02:34):
Bache didn’t want to play it safe.
He wanted something ahead of its time, sotook styling cues from the Ferrari 250M and
365GTB/4.
He decided the Rover driver of the futurewould want a hatchback for practicality, and
he wanted them to have gull-wing doors.
In 1971 both teams met for the shoot-out.
(02:56):
Triumph brought two large models, but Bachebrought no less than 5 separate designs, plus
the gull-wing prototype.
In the end management plumped for the Rover(unfortunately without Bache’s gull-wing
doors).
It was renamed “RT1” or “Rover Triumph1” to denote it was a joint development.
However, in spring 1971 Rover and Triumphwere moved into the Specialist Division, so
(03:21):
the car was given the “SD1” codename.
Peter Wilks was to be the technical director,but he retired in 1971 due to ill health and
died shortly after.
So Spen King, fresh off his amazing work onthe Range Rover, came in to lead the engineering
side of the project.
Spen had worked on the gas-turbine poweredJET1 and him and David Bache were old friends
(03:43):
from working on the P6.
The project couldn’t be in safer hands.
But what engines should be used?
The Rover 3.5L V8 was the first to be agreed.
The all-aluminium engine had started lifeas the Buick 215 but owner General Motors
had had reliability issues with it.
They had sold the rights and tooling to Rover,who saw a light, large-displacement engine
(04:07):
as ideal for smaller British cars.
The next engine to be used was the V6 fromthe Triumph 2500, however there were issues
making this a competitive engine for the 1970’s.
So, it was agreed for the SD1 to launch initiallywith the V8 and get the V6 later down the
line once Triumph had completed the redesign.
(04:29):
David Bache refined the styling from the initialAustin Princess-looking design, through to
what we know today.
He wanted something that wouldn’t look strangenext to the supercars of the day but would
have all the practicality that is requiredby a growing family.
Like a Porsche Panamera, but actually pretty.
Once the exterior styling was finalized, theattention turned to the interior.
(04:54):
Like the Range Rover, Bache decided on a poddesign – putting the controls on top of
a bench which could easily swapped for leftor right-hand drive.
Instead of wood and leather, space-age softplastics were used.
This was to be a thoroughly modern car.
An adjustable steering wheel, folding rearseats, removable rear parcel shelf and internally
(05:17):
adjustable mirrors were forward-thinking additionsnot yet common in 1976.
Meanwhile, Spen was working on the chassisand engine.
While the car looked cutting edge, the chassiswas to be much more conventional.
This was partly due to cost cutting at thesuddenly cost-conscious British Leyland, but
also to make the car simpler to produce andhence deliver a greater profit.
(05:41):
In market analysis with members of the public,the SD1 blew the competition out of the water.
When put up against the Audi 100, Rover P6and Volvo 164 it was judged to be a more expensive
car than all of them, comparing it favorablyto the premium Jaguar XJ6.
Maybe given this, management were confidentof high sales, so decided to build a new factory
(06:05):
in Solihull dedicated solely to building thisnew car.
On launch the press loved it, lauding it’sstyling and relaxed luxurious feel, going
on to win Car of the Year in 1977.
The public clamored for it and with the Rover3500 V8 priced the same as pedestrian 4-cylinder
(06:26):
cars like the Audi 100, Citroen CX and Volvo144, it seemed a bargain.
But British Leyland had underestimated demand,and soon long waiting lists formed with some
changing hands for 25% above the sticker price.
But this was the British car industry in the1970s, so waiting lists just kept getting
(06:49):
longer with strike after strike causing hold-upsin the new factory.
When production did start, union agreed productiontargets meant a shortage of components.
The adversarial nature of workers and managementmeant they weren’t working together to satisfy
demand, so buyers were purchasing cars fromthe competition.
(07:10):
It would take 2 years until production caughtup with demand.
When cars were being produced there were problemswith quality.
The paint shop couldn’t handle the imperfectbodies coming from the Castle Bromwich plant,
resulting in too many imperfections in thefinish.
Lucas’ electronics were pressured by BritishLeyland’s management to cut corners on the
electrics, and so electrical problems plaguedthe car, along with numerous other fit and
(07:35):
finish issues.
British Leyland was under pressure to turna profit and with the SD1 being such a hit,
there was pressure to get cars out the factoryeven if there were quality issues.
British Leyland had hired many new unskilledworkers for the new Solihull factory, and
they were making mistakes and slowing downthe line.
(07:55):
In 1978, 2 years after the SD1 launch, theproduction rate was still only half of what
it should be.
It wasn’t to get any higher.
In the middle of all this, the Rover 2300and 2600 were launched, using the new improved
Triumph V6 engine.
Again, praise was heaped on these new models,especially the 2600 that seemed almost as
(08:20):
good as the 3500 V8 but at a much better price.
However, the engine had camshaft issues thatonly increased the quality woes of the new
car.
Then the hammer fell.
“Car” and “Autocar” magazines bothran articles slamming the car for horrendous
fit and finish issues that just shouldn’thappen for a premium car from such a distinguished
(08:42):
marque.
In one vehicle the door was so misaligned,daylight could be seen, and rain was seeping
in.
Residual values on used models started totake a hit, and customers started taking notice.
With little fanfare, BL took the SD1 to theUSA.
The ex-Buick V8 was used, returning to itsAmerican roots, and the model sold was essentially
(09:06):
the top-of-the-range V8-S UK model.
However, the same reliability problems hauntedthese vehicles, and the bad exchange rate
made the car pricey.
Despite all BL’s efforts, less than 1,300were sold and BL beat a hasty retreat.
By 1980 BL had to cut production and had astockpile of 10,000 cars waiting to be sold.
(09:31):
They started discounting models by up to £2,000.
By 1982 the strike-riddled new Solihull factorywas closed completely, and production moved
to the smaller Cowley plant.
They had intended to produce a total of 150kvehicles at Solihull, but only 98k were ever
made.
(09:51):
Rover added the luxury “Vitesse” model,a 3500 with an uprated 190bhp and all the
luxury options.
In 1982 the car received a small facelift,with 2.0L petrol and 2.4L diesel engines now
available.
Company cars at this time got tax breaks for2 litre cars, so this helped sell fleet cars,
(10:14):
but made for a car with little get-up-and-go.
New premium “Vanden Plas” models offeredthe leather and wood so eschewed by David
Bache in his 1976 soft plastic vision of thefuture.
Although sales never took off, they did stayrespectable until it’s replacement by the
Rover 800 in 1986.
(10:35):
Quality did improve particularly when productionmoved to Cowley, but the damage was done.
Once production ended the plant got movedto India where the “Standard 2000” was
produced, but it never caught on and productionended in 1988.
The SD1 is a story of an opportunity missed.
In the 60’s BL had two hit cars on theirhands with the Rover P6 and Triumph 2000.
(11:01):
Instead of creating a common chassis and makingtwo separate models as car manufacturers do
today, they focused on one model.
What Spen King and David Bache came up withwas possibly their crowning achievement – a
car ahead of its time, and something amazing.
But management failed to successfully rampup the new Solihull factory and workers squandered
(11:22):
the sales opportunities in the early dayswith industrial action that not only affected
the number of cars in the showroom, but Rover’simage with the public.
By the time these issues were fixed it wasall too late, and the executive saloon market
had been lost to the competition.
But the SD1 is still the timeless shape DavidBache hoped he’d created, and truly one
(11:46):
of the most beautiful cars of the 20th century.
It seems maddening that a large company suchas British Leyland with such history could
make such a mess of putting a car together.
If the SD1 had been manufactured to a decent level of quality the name Rover could
(12:09):
be on the same level as that of BMW or Auditoday.
But in a way it is still battling those cars– Rover also produced the Land Rover which
led to the Range Rover and in an age whereSUVs and crossovers are the car to have, all
the luxury Range Rover versions today go upagainst the best from Germany.
(12:31):
Before you write a comment, yes, I know Italk about the SD1 having a V6 engine where
it was an inline 6.
That’s something I’ve had many, many commentsabout when I originally make this as a YouTube
video, but if I edited just that one bit theaudio would sound all wrong and would take
(12:51):
you out of the moment.
As always, if you like these podcasts thentell your friends and enemies.
If you want to see it along with many, manyother car histories take a look at my YouTube
channel.
Thanks for listening and I’ll see you inthe next episode!
Welcome to episode two of the Big Car podcast.
This time we’re looking at the infamousRover SD1.
Where the Austin Metro was British Leyland’sfight for the small car market, the SD1 was
to be their fight back for the luxury sectorwhich they’d owned in the 1960s with the
(00:23):
Triumph 2000 and Rover P6.
Rather than making two cars, British Leylandthrew all their weight behind the SD1 and
it was so nearly a game changer.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
On with the show!
The Rover SD1 or 3500 was one of the coolestcars of my childhood.
(00:44):
The design looked like it had fallen througha time portal from the 21st century.
Sitting in one when it was launched, I imagineddriving it down to San Tropez to hob-nob with
all the coolest stars like Cilla Black orSasha Distel.
Well, I was 8 and naive.
I was wowed by the space-age dashboard thatlooked like it had come right off the set
(01:07):
of Blakes 7.
And this came out of old, stodgy, BritishLeyland - the company that had brought us
the Morris Marina and Austin Allegro!
So why was this amazing car do so badly?
Let’s find out!
(01:28):
Rover had made its name in the 60’s creatingthe amazing P6, but by 1969 it was clear they
needed to work on a successor.
Rover wasn’t an independent company anylonger.
It had been subsumed into the British Leylandbehemoth in 1966.
That meant any decisions went through themain Leyland board.
(01:48):
They saw the advantages of a new car.
The Rover P6 and Triumph 2000 had sold intheir droves in the prosperous 1960’s, selling
to middle managers who couldn’t afford aJaguar but wanted something more upmarket.
But Rover, Triumph (and indeed Jaguar) werenow a part of British Leyland, so a competition
was set up between the Rover and Triumph designteams to see which would create the new model.
(02:13):
Triumph was the first out of the gate withits “Puma” design.
This was the more dependable, safe concept,an evolution from the Triumph 2000.
Rover brought in their wunderkind, David Bache.
He’d designed the Rover P5, P6 and had ahand in the crazy/brilliant upmarket SUV that
was the Range Rover.
(02:34):
Bache didn’t want to play it safe.
He wanted something ahead of its time, sotook styling cues from the Ferrari 250M and
365GTB/4.
He decided the Rover driver of the futurewould want a hatchback for practicality, and
he wanted them to have gull-wing doors.
In 1971 both teams met for the shoot-out.
(02:56):
Triumph brought two large models, but Bachebrought no less than 5 separate designs, plus
the gull-wing prototype.
In the end management plumped for the Rover(unfortunately without Bache’s gull-wing
doors).
It was renamed “RT1” or “Rover Triumph1” to denote it was a joint development.
However, in spring 1971 Rover and Triumphwere moved into the Specialist Division, so
(03:21):
the car was given the “SD1” codename.
Peter Wilks was to be the technical director,but he retired in 1971 due to ill health and
died shortly after.
So Spen King, fresh off his amazing work onthe Range Rover, came in to lead the engineering
side of the project.
Spen had worked on the gas-turbine poweredJET1 and him and David Bache were old friends
(03:43):
from working on the P6.
The project couldn’t be in safer hands.
But what engines should be used?
The Rover 3.5L V8 was the first to be agreed.
The all-aluminium engine had started lifeas the Buick 215 but owner General Motors
had had reliability issues with it.
They had sold the rights and tooling to Rover,who saw a light, large-displacement engine
(04:07):
as ideal for smaller British cars.
The next engine to be used was the V6 fromthe Triumph 2500, however there were issues
making this a competitive engine for the 1970’s.
So, it was agreed for the SD1 to launch initiallywith the V8 and get the V6 later down the
line once Triumph had completed the redesign.
(04:29):
David Bache refined the styling from the initialAustin Princess-looking design, through to
what we know today.
He wanted something that wouldn’t look strangenext to the supercars of the day but would
have all the practicality that is requiredby a growing family.
Like a Porsche Panamera, but actually pretty.
Once the exterior styling was finalized, theattention turned to the interior.
(04:54):
Like the Range Rover, Bache decided on a poddesign – putting the controls on top of
a bench which could easily swapped for leftor right-hand drive.
Instead of wood and leather, space-age softplastics were used.
This was to be a thoroughly modern car.
An adjustable steering wheel, folding rearseats, removable rear parcel shelf and internally
(05:17):
adjustable mirrors were forward-thinking additionsnot yet common in 1976.
Meanwhile, Spen was working on the chassisand engine.
While the car looked cutting edge, the chassiswas to be much more conventional.
This was partly due to cost cutting at thesuddenly cost-conscious British Leyland, but
also to make the car simpler to produce andhence deliver a greater profit.
(05:41):
In market analysis with members of the public,the SD1 blew the competition out of the water.
When put up against the Audi 100, Rover P6and Volvo 164 it was judged to be a more expensive
car than all of them, comparing it favorablyto the premium Jaguar XJ6.
Maybe given this, management were confidentof high sales, so decided to build a new factory
(06:05):
in Solihull dedicated solely to building thisnew car.
On launch the press loved it, lauding it’sstyling and relaxed luxurious feel, going
on to win Car of the Year in 1977.
The public clamored for it and with the Rover3500 V8 priced the same as pedestrian 4-cylinder
(06:26):
cars like the Audi 100, Citroen CX and Volvo144, it seemed a bargain.
But British Leyland had underestimated demand,and soon long waiting lists formed with some
changing hands for 25% above the sticker price.
But this was the British car industry in the1970s, so waiting lists just kept getting
(06:49):
longer with strike after strike causing hold-upsin the new factory.
When production did start, union agreed productiontargets meant a shortage of components.
The adversarial nature of workers and managementmeant they weren’t working together to satisfy
demand, so buyers were purchasing cars fromthe competition.
(07:10):
It would take 2 years until production caughtup with demand.
When cars were being produced there were problemswith quality.
The paint shop couldn’t handle the imperfectbodies coming from the Castle Bromwich plant,
resulting in too many imperfections in thefinish.
Lucas’ electronics were pressured by BritishLeyland’s management to cut corners on the
electrics, and so electrical problems plaguedthe car, along with numerous other fit and
(07:35):
finish issues.
British Leyland was under pressure to turna profit and with the SD1 being such a hit,
there was pressure to get cars out the factoryeven if there were quality issues.
British Leyland had hired many new unskilledworkers for the new Solihull factory, and
they were making mistakes and slowing downthe line.
(07:55):
In 1978, 2 years after the SD1 launch, theproduction rate was still only half of what
it should be.
It wasn’t to get any higher.
In the middle of all this, the Rover 2300and 2600 were launched, using the new improved
Triumph V6 engine.
Again, praise was heaped on these new models,especially the 2600 that seemed almost as
(08:20):
good as the 3500 V8 but at a much better price.
However, the engine had camshaft issues thatonly increased the quality woes of the new
car.
Then the hammer fell.
“Car” and “Autocar” magazines bothran articles slamming the car for horrendous
fit and finish issues that just shouldn’thappen for a premium car from such a distinguished
(08:42):
marque.
In one vehicle the door was so misaligned,daylight could be seen, and rain was seeping
in.
Residual values on used models started totake a hit, and customers started taking notice.
With little fanfare, BL took the SD1 to theUSA.
The ex-Buick V8 was used, returning to itsAmerican roots, and the model sold was essentially
(09:06):
the top-of-the-range V8-S UK model.
However, the same reliability problems hauntedthese vehicles, and the bad exchange rate
made the car pricey.
Despite all BL’s efforts, less than 1,300were sold and BL beat a hasty retreat.
By 1980 BL had to cut production and had astockpile of 10,000 cars waiting to be sold.
(09:31):
They started discounting models by up to £2,000.
By 1982 the strike-riddled new Solihull factorywas closed completely, and production moved
to the smaller Cowley plant.
They had intended to produce a total of 150kvehicles at Solihull, but only 98k were ever
made.
(09:51):
Rover added the luxury “Vitesse” model,a 3500 with an uprated 190bhp and all the
luxury options.
In 1982 the car received a small facelift,with 2.0L petrol and 2.4L diesel engines now
available.
Company cars at this time got tax breaks for2 litre cars, so this helped sell fleet cars,
(10:14):
but made for a car with little get-up-and-go.
New premium “Vanden Plas” models offeredthe leather and wood so eschewed by David
Bache in his 1976 soft plastic vision of thefuture.
Although sales never took off, they did stayrespectable until it’s replacement by the
Rover 800 in 1986.
(10:35):
Quality did improve particularly when productionmoved to Cowley, but the damage was done.
Once production ended the plant got movedto India where the “Standard 2000” was
produced, but it never caught on and productionended in 1988.
The SD1 is a story of an opportunity missed.
In the 60’s BL had two hit cars on theirhands with the Rover P6 and Triumph 2000.
(11:01):
Instead of creating a common chassis and makingtwo separate models as car manufacturers do
today, they focused on one model.
What Spen King and David Bache came up withwas possibly their crowning achievement – a
car ahead of its time, and something amazing.
But management failed to successfully rampup the new Solihull factory and workers squandered
(11:22):
the sales opportunities in the early dayswith industrial action that not only affected
the number of cars in the showroom, but Rover’simage with the public.
By the time these issues were fixed it wasall too late, and the executive saloon market
had been lost to the competition.
But the SD1 is still the timeless shape DavidBache hoped he’d created, and truly one
(11:46):
of the most beautiful cars of the 20th century.
It seems maddening that a large company suchas British Leyland with such history could
make such a mess of putting a car together.
If the SD1 had been manufactured to a decent level of quality the name Rover could
(12:09):
be on the same level as that of BMW or Auditoday.
But in a way it is still battling those cars– Rover also produced the Land Rover which
led to the Range Rover and in an age whereSUVs and crossovers are the car to have, all
the luxury Range Rover versions today go upagainst the best from Germany.
(12:31):
Before you write a comment, yes, I know Italk about the SD1 having a V6 engine where
it was an inline 6.
That’s something I’ve had many, many commentsabout when I originally make this as a YouTube
video, but if I edited just that one bit theaudio would sound all wrong and would take
(12:51):
you out of the moment.
As always, if you like these podcasts thentell your friends and enemies.
If you want to see it along with many, manyother car histories take a look at my YouTube
channel.
Thanks for listening and I’ll see you inthe next episode!
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