Description

1970 Rover P6 2000

One-family-owned from new until 2019; just recommissioned following 18 years on display in a car showroom

A real landmark in car design, the Rover P6 set new standards for performance and refinement when it first appeared in 1963 and was immediately voted ‘Car of the Year’.
A luxury four-door family saloon, the P6 featured an all steel monocoque central cell onto which all the outer body panels were bolted including an aluminium bonnet and boot lid. Suspension was independent all round and employed a de Dion tube arrangement at the rear which enabled the car to remain level at high cornering speeds. Servo-assisted four-wheel disc brakes were also fitted, with the rear discs being mounted inboard.
Initially only available with a 104bhp 2-litre engine, a 124bhp twin-carb 2000TC was available from 1966 which was slightly faster but more difficult to keep in tune. The P6 range continued to sell in healthy numbers until the arrival of the ‘flying wedge’ SD1 cars in 1976.
First registered in August 1970, this smart Rover 2000 is a Series 1 model with the ribbon speedo and flick switches which were replaced by round gauges and rotary switches on post-1970 Series 2 models. Finished in Corsica Blue with a light tan leather interior and a manual gearbox, it has had just three owners from new, the first of whom kept it until 2005 when ownership transferred to his nephew.
In 1991 the car got damaged and it was sent to a local garage in Pontypool for repairs. As the work was nearing completion, the owner sadly died. His wife did not like to drive the Rover because it was too big for her so the kindly garage owner said he would put it on display in his showroom until things were sorted (they’re like that in Wales, a very neighbourly bunch).
As things transpired, the car sat in the showroom for the next 18 years when the garage finally closed down. All those years behind plate glass have left their mark on the car and the interior trim has faded in the sun here and there, most notably on the door cards.
Our vendor acquired the car from the nephew in the summer of 2019 and set about a thorough recommissioning to return it to the road. Although there are no invoices for the work done, we are told that the braking system was overhauled, a new petrol pump fitted, new windscreen rubbers, new battery, new sill covers and a good service. The car has only covered a few hundred miles since and we are told that it drives well.
Starting promptly and running nicely as we have moved it around on site, it has a couple of minor blemishes in the paintwork (as shown in the photos) but is otherwise in very presentable order and now needs an enthusiastic new owner to give it the more regular exercise it deserves.

Bidders are advised than an Experian check shows that this car was recorded as an insurance loss Type D in March 1991.
For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com