The Rover ‘R8’ was a winner for Rover but nobody expected the rangetopping model to offer 200 bhp and 150 mph.
We’ve alluded before to the ‘Golden era’ of Rover history which broadly begins with the launch of the original 800-series in 1985 and ends rather abruptly with the BMW takeover in 1994.
Creating a range of cars which was genuinely desirable was a tall order for the ashes of what was once BL, but with Honda’s help, the so-called R8 200 (hatch) and 400 (saloon) range was a real winner. Launched in 1989, the R8 was based on the European-market Honda Concerto but with a neatly styled Rover interior and was more of a collaborative effort than earlier Rover/Honda projects. Indeed, the Rover range included coupe, convertible and estate versions of the design which weren’t offered by Honda.
A sporting range-topper was added in the shape of the 220/420 in 1991 by dropping in the 138 bhp 2-litre M-Series Rover engine, essentially a twin-cam development of the old O-Series engine and this created a very competent package.
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Esta historia es de la edición Spring 2017 de Classic Car Mart.
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