Roverfest Fetes Solihull V8

More than 700 classics converged on Roverfest at Wroxall Abbey from 11-13 August to celebrate a half-century since the launch of the first Buick V8-engined Solihull model, the P5B. Enthusiasts came from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand and the US, while cars had been driven from across the continent – including Italy, Germany and The Netherlands – to the Joint Rover Clubs Midlands gathering.

- David Evan's

Lars Edwardsson, general manager of workshop equipment specialist Verktygsboden, had brought his whole family over from Sweden for a tour of the UK in his 1973 3500. “We’ve spent about a week in Wales,” he said, “and we’re going to The Cotswolds tomorrow, then into London. I’ve only owned this one about four years, but I’ve been driving Rover P6s since ’85.”

Lee Kingham’s 3500 – resplendent in Avocado with a black vinyl roof – was one of the last two P6s bought by The Met: “They were built on the same day in December ’76, registered in February ’77 and then put into storage for a year. I was lucky in that the person who bought it from The Met kept all the details of the spec and equipment.”