No large, formal car has ever truly filled the shoes of the Ebony Rover 3.5 the Litres that served Wilson, Heath, Callaghan and Thatcher governments so faithfully between 1968 and 1981. By then it was perceived to be a vehicle from another age. Based on the 3-litre P5 of the late '50s, the big Rover had been out of production for eight years by the time it was pensioned off by the Government Car Service fleet in favour of the sleek, armoured Series III Daimler XJs of the Thatcher regime. If that car was a sign of government confidence in John Egan's ability to turn around Jaguar in the 1980s, how emblematic of the strife of the '70s that ministry buyers had to mothball late batches of these P5Bs for want of a credible modern alternative from the nationalised car producer it was propping up with public money.
The Rover P5B seemed to be born to play the role of car of state. Dignified without being magisterial, comfortable but not decadent, they fulfilled a surprisingly sensitive job at a time in public life when national events played out in real time on our fuzzy black-and-white television screens. For 13 years they were an almost nightly fixture in our living rooms, sweeping into Downing Street or Parliament Square as the dramas of the day unfolded in a world of strikes and terrorism.
Denne historien er fra September 2022-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
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Denne historien er fra September 2022-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
Daring to be diminutive
AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts
THE LONG WAY ROUND
There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance
Handsome cab
The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans
ICON.
The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all
Blurred Lines
lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates
Home of the brave
The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named
PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring