Vehicle Description
West Coast Classics are proud to present an absolutely exceptional
example of this 1972 Rover 3500S which is a rare factory 4 speed
manual transmission car that was upgraded to use the 5-speed
gearbox from a later Rover in 2001. This RHD car was cosmetically
and mechanically refurbished over a long period starting in the
late 1980s and wrapping up in the early 2000s as documented by its
restoration log. The car is powered by the aluminum 3.5L Rover V8
mated to the upgraded gearbox. This Rover was imported to the US
from the UK approximately 8 years ago and will be sold with a
British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate.The car has very
striking classic 'Cameron Green' color paint and a beautiful beige
leather interior and has alloy wheels which are factory pieces from
an SD1 and which wear correct center caps. These wheels are a
handsome upgrade over the standard steel or wire wheels used on P6s
and look perfectly at home on this car. The car has no signs of any
accidents or rust and it drives very well. The Rover P6 series
(named as the 2000, 2200, or 3500, depending on engine
displacement) was a saloon (sedan) car produced by Rover and
subsequently British Leyland from 1963 to 1977 in Solihull, West
Midlands, England, UK.The P6 was the first winner of the European
Car of the Year award.The 2000 was advanced for the time with a de
Dion tube suspension at the rear, four-wheel disc brakes (inboard
on the rear), and a fully synchromesh transmission. The unibody
design featured non-stressed panels bolted to a unit frame,
inspired by the Citron DS. The de Dion set-up was unique in that
the "tube" was in two parts that could telescope, thereby avoiding
the need for sliding splines in the drive shafts, while still
keeping the wheels vertical and parallel in relation to the
body.The Rover 2000 won industry awards for safety when it was
introduced and included a carefully designed "safety" interior. The
engine compartment width (with slightly amended shape) facilitated
the accommodation of the Buick-derived Rover V8 engine made
available in the P6 from April 1968, The Citron DS19 inspired the
Rover 2000 design, Sculptor Flaminio Bertoni's Citron DS body
inspired David Bache. With a nod to the new Kamm tail, the finished
Rover appearance incorporated a necessarily enlarged boot filled
otherwise by Rover's de Dion rear suspension. Luggage compartment
space was limited due to the complex rear suspension and, in Series
II vehicles, the boot mounted battery. The spare wheel competed for
space also, and was stored either flat on the boot floor or
vertically to the side. Series II models briefly offered Dunlop
Denovo Run-flat tyre, eliminating the need for a spare, though this
was not commonly selected and is very unusual on surviving
examples.Rover saw Buick's compact 3.5 L V8 from the Buick Special
as a way to differentiate the top-of-the-line P6. They purchased
the rights to the innovative aluminum engine and once it was
modified to allow its use by Rover, it became an instant hit. The
Rover V8 engine, as it became known, outlived its original host,
the P5B, by more than thirty years.The 3500 was introduced in April
1968 (one year after the Rover company was purchased by Triumph's
owner, Leyland) and continued to be offered until 1977. The
manufacturer asserted that the light metal V8 engine weighed the
same as the four-cylinder unit of the Rover 2000, and the more
powerful car's maximum speed of 114 mph as well as its 10.5-second
acceleration time from 060 mph were considered impressive, and
usefully faster than most of the cars with which, on the UK market,
the car competed on price and specifications with the Rover 3500
auto tested by Motor magazine in the issue published on 20 April
1968 achieving a maximum speed of 117 miles per hour/060 mph in 9.5
seconds, with a standing quarter-mile in 17.6 seconds.It was
necessary to modify the under-bonnet space to squeeze the V8 engine
into the P6 engine bay: the front suspension cross-member had to be
relocated forward, while a more visible change was an extra air
intake beneath the front bumper to accommodate the larger radiator.
There was no longer space under the bonnet for the car's battery,
which in the 3500 retreated to a position on the right side of the
trunk. Nevertheless, the overall length and width of the body were
unchanged when compared with the smaller-engined original P6.Having
invested heavily in the car's engine and running gear, the
manufacturer left most other aspects of the car unchanged. However,
the new Rover 3500 could be readily distinguished from the 2000
thanks to various prominent V8 badges on the outside and beneath
the radio. The 3500 was also delivered with a black vinyl covering
on the C-pillar, although this decoration later appeared also on
four-cylinder cars.A 3-speed Borg Warner 35 automatic was the only
transmission until the 1971 addition of a four-speed manual 3500S
model, fitted with a modified version of the gearbox used in the
2000/2200. The letter "S" did not denote "Sport", it was chosen
because it stood for something specific on those cars:
"Synchromesh". However it is important to note that the 3500S was
noticeably quicker than the automatic version of this car with a
0-60 mph time of 9 seconds, compared with 10.1 for the default,
i.e. automatic, car. Moreover, due to the fuel-guzzling nature of
automatic gearboxes of this era, the manual car's official cycle
was 24 mpg compared to the automatic's 22 mpg.You will look long
and hard to find a finer example of this rare late model and
top-of-the-line P6 Rover 3500S with an upgraded 5 speed manual
transmission and in such a striking and classic British color
combination!