Rover P4 95 Saloon

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Smooth, quiet and comfortable, the Rover P4 is one of the best made cars ever to be mass produced on these shores. In production from 1949 until 1964, it came in a bewildering number of versions but all were excellent cars, furnished to a very high standard with plenty of wood and leather, proving enormously popular with the middle class motorists at which they were aimed.

In 1962 the P4 was still selling in steady numbers so two final versions were announced, the 95 and the 110. The 95 used a 102bhp version of the Rover P4 100 six-cylinder engine which was still using the old overhead inlet, side exhaust valve layout first seen in 1949. Amazingly refined in operation, it was capable of propelling the stately saloon to a genuine 100mph.

This gorgeous 95 was bought new in April 1963 by Herbert Phillips of Wrexham who was to keep it for 22 years and it has had only four local owners since. The vendor acquired it last year from the estate of a Shrewsbury gent who had owned it for the previous 26 years. Clearly a much-loved motorcar, it just oozes character with a wonderfully mellowed green leather interior, very straight Juniper Green over Stone Grey coachwork and a commendably sound undercarriage.

A good file of invoices back to the early 1990s show regular upkeep over the years and the vendor has replaced the water pump and had the radiator rebuilt since he acquired it. Starting instantly and running like a Swiss watch on the occasion of our visit, we are told that it drives as well as it looks with particularly effective brakes which can stand it on its nose if required. The original handbook is still present along with the wheel-changing kit and all the small tools which slide out from under the dash. A spare radiator grille is also included.

Supplied with a DVLA printout of all the previous owners and an MOT valid until April 2019 with no advisories recorded, this is a peach of a car from the glory days of Rover before this once-great marque was reduced to a shadow of its former self by the miserable bean counters at British Leyland. We like it a lot and if you have an ounce of soul, we are confident that you will like it too.