Rover 100 P4 Saloon

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Incredibly strong, smooth 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, that were enormously popular with the middle class motorist.

Considered by many to be the ultimate development of the P4, the Rover 100 was produced from 1960 until 1962. A replacement for the Rover 90 and 105, it incorporated a number of changes inspired by the introduction of the new Rover 3-Litre (P5), the engine being a seven-bearing, short-stroke version of the 3-litre. Displacing 2,625cc, the straight-six developed 104 bhp and in conjunction with the four-speed plus overdrive manual gearbox gave a 95mph top speed.

To better cope with this extra performance, servo-assisted front disc brakes were adopted along with wider wheels. With its separate chassis, generous rubber body mounts and plentiful soundproofing, the 100 was noticeably quiet when compared to its peers and some 16,000 were sold before production ceased in 1962.

This February 1962 Rover 100 is finished in the typical period and highly complementary colour combination of grey over red leather. The rear ‘suicide’ doors are a nice if slightly anachronistic touch from a previous motoring age.

Documentation with the car includes a general service/refurbishment invoice from August 1988 for £1,100, several old MOT certificates and the original owner’s instruction manual. The mileage is warranted at 55,763. The car is reported to start and run well but has been on display at the Stondon Motor Museum since 1997 and will doubtless benefit from thorough recommissioning before being put back on the road.