Rover P4 75 MkII

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.

The original P4, the model 75, arrived in 1949. It featured controversial modern styling which contrasted with the basically pre-war Rover P3 which it replaced, and which was heavily based on the bullet-nosed Studebakers of the same era. One particularly unusual feature was the centrally mounted headlight in the grille, known as the ‘Cyclops eye’ which was removed after 1952.

Power initially came from a beautifully refined 2.1-litre Rover inlet-over-exhaust straight-six engine mated to a four-speed manual transmission, but in 1955 an improved MkII version was introduced with a larger 2,230cc engine that had a shorter stroke which made it even smoother and more punchy. A 75 tested by The Motor magazine in 1949 had a top speed of 83.5 mph and could accelerate from 0–60 in 21.6 seconds with 28mpg economy.

First registered in April 1958, this particular 75 MkII has had just two owners from new, being first owned by the vicar of Stoke Lacey, Herefordshire, from whom the current vendor bought it back in 1984. Two-tone grey with a grey leather interior, the car has covered just 74,000 miles to date and has always been kept garaged and used mainly in dry weather only.

Apart from the base of the driver’s seat which was recovered some years ago, the car is wholly original throughout and appears to be mainly sound although it would now benefit from some minor TLC to the bodywork. Always well-maintained in the current ownership, it has just had a brake overhaul, a carburettor tune-up, a new battery and new plugs and plug leads.

Said to drive very well it is MOTd and taxed until April 2013. Supplied with its original owner’s manual, some contemporary Rover marketing brochures and a few bills for routine maintenance, it also comes with a very appealing (and transferable) number plate, 1555 BP.