Rover 75 P3 4-light Sports Saloon

Click Here for Full Screen Image - Click Here to Download Image

Rover's first new post-war offering, the P3 was very much an interim model and was only in production from February 1948 to the summer of 1949.

It featured a new engine that had been in preparation since the late 1930s with overhead inlet and side exhaust valves and was made in two versions: the 60 had a four-cylinder unit of 1,595cc and the 75 had a six-cylinder version of 2,103cc. The gearbox and traditional Rover freewheel were kept unchanged from the previous model 12.

Although the body was similar in styling to the Rover 12 and 16, many of the body panels were in fact new and despite having a wheelbase 4.5-inches shorter than the 16, the 75 was more roomy inside. Also new, and a first for a Rover, was independent front suspension but the brakes remained a hydraulic/mechanical hybrid system. Rather than having a complete chassis, the new frame, which was a box section, was stopped short of the rear axle and the rear semi-elliptic springs were attached to the body. This allowed the rear axle travel to be increased and an improved ride resulted.

Two body styles were available, a 6-light saloon and a more dashing 4-light Sports Saloon. The cars were expensive at £1,080 for the 60 and £1,106 for the 75, and with early post-war production problems and material shortages it was never intended that the cars would be produced in large numbers. Eventually, 1,274 of the 60 and 7,837 of the 75 models were made before the car was replaced by the all-new P4 of 1949, although the engine and gearbox were to live on as the basis for those in the original Series Land Rovers.

This rare 4-light 75 Sports Saloon was first registered in Birmingham in February 1949. The previous garage proprietor owner acquired the car in 2003 from a retired Army Colonel, Richard Perrier of Lymington, Hampshire, who had reputedly owned it for many years. Driven back to the city of its birth, it was then put into dry storage where it remained until about four years ago at which point it was unfortunately moved outside and covered with a tarpaulin, hence the deterioration you see today.

The garage proprietor owner decided at some point to fit a later and more powerful engine from a Rover P4 but sadly this transplant was never completed due to illness. It was also a bigger challenge than anticipated because the starter motor and manifolds of the replacement unit are not an easy fit. Fortunately the original engine is included with the car although we are advised that it would benefit from an overhaul before use.

Still in basically sound condition but in need of considerable cosmetic TLC, this rare and beautifully proportioned sporting saloon now needs an enthusiastic new owner who can put it back on the road where it belongs. It comes with a V5C, the original tool kit and tray, boot-mounted spare wheel and wheel-changing kit plus sundry useful spares. Pleasingly it also retains its original Viking radiator mascot, the icing on the cake being the original and transferable Birmingham registration number which is sure to prove a talking point...

AMENDMENT - The V5C is the older blue version.