388 Rover 2000 (P6 Mark I) Saloon (1964) ENP 402 B by Robert Knight Via Flickr: Rover 2000 P6 (1966-72) Engine 1978cc S4 OC Production 327,808 (all types) Registration Number ENP 402 B (Worcestershire) ROVER ALBUM www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623690660271... Designed by the Spen King, Gordon Bashford, David Bache P6 was announced on 9 October 1963, just prior to the Earls Court Motor show. The vehicle was marketed first as the Rover 2000 and was of a completely clean sheet design intended to appeal to a larger number of buyers than earlier models such as the P4 it replaced. The P5 was sold alongside the P6 until 1973. 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 Citroën 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, with consequent stiction under drive or braking torque, 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. along with being named the first European Car of The Year in 1964. Sculptor Flaminio Bertoni's Citroën 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. It lacked the Citroën shark nose, which it was planned to introduce later as a drooping bonnet with headlamps in pods and projecting sidelights The first P6 used a 2.0 L (1,978 cc or 120.7 cu in) engine designed specifically for the P6. Although it was announced towards the end of 1963, the car had been in pilot production since the beginning of the year, therefore deliveries were able to begin immediately and engine output was in the region of 104bhp. At the time the engine was unusual in having an overhead camshaft layout. The cylinder head had a perfectly flat surface, and the combustion chambers were cast into the piston crowns (sometimes known as a Heron head). Rover later developed a derivative of the engine by fitting twin SU carburettors and a re-designed top end and marketed the revised specification vehicles as the 2000 TC. The 2000 TC was launched in March 1966 for export markets in North America and continental Europe. Limited availability of the redesigned induction manifold needed for the twin-carburettor engine was given as one reason for restricting the 2000 TC to overseas sales. Fortunately for performance-oriented UK buyers, supplies of the redesigned inlet manifold must have improved and the company relented in time for the London Motor Show in October 1966 when the 2000 TC became available for the UK market. The 2000 TC prototypes had run in the Rally of Great Britain as part of their test programme. It featured a bigger starter motor and tachometer as standard and was identifiable by TC initials on the bodywork. The power output of the 2000 TC engine was around 124 bhp (92 kW). The standard specification engines continued in production in vehicles designated as 2000 SC models. These featured the original single SU. The P6 was refreshed as the P6 Mk.II from mid 1970 All variants carried the battery in the boot and had new exterior fixtures such as a plastic front air intake (to replace the alloy version), new bonnet pressings (with V8 blips even for the 4-cylinder-engined cars) and new rear lights. Diolch am 99,303,766 o olygiadau gwych, mae pob un ohonynt yn cael eu gwerthfawrogi'n fawr. Thanks for 99,303,766 amazing views, every one is greatly appreciated. Shot 09.10.2022, at Bicester Heritage, Autumn Scramble, Bicester Aerodrome, Bicester, Oxon 166-388
