Special Feature

1966 Rover P6 – A Wild Rover

James Beckett
Side view shows off the lightweight four-door body’s bulging fenders and hood
Side view shows off the lightweight four-door body’s bulging fenders and hood, as well as the 10-inch-wide Minilite wheels that carry its slick Dunlop tires. Photo: Pete Austin
Photo: Pete Austin

Making its debut in 1963, the Rover P6 was introduced as the new jewel in the crown of the Rover fleet. The car was voted European Car of the Year in 1964 and it revelled in the glow of Britain’s last true motor manufacturing era. By the time the P6 reached the end of its shelf life in 1977, Britain’s motor car industry was in a spiral of decline from which it would never recover.

Author enjoyed taking the car he referred to as “a bit of an animal” around Silverstone, revelling in its responsiveness as he applied its ample power.
Photo: Pete Austin

The Rover P6 in its road-going 2-liter, 2.2-liter or mighty 3.5-liter specification was popular. Built at Solihull in the British West Midlands, the Rover was very much the executive’s car of the era. Used by company managers and by the police as a “Panda” car, the Rover was a car of style and only a Jaguar parked on your driveway allowed the man of middle England to feel he enjoyed a higher social standing.

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