Rover P4

Nowadays affectionately known as the 'Aunty' Rover, the dignified P4 series of cars was launched in 1949 to carry Britain's Rover company into the postwar era. Rover's well-deserved reputation for building high quality cars and the marque's upmarket image ensured that the P4 series appealed to the company's traditional clientele - doctors, solicitors, bank managers and others of similar social rank._x000B_Despite the rather staid image of the P4 series, over the years the cars had many interesting features like the original 'Cyclops' central headlight, disc brakes, a freewheel device and overdrive. The larger-engined versions were also rather nifty and could whoosh their occupants along at a very unauntie-like pace!_x000B_Production continued through several model variations - but always with four or six-cylinder engines - until 1964. In the meantime, Rover experimented with gas turbine power units in P4 bodies and created the famous JET 1. The Marauder sports car was also P4-based. _x000B_An amazing number of the sturdy P4s have survived to the present day and most are now enjoyed and cherished by enthusiasts.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements 4 Introduction 6 Chapter I Starley, Wilks & The P4 9 Sewing machines, cycles and cars 9 War, boom years, the Depression 12 Spencer Wilks arrives 13 Quality, not quantity 17 One of Britain's fine cars 18 Shadow factories and the war effort 19 Enter Solihull 19 The M1 project 20 New era: postwar design and the P3 stopgap 21 The Studebaker affair 23 The P4 emerges 25 Arrival of the Viking 27 Chapter II DEVELOPMENT & CHRONOLOGY 35 6-cylinder 75, 90, 95 & 100; 105 & 110 35 Popularizing the P4, 60 & 80 4-cylinder cars 35 Auntie explained 36 Early problems 38 Creature comforts 38 Stopping power 41 First changes to the P4 43 The 2.6-litre Cyclops Rover 44 Exit Cyclops: enter a new image 46 The model range widens 49 The 1954 model range - enter the 60 52 The 90 makes its debut 53 David Bache and the 1955 facelift 55 Expanding the range again 59 Old friends depart - new arrivals 64 Chapter III GAS-TURBINES & THE JET ERA 71 Gas-turbine - the potential power 74 JET 1 makes its debut 78 The Jabbeke Trials 84 The next phase: the T2 & T2A 87 T3 - a new direction 90 T3 - impressive by all standards 94 T4 - almost there 97 Rover BRM - the ultimate gas-turbine 100 Chapter IV MARAUDERS, COUP - S & SPECIALS 104 Enter the Rover Special 105 From the Rover Special to the Marauder 106 The Marauder takes shape 108 The Marauder - 'for fast touring' 110 Fixed and drophead coupAes 112 A drophead for GBP20 130 The Farina episode and the Italian connection 132 The Irish connection 135 Royalty and the P4 135 What might have been 136 COLOUR GALLERY 113 Chapter V LIVING WITH A P4 138 Owning & buying a P4 140 What to pay for a P4 149 The down-side: foibles & weaknesses 152 Publicity & the P4 161 Thirty years on 163 Profile of a P4 enthusiast 164 Appendix I Original specifications & general data 166 Appendix II At-a-glance chronology 172 Appendix III Production figures 173 Appendix IV P4 colour schemes 177 Appendix V Rover specialists 180 Appendix VI Clubs 183 Appendix VII Bibliography 184 Index 186 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------