Rover P4 100

About the Rover P4 100

The Rover P4 series is a group of mid-size luxury saloon automobiles produced by the Rover Company from 1949 until 1964. They were designed by Gordon Bashford.

Their P4 designation is factory terminology for this group of cars and was not in day-to-day use by ordinary owners who would have used the appropriate consumer designations for their models such as Rover 90 or Rover 100.

Production began in 1949 with the 6-cylinder 2.1-litre Rover 75. Four years later a 2-litre 4-cylinder Rover 60 was brought to the market to fit below the 75 and a 2.6-litre 6-cylinder Rover 90 to top the three car range. Variations followed. These cars are very much part of British culture and became known as the "Auntie" Rovers.They were driven by topmost royalty including Grace Kelly.

The P4 series was supplemented in September 1958 by a new conservatively shaped Rover 3-litre P5 but the P4 series stayed in production until 1964 and their replacement by the Rover 2000.

The Rover 90 and Rover 105 were replaced by the more powerful 100 announced on 24 October 1959. Its new but similar 2.6 litres (160 cu in) IOE straight-6 engine was a short-stroke version of the P5 3-Litre unit. The 100 could reach 100 mph (161 km/h). The interior was luxurious, with wood and leather accents on traditional English car elements[citation needed] like a curved "Shepherds Crook" handbrake lever. A bench front seat or individual front seats could be ordered. A heater was a standard fitting. Like the smaller 80 version, the 100 was fitted with servo-assisted Girling disc brakes at the front, keeping drum brakes at the rear. Overdrive, on top gear only, was a standard fitting.

Production ended in 1962, by which time 16,521 had been produced.

Testing the 100 in 1960, The Motor magazine recorded a top speed of 92.1 miles per hour (148.2 km/h), acceleration from 0–60 miles per hour (97 km/h) of 17.6 seconds and a fuel consumption of 23.9 miles per imperial gallon (11.8 L/100 km; 19.9 mpg-US). The test car cost £1538 including taxes.

A useful buyers checklist can be viewed here.

Production numbers for all P4 models : Production numbers