Real Road Test: Rover battle! 800 vs SD1
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- Опубліковано 16 сер 2019
- In this head to head battle, I pitch the legendary Rover SD1 against its replacement, the 800. Both are in fastback form. The SD1 is a 1982 Vanden Plas with twin carburettors, while the 800 is an 827 Vitesse automatic with leather interior. Which one is best?
Oh and yes. I drove all the way to The Netherlands to test a pair of British cars. How very HubNut! This was filmed a few hours before I got my ferry home on the 2CV to Croatia roadtrip.
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The SD1 was my dream car. I owned one for a short while. I loved it, spent many weekends reattaching trim, tracing water leaks and fixing electrical problems. Once everything was fixed it was a real joy to drive. The best part was the long legged manual gearbox.
Look the Video Southwind with a Rover. is a little Video from my Rover Vdp in the Eifel , Germany. Best regards, Thomas. 👍👍
Styling .. it's the SD1. Definitely the best looking police car in the old "jam sandwich" days.
I remember watching the "police stop" special "The Liver Run" that had a SD1
Awesome machines
I haven't heard jam sandwich used for a long time 😁 I also used lemon curd
I remember when Fife Police got these, I think they were the first to have the American-style lights & sirens. Much more exciting than a flashing blue bulb and 'nee-naw nee-naw' 😁
I have to be the dissenting opinion, the 800 strikes me as smarter. My Uncle had an SD1 in a mustard yellow when I was a kid. Quite rare cars in New Zealand.
@@johnboy384 l remember that colour it was awful.
I was brought up on SD1 after SD1 all V8's that seated 5 kids, could tow a huge caravan and with a boot full of stuff. My father used to play Barbara Dickson 'caravan' as we burbled our way to wales on holiday. No Contest, in spite of it's flakey build quality the SD1 was a robust car, only let my dad down once when the Borg Warner box spewed its torque convertor and his green V8-S saved my life when I fell asleep at the wheel and hit an electricity pole which sheared and shunted the rover into a ditch across the road which was as deep as the car was long. It caught fire and I managed to put the fire out with water from the ditch. So no contest for me. Beautiful design, classic engine, comfortable (too comfortable) and a robust chassis.
Sorry for going on, but I have a lot of respect for these cars.
I know what you mean a Saab 9-3 saved me in a massive shunt. It went from being a car to something much more
I had a 1980 green V8S: fond memories of driving from Lincoln to Annecy in France on holiday
Got a few memories of old cars and m- cycles myself, sound vid.
“Let’s go right here” as hubnut turns left 😂😂😂😂 Classic Ian
As I say to my wife , "no dear, the other right"...
ian gregory - no red heart for you!😂
We wouldn't have it any other way :) Polished, over-edited videos are extremely boring.
I agree, wouldn’t have him any other way !
David from Tasmania here, Love Hubnet. I had a 1978 SD1 SE from 1985 to 1990. Absolutely loved it. I was living in Sydney then, and a friend who owned a Rover service centre advised me to avoid the fuel injected version and buy a carburetted one. I had plans. After about 6 months of ownership, I took the car to a Rover conversion company in North Sydney and had the 3.5 litre V8 swapped for a 4.4 litre engine from the Australian Leyland P76. Put the 3.5 litre cylinder heads back on, (ups the compression) a new intake manifold from the UK, bigger carbies, and a full flow 2 inch exhaust system. Sounded glorious. It was a beautiful long distance touring car. Drove many times from Sydney to Adelaide, 1430 klms, sometimes in one day. and the SD1 would average about 28mpg. My late wife absolutely loved it. My only major problem was water ingress in to the back hatch. Spent a couple of hours matching the shape of the plastic taillights to the shape of the steel body, presto, no more water leaks. About 18 months after I sold it, we passed the Rover on the road on the way back from an Adelaide F1 Grand Prix. Just about every panel had a ding in it, and it looked like it hadn't been washed since I sold it. I nearly cried. Would love another one. Keep up the good work, Cheers, David
Head says 800, heart says SD1. Got to be the SD1 though, on looks alone.
woodbine66 : me too.
The 800 is a nice looking car but the SD1 is one of my favourite all time cars.
Danny H The 800 looks a touch bland compared to the Ferrari Daytona like SD1
I agree.... I'm american, and yet I REALLY want an SD1.... Hope i'll find one for a good price some day
Even better with the silver steel bumpers with the rubber ends
That's got to be the finest example of an SD1 I've ever seen, truly fabulous machine!! Loved these back in the day :D
Back in the 1980s i owned both cars, absolutely loved them! Unfortunately i was 10 and the cars were in 1:43 and made by Corgi. ;)
I can top trump that... drove a 3500 Vitesse with fuel injection in cop form (240 BHP+) at high speed and shortly after had an 820i as my domestic car. Clearly the 3500 in Vitesse form (lowered, air pack, bigger wheels etc) was streets ahead in terms of pace and handling but the 800 series had a big dollop of Honda in it so was more refined and modern inside. I also drove an 800 turbo later (1.8 engine I believe) on a Rover test day (for the cops) and blew up the engine on a fast run down the lanes... oh dear. No, we didn't buy them.
I’ve always wanted a SD1 VDP after watching Rita Sue and Bob too 😂
i ve still got 2 2600 sd1 s and one was same colour interior as bobs which if you look the front seats are brown and the rest was gold thanks that you love them
I thought I were great :)
That 800 is absolutely gorgeous. Would love to own one one day.
What a nostalgia!
Thanks for sharing.
I had the SD1 (2600) in white. Beautiful car but he was very sensitive to rust. After that the 800 Fastback in gray, the 820Si black and 820Si in red. The most beautiful and best cars I have ever had.
Little update on the cars now. I still have both! The 800 interior has had a lot of tlc. The wood was relaquered, the leather on the wheel and front seats recoloured and the headlining redone. There was a little rust on the sun roof that was properly repaired and the roof resprayed. Also, the wheels were restored. The SD1 has had a lot more tlc. Dashboard was replaced by a like new one, so the shine is gone and all the wood was replaced and relaquered. Looks a million bucks now. Fog lights installed, horn repaired, wheels restored and an Edelbrock carburetor fitted. Last but not least, there were some rust spots in the floor and boot area. Everything is welded and good now.
Both cars are being pampered as good o can do!
Brilliant to hear 🙂
And the SD1 even got a respray! Congrats on the new 827! Underrated cars. Probably very pleasant as daily drivers.
"Styled to look like a Ferrari Daytona and it does", Jeremy Clarkson
The Princess was better.... lol
Love the early SD1s. If I could find a really good one it would be VERY tempting.
Great video, brought back great memories for me having done my apprenticeship with British Leyland from 1978 and worked with Rover and Land Rover until 1989, continued with Rover V8's in TVR's for 10 years after that.
Our neighbours when I was growing up had a blue SD1. I must have only been about 6 years old, but I remember the plush seats, smooth ride and that wonderful engine noise, even being so young!
My word wasn't the SD1 a beautiful designed car
The SD1 was a truly beautiful looking car. That example looks like it was just wheeled out of the showroom.
Wow, thanks for the compliment sir. When i bought it, it did not look as good. It needed some freshening up.
The SD1 dashboard looks like a forerunner of the new Mercedes A Class....
I remember the first time I saw that car. in my area on that date, there were only Renault 4 and Citroen 2cv. Well, one autumn afternoon in '83 I saw that car for the first time. To this day I have not seen a car as beautiful as that. Love at first sight
I miss my 800. Although I think I miss looking at my neighbour's SD1 even more
One of the best reviews you have done Ian. Exactly how it should have been done, I watched every second of this one. Spot on, even had indicator flashing differences at the end. Thank You!
This is one of those videos that I watch over and over and over again. I love hearing you talk about cars I love. Thanks for all your effort
WOW what an amazing video !!!!,,,,,,, will watch it later ,,,,,,,,, the cars are so interesting !!!!!!
When the SD1 was launched in 1975 the style was out of this world !!!!!!!
It still is
I just love the plain instrument panel on the SD1, it's so plain it's beautiful!
And a pod where the cover fits properly is a rare and exciting find.
It's crap it's so obvious it's meant to be switched round
What an amazing video! Always wanted to see these two together 😍 thank you 😎👌🏼
Hearing “Buy the two cars” is not nice for my wife’s ears... But it is a good piece of advice: do not choose, take both. Love it! ❤️
Both cars are soooo fantastic and look so destinguished! GREAT video! Thanks. Still waiting for a Leyland Princess 2200HLS video ;-)
Yes, love my Princesses. Ever since my Mum had a 2200HLS in the 70s. Need a Hubnut test.
@@woodbine66 Its such a smooth ride, the wedge design by Harris Mann also looks timeless and modern, I rate this car as british Lancia.
Great review and a very close run thing, but it would be the SD1 for me. That wonderful sound-track. Lovely. Thanks Ian.
Always lovely to see well looked after old cars still being driven & enjoyed 👌
Your love for wipers is amazing it’s now making me look at wipers ,thank you for the great reviews 👍
That sd1 sounds lovely. Always had a soft spot for these. Remember the police using them when I was a kid
I once met a bloke who had worked at Rover with David Bache. I was pronouncing his name as if it had to rhyme with the French word for: "cow". The bloke told me that it was actually pronounced: "Baish".
Unfortunately, I never owned an SD1. But I did own a Rover 800 Vitesse in exactly the same colour as the one in your video. It was called: "Storm Grey".
At the time, I was working in Belgium, and had a Belgian girlfriend. Naturally I impressed upon my girlfriend the importance of driving ONLY British cars. One day she came upon me with the bonnet raised. She cast her eye over the engine.
"What's that?" she asked, pointing at the air-cleaner.
"And that?", she asked, pointing elsewhere.
In fact she was pointing at the labels inside the engine compartment - all of which were in Japanese. She was coming to the conclusion that in spite of my rhetoric, I appeared to have bought a Japanese car.
To my shame, there was more Japanese graffiti on my "British car", than you would expect to find in the average Shinto shithouse. Eventually, of course, we were rescued from the Japanese ... ... ... by the Germans!.
Here in Australia the Rover 800 wheels had the Honda logo on the wheels.
I came very close to buying a 2nd hand SD1 in the mid 80s. I stuck with my Dolomite Sprint.
@@roadie3124
We’re the SD1 and 800 sold in Australia made at Longbridge?
I’d love an 800 but very rarely see them in Adelaide, have perhaps seen 1 or 2 in the last decade, same for sd1’s.
@@Ben_3113 The SD1 was made in the UK. Probably in Solihull. It was a Rover-designed, Rover-made car. The 800 was, as far as I know, a Honda Accord with a Rover badge that could have been made anywhere in the Honda empire. This was before the Honda Accord became a good car. It was so sloppy that the wheels still had Honda badges on them.
@@roadie3124
Thanks for the reply, have you ever seen a Rover Tomcat/couple (200 based design) in Australia ?
@@Ben_3113 I don't even know what it is. So ... No.
Back in 1977 when I had a Toolmaking apprenticeship at a local factory all the top bosses, directors etc had SD1's. Can still see them now parked up in a line. I used to look out the Toolroom window and dream of owning one, longing to dump my own rotting 850 Mini for one of theirs. It never happened...lol
Ditto, I worked at Lucas Electrical in Great King Street, where the directors parked their SD1s in the central road between the 2 halves of the factory. They looked cool. Us plebs parked our cortinas etc at the side of the factory.
Sd1 for styling, 800 for everything else! I had 3 800s, two 820i and one vitesse. Absolutely loved them. Once again a good review for people who like cars and are bored by the stupid antics of top gear, thank you.
I remember as a kid, we visited the Cowley plant and watched the 800’s being built! Was awesome seeing the big rolls of steel at one end and then seeing the finished cars being driven off the production line.
The 800 fastback all day long. I’ve owned 2, the 820 and 827 lovely cars wish I still had the 827. Great vids by the way, really enjoyed your Croatia road trip. Keep up the great work 👍
You've done a lot of astonishing videos during your road trip, but this one may be the best yet
Brilliant comparison video. I watched it in two separate viewings to be able to understand the full differences and take in the history information of the SD1 and 800. Very enjoyable.☺
Interesting on the gearing. I drive a 3800 V6 Buick Regal (the block design is 90 degrees and is based on the V8 engine). It has a 4 speed auto with torque converter lock up in top resulting in around 37mph/1000. It pulls it easily and has done 260k miles and is showing little if any signs of being tired.
984francis I suspect they could have fitted a taller rear end. It would hurt acceleration some but help cruising RPMs.
Had an SD1 2300S back in the day, with a straight six engine and a five speed manual box it was great fun to drive. Despite it's faults I absolutely loved that car and really enjoyed this video.
A "plush wafting barge" this has to be the most apt description ever! Love it.
Oh my goodness, who could choose.
I have always, always loved the Rover 3.5V8 and the SD1 styling is wonderful...but I do also love Honda engines and Honda mechanicals in general.
What a great head-to-head Ian, thank you so much.
I always liked the Sd1. I remember when I was at primary school a police Sd1 was shown to us and we were allowed to get in the car. The siren was blaring and everything. The 800 is very nice too and would like the chance to drive one of them one day.
I think the pre-facelift 800 is such a good looking car. It looks modern even today. Beautiful car.
WOW!
This is the best head to head comparison EVA
brilliant 👍 thanks
OMG that SD1 is one of the most beautiful things in the world. It looks amazing in that colour. What a luckily man the owner is. He clearly adores it, and rightly so.
It is and was styled from the Ferrari Daytona which is one of the nicest cars ever.
I owned an SD1 Vitesse, which was awesome. 5 speed manual gearbox and 190bhp. 150mph and animal acceleration. Loved it!
150 mph!? I knew they were fast but not that fast!! Top end was more like 135mph. Unless that Vitesse was modified or a rare twin plenum there is no way you'd even get 140mph!
SD1 was a absolutely awesome design such a fantastic looking car, the 800 is somewhat more ordinary in comparison.
Colour is a big thing though I had a 827 vitesse in night fire red lovely looking motor wish I still had it
probably the best thing on the internet
Hi Ian,what a review on these two Rovers,both nice cars,I remember the SD1,back in the day,the Vitesse is a nice car, awesome video.
I would have to buy both because I like both of them. Another good video mate. 👍👍
The Honda C27A is so smooth and in general it seems an excellent engine, I am impressed.
Interesting video. Thanks Hubnut! It’s refreshing to have intelligent reviews of cars that are typically ridiculed for cheap laughs by certain motoring journalists out there. In my college days I worked for a Austin Rover garage in the holidays. One of my jobs was a bit of car collecting and dropping off, picking up customers etc. I drove most things BL or AR at the time, including a few SD1s. I think I drove the 2300 and I definitely drove both the 2600 straight six and the 3500 V8. The V8 was certainly rarer and more special, but both were lovely as I remember, apart from the very light and no feel power steering, as you mention. Some were auto, some manual I drove. The autos were my first taste of such luxury and seemed amazing at the time. In the V8 manual you could put it in 5th (top) at 40mph and it just (so) smoothly pulled away. Having a 5th gear was fairly novel too in those days. It was the best car I’d ever driven by a long way. Still have a soft spot for them now. I mean, just look at it! A Vitesse with the fuel injected 190 bhp (if I remember correctly) V8 would be a very pleasant thing to own I’m sure. Next stop Autotrader!
That SD1 is beautiful!
Wow, this takes me back. I had customers with SD1s in the 1980s and drove a few of them - beautiful design inside and out but so badly made. The interiors fell to bits very quickly - in one I went over a speed hump at a slowish pace (a Ford Granada would have not been upset) and the instrument pod actually detached itself from the dashboard - the plastic fastenings were so brittle they had snapped. Performance was good, the ride was OK, the steering was lifeless and over-sensitive and horrible.
In the 1990s British Gas loaned me their natural gas powered prototype 800 (I was on all sorts of alternative energy committees) for assessment and it didn't look as good as the SD1, inside or out. It drove really well, steered beautifully, had a good ride and adequate performance. It was still not a 'quality' car in terms of finish - interior plastics were cheap-looking and it had a very plasticky smell too. Switching from petrol over to gas resulted in a slight drop in performance, but not significant. The air-con was hopeless - either too hot or way too cold and the screen kept misting up regardless of the settings. The 800 was the better car by a large margin but the SD1 for all it faults was a more pleasant vehicle to be in - light and airy and more comfortable too.
The car you did not recognize was an Oldsmobile Alero. Built on GM’s N platform shared with the Pontiac Grand Am and Buick Skylark. An OK cheap point A to B used car but as underwhelming and unexceptional as it gets. I would imagine it was sold as a new car over there. I can’t imagine someone going to the trouble to actually import one. I’m surprised by how many Dodge/RAM pick ups I have seen in the background. Ford and Chevrolet are seen far more often in the US.
The SD1 just looks classier and more exotic somehow. The 800 is clearly a more refined version of the same styling.....but somehow it looses some of the slightly sinister excitement of the older car. Fortunately or unfortunately, looks count for quite a lot. I’d have the SD1.
Great content. Like you, I’ve always wanted to see a comparison of the two. Thank you.
Sold as Chevrolet Alero in Europe.
Gm trucks are sold as Isuzu here in europe. Some fod trucks are around but vans are much more popular as a work vehicle here. The pickups large that are sold are mostly nissan and toyota really. There are also some vw and other marginal ones but most of those are built on the same base as vans but with a rear chassi and coach built beds boxes or car transports.
Could have also been here by the way of being owned by a USAF on placement in the UK. That’s how we get most of our ‘malaise/boring” yank motors.
@@nikcanning This was filmed in The Netherlands where the Alero (badged Chevrolet) was sold officially through the Dutch Opel importer.
Where I am in Upstate New York, Dodge pickups are popular. You have to remember that FIAT owns Dodge/Chrysler.
And I thought that looked like an Oldsmobile Alero! Although the facade looked different.
Great head to head. Having owned two V8s - one an auto with carb, the other a manual Vitesse Twin Plenum - and driven the Sterling, it's the SD1 for me every time! A fuel-injection manual gets around the power and gearing issues and makes the SD1 just feel more special...
Takes me back to 80’s childhood when I was taken for a trip in a SD Vitesse, changed my view on cars :) Still loved my dad’s 2cv though!
I love the 800 design. Something about the proportions, the wheelbase and ride height is perfection to my eyes. Dad had a 95 saloon. SD1 is good too.
Had a V8 SD1 many moons ago, have very good memories of it and as so...the SD1 wins for me personally. Very much enjoyed this head to head Ian 👍
The lines, the styling. My first car and still first love, the SD1 had the style and practicality. Every time I drove I felt king of the road. Wish I could find someone to restore her, as she's been in storage since 2000.
Back in the day I had a 1983 3.5 SD1. I really loved that car. It was red and looks very much like the one in your review but the steering wheel was on the correct side. Great content please keep it coming.
I'd like to see you assess the Rover 75 V6, which I always enjoyed very much. A very elegant and refined car, IMHO, and severely underrated.
I need to make that happen at some point!
@@HubNut Better do it soon, they are disappearing faster than Allegros and Marinas did.
The SD 1 is a beautiful car, the British Citroen CX.
The British Citreon Cx? No, the British Camaro!
Hi Ian, good vid. I worked at Rover when the SD1 was being made and a 3.5 was always the choice to use when driving between locations (then a Dolly Sprint, TR7 and if really stuck there was one of the last MGB GT's known as "The Ashtray" but better than a Marina or Allegro). Many years later I was working in the IT industry where they gave me a car allowance and more importantly a petrol card. This allowed me to buy a used but serviceable Rover 800 Sterling, fully loaded with electic everything included front and rear leather seats, the kids loved those. Fantastic car and the Honda 2.7 was very sweet and fast. The car fell to bits around me but everyone loved it while it was here.
You pose the dilemma of which to choose. No contest really, either of the V8 P6's I owned would be my choice, up with the mini and E type as the best designed British car in my opinion.
now that sound from the sd1 takes me back to me youth when me dad had one loved the car the styling is just stunning ..
Rita and sue and Bob 2 had plenty of room in the back :)
The SD1 is definitely the more iconic car but you seemed to speak more positively about the 800.
Speechless! Keep it up HubNut!!
800 All day!
The SD1 was not seen in my part of the world. (Idaho, USA). I met a graphic designer with one , and it was like a spaceship. And still seemed absolutely British (or at least my American idea of what that meant) And the noise was amazing. They made that 3.5 sound a lot better than it did in my 1962 Buick. Well done, Rover. It's a bucket list car for me.
Oh thank you, thank you ...THANK YOU. SD1s are lovely, also Rover should have used the footage of Tony Pond "doing" the Isle of Man challenge and they could well have sold many more 800's.
SD1 every time just because I can still remember as a kid going WOW when I first clapped my eyes on one when they came out.
The 800 always looked good as a fastback though, both cars far outshone the anonymous boxes that shared the road with you that day.
I had that moment. Remember in the mid 70s most cars either looked square like a Hillman Hunter or Cortina Mk2 or old and blobby like a HIllman Minx or Morris Minor. Short of the Citreon DS very little came close.
Both cars are stunning and I’m finding it difficult to choose my favourite......so I’ll have both please!! (I do prefer the hidden rear wiper of the 800 though!......but the V8 of the SD1......aaarrgggghhh😂)
I really enjoyed the back to back comparison format!
👍👍👍
Brilliant video Ian .
I’ve had both sd1 and 800 2 of each .
I had a v8 efi sd1 in 1994 on the a plate that I hit a Ford Fiesta up the rear at an angle of 45 degrees and caused significant damage to it and the only damage to my rover was a broken headlamp washer . The second sd1 was in 97 a 2.6 manual in the same red as the v8 here . In 98 I bought an early 820 saloon with a slightly hesitant auto gearbox I bought this as my cousin had an 825 sterling that put a smile on my face every time I got to drive it my 820 however didn’t. In 2004 a friend of mine was selling his rover sterling complete with dashboard lift for very little money at the time I had a ford escort ghia x that my brother really wanted to get his hands on so I let him have it and become yet again a rover 800 driver .
A year later I quit my job and set up as a motor trader mostly selling the Range Rover classic and jags of the same age (early 90s ) and I can honestly say the jags of that ear-a felt the same to drive as a rover 800 .
13:10
Yes that gear box gives about 22mph/1000
the manual about 26
so(auto) a bit revvy on the motorway?
Now you need to find a nice 75 to compare
Cheers Chris
Great road test video, thanks Mr HubNut! Which one to choose.........? I think the SD1 has more classic lines and SO much velour and it's always exciting to know whether your car will actually start and get where it's going..! On the other hand, I agree with the sentiment "just buy both"!
Classic HubNut - "- - - - better quality plastic !" Well done Ian, we love you.
Always had a softspot for the SD 1
Cassette Player In the SD1 is the same that can be found in Early K11 Nissan Micras and the 800 Centre Air vents are the Same that can be found in an LDV Convoy! I need to get out more 🤣
LDV Convoy the motor I love more than any of the classic /American cars I've ever owned and there are many. I'd loose my house before my Convoy lol.
Brings back memories of my old 827si. Can relate to that thump when you put it into drive, mine done that. Plus hearing the trim rattles reminds me of my first month of 827si ownership where i tracked down each and everyone of those rattles. And yes, i did tend to boot it around a fair bit (younger days), so can confirm she was no slouch. Can remember getting from Combe Martin in North Devon to the Reigate turn off on the M25 in two and a half hours on one occasion. Same trip today takes an hour or two longer - probably not a bad thing ;-)
I love it, Hub Nut, you are a breath of fresh air compared to the antic and sad wasteful comedic tripe known as Top Gear.
Your honesty and downright love of cars shines though, thanks so much.
Cheers
Hope u enjoyed the cars from Marc!! And enjoyed the Dutchroads WITHOUT puttholes!!!
SD1 every time but make it a Twin plenum Vitesse with Manual
SD1 ownership a rare thing here in the west of Ireland. Automotive equivalent of 'The Snowman'.
Great video Ian, very interesting to see how well the SD1 was engineered considering the shoestring budget.
On a side note, bit ironic that you test drove that car in Holland considering Spen King died of complications related to a cycling accident.
Dream review cheers Ian
The sd1 was a fantastic styled car but thirsty and built to a price . Spen king sadly RIP was a great stylist TR7 Range Rover and others . The 800 is a lovely driving car but in my mind lacks character but still nicely styled
I think you'll find Harris Mann was the chap responsible for the TR7 & David Bache for the SD1, still though, all three were talented in their own right
SD1 was an amazing looking car and still looks great even to this day, such a shame Rover could not get it together to build it right.
@@extramild1 Rover cars such as the P4, P5 and P6 always had high build quality - at design / development and assembly level. It was only after the BL takeover that Leyland quality levels were imposed on Rover and these issues arose.
I wondered - about the original RR door 'handles' - I loved that styling - and the internal ones were a bit odd too !
I loved my SD1 - cost me a fortune in 1986/87 as it was only two years old when I got it. Comin home from Blackpool to South Manchester in 25 mins once.
D179 MOK.....rest in peace.
I see you only have a 2.3 and missed the wonderful experience of the V8 that I had with my SD1. I have to say it was the best car I owned in the 80s.
@@crazyjay7676 nothing like the Merlin powered SD1...hehehe
@@crazyjay7676 I did, it was the manual though so it was reasonably quick enough for me at the time. God, I miss that car.
Crazy Jay i heard the 2600 was nearly as powerful & as quick as the V8 to the point it was barely noticeable in power.
Looking back on it my 3 1/2 L V8 Rover probably wasn't very fast. But when you're 19 years old you really do not need to much speed. I've never had a V8 powered car since then and most of the cars since that Rover have been faster but never had such a beautiful soundtrack.
Aah, nothing quite like an SD1, gorgeous.
I owned one for several years, late model V8 VdP auto, retrofitted with an Edelbrock inlet manifold and Holley 4bbl carburettor.
This in Africa, original owner was the MD of Leyland Zimbabwe.
Loved it, although it did tend to leak steering and transmission fluid..a lot!
Delighted to hear ItchyBoots make nention of HubNut on her most recent video!
I'll never forget my old man's sd1 3500v8 SE in blue. Quite a lively old barge that only did about 15mpg! If you sat long enough in traffic you could actually see the fuel gauge move... Nice comfy cars.
Fantastic british bruisers! My Mum bought an almost new v reg Rover V8-S in OcT 82. A special edition which was built especially for the US market, hence the gold coloured alloys, air con, it even had the rare option of Denovo run flat tyres. It had a manual box and went like shit off a shovel! One of the best looking cars ever made
Would you believe, I'm going to pick the SD1.
Was it the rear wiper?
Sd1 for me! Biased though because one owns me 😅
Holy shit!! What a blast from the past this is
What a lovely way to spend half an hour or so. Blimey I love both those cars. I had an A reg vdp in silver and loved that car tons. Only got rid as it was starting to show rust and being silver. I've also had a 2.5 Sterling and the 2.7 vitesse. Oh those 3 cars were manual gearboxes. My vdp was quite quick and fully laden with four friends in it I hit 140mph according to the speedo lol. However the 800 series sterling was sublime compared to the SD1 but of the 3 it was the 2.7 vitesse fastback. What a car. Great sound handled more than well enough. I'd love another but I doubt I'd find a good enough one.
Great video loved every bit of it. Great review.
I had 3 SD1s a standard a VDP and a Vitesse my all time favorite car, had an 820 also, I thought it was a pale shadow of the SD1
Wow David Swindells the Van Den Plas 's were beautiful cars just lacking A/C !!!!
Bit heavy on fuel but what a dream car to have owned !!!!!!
Vitesse all the way
The Dutch do love their classic cars.
Great video as always I have owned a rover 400 and that was a good car I love the rovers good cars keep up with the good work
SD1 is the only car from my youth I can remember thinking I would love to own one of those when I grow up. Everything in the 'square 80s' like the 800 leaves me cold. That red SD1 looks scrumptious even today. Love the gauges.