Classic cars on the road

[Chris_R]

There's a lot more gap between the designs of the Rover P6 and the Interceptor. The Rover was launched as the 2000 in 1963 (exactly 3 years before the Interceptor) but most of it was based on the turbine car of 1961 which was probably designed at least a year or maybe even 2 years earlier so really the P6 was a product of very late 1950s British design thinking. Nice cars yes, but a very conservative design and why Kevin Beattie went to Italy for the Interceptor design. By 1970/71 the Rover P6 really should have been replaced by an updated model as by then it was a decade old design.
The Interceptor was designed at the beginning of 1966, at least 5 years and maybe 6 years after the Rover. A lot changes in 6 years.

[cannonball]

Wow ! I am surprised at the hammering that the Rover P6 is getting. I've owned many of those in the past as daily drivers and consider the drive to be modern, and preferable to most real moderns.
That was a clean sheet design led by engineers and intended originally to run with a jet engine. No carry over parts from previous models. The tech of the car is way ahead of the interceptor... base unit, de dion rear axle, inboard rear discs, crumple zones, shin bins etc, The interceptor is old tech under the skin, and therefore remarkable that it feels so modern, but give the Rover it's due, it was the last flourish of an independent company effectively run by two brothers and said much for the innovation that the Wilkes brothers were so keen to promote.
At least Jensen were not taken over by a bunch of losers who destroyed the reputation of the Rover name.

Chris Stearn

Well put blaster me old son, whilst i could never defend a Rover 2000 or 2,200 as they are so slow you could never really get up to speed to enjoy how well the cars actually drive, having owned and driven many Rover 3500,s autos and the mega 4 speed S version i can vouch that they drive as well as a Jensen, granted you do not feel as cossseted as in the Jensen but certainly a good side by side from that era car,,

[Barrie]

I am suggesting that is because a MK1 Interceptor feels less modern and a CV8 feels old.
Steve

Now why should a CV-8 feel old compared to an Interceptor?
I appreciate that the Interceptor is a modern 'greenhouse' with all that glass and the CV-8 is a bit of a period piece but isn't the Interceptor just a 400lb heavier version of the car on CV-8 mechanicals and chassis?

[Grant]

I am suggesting that is because a MK1 Interceptor feels less modern and a CV8 feels old.
Steve

Now why should a CV-8 feel old compared to an Interceptor?
I appreciate that the Interceptor is a modern 'greenhouse' with all that glass and the CV-8 is a bit of a period piece but isn't the Interceptor just a 400lb heavier version of the car on CV-8 mechanicals and chassis?

Well following the 1st interceptors (MK1) the suspension and steering was different Barrie wasn't it , the early Mk1's were the same as the CV8 but they done away with the King-Pin set up and also then added the power- steering on the Mk1 and a half and onwards, that made so much difference

[Barrie]

Ah, power steering.
My CV-8 has the front suspension and power steering of an Interceptor grafted on so may feel a bit more ‘modern’

[Arcnewal]

By 1970/71 the Rover P6 really should have been replaced by an updated model as by then it was a decade old design.

That’s exactly the same as the Interceptor though, by 76 it was a decade old in design and even older in mechanical design.

[Blast]

By 1970/71 the Rover P6 really should have been replaced by an updated model as by then it was a decade old design.

That’s exactly the same as the Interceptor though, by 76 it was a decade old in design and even older in mechanical design.

Indeed, the underpinnings of the Interceptor hark back to the 1950s .... engine, chassis, axles and suspension were all rooted in the past. Clever that it was made to feel so modern.
The P6 was a technical tour de force for the period, but was designed to attract a more modest sector of the market. The first ever European Car of the Year. It was engineer led, just as the Range Rover was. The P6 was followed by SD1 which was a technical step backward.... a very conventional car clad in a designer body.... in 3.5 V8 form it could have been called the poor man's Interceptor if they had made a two door... but it wasn't, because they didn't.

Chris Stearn

[Steve Payne]

The SD1 was another car that drove a lot better than it should have done considering it underpinnings.

With that engine up front it was always going to be a good start but somehow they seemed a lot sportier than it should have been and the one I had many years ago seemed to have been built on a good day as the only problem I had with it was corrosion.

Steve

[Arcnewal]

Clever that it was made to feel so modern.

Towards the end of production it didn’t look very modern. The brown (?) MkII Interceptor that featured in The Protectors looked dated when the series was being made, and that was between 72-75.

[sespie]

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Hideous, but in immaculate condition...

[felixkk]

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[sespie]

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[Barrie]

Wow!
I used to own one of those!
(Scalextric)

[ChrisL]

This gem was in front of me at the lights the other day, a Chrysler Valiant circa 1970. There are few still on the roads here.

Being driven by a young bloke (with man bun!); great to see a car like that in daily use.

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[sespie]

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Here's another Aussie battler...