1972 Rover - Austin P6 2000TC from UK and Ireland - Comments

A 31-year old car...

So far.

A temperamental oil pressure gauge.

This is when the British car industry was at its best making very advanced cars for the time.

The 2000TC was only the one up from the lowest spec 2000 SC (Single Carb).

Yet, this car has...

All round disk brakes (servo assisted)

An instrumentation set that would shame a £40,000 BMW (Oil pressure, Electric Current, Temp, Oil Temp, Rev counter, Speedo, Trip, oil light, ignition light, choke light)

Not to mention a totally adjustable seating position and the steering wheel adjusts for rake.

Two different internal lighting set ups.

Intermittent wipers, electric screen washer jets.

Passenger heating vents and front and face vents, just behind the steering wheel.

In fact most of the mod-cons you'd find in a car today.

But it's when you drive it, you realise a lot of effort went into the suspension and handling. I failed to avoid a pothole and gritting my teeth expecting a almighty thunk, it rode over the pothole without so much as a dip or wobble. It's a very solid car with and incredibly stiff chassis and yet very supple and pliant suspension. I was aiming the thing at potholes just to feel how the 31-year old car could just traverse it without so much as a sound or shake.

The 2 litre twin carb engine can easily keep up with traffic, it's a bit gruff, but it a pleasant gruffness and happily cruises in 4th at 30mph at a meagre 1500 rpm.

A lot of car manufacturers today could learn a lot from a Rover P6.

To sum up the experience of driving the car for the first time, it was the most fun I'd had since I immediately passed my test.

I enjoyed reading this review and agree with most of the observations, but I don't think the Austin reference is really quite correct. I've never seen or heard of these cars being referred to as Austins other than in this article.

Rover company wasn't part of British Leyland when they designed and built the P6's and the original Land Rovers. After they became part of the fold of the nationally owned company it's name at some point eventually changed from British Leyland to Austin Rover and then to Rover Group, which is now called MG Rover I think.

Emhmm. I remember my dad's P6 2000 as a stylish comfortable car with a bit of class. But I also remember that it slowly, but surely disintegrated over a period as short of 10 years. It was a 1972 car, and was completely dead by 82.

Now I am 40 something, and I am strongly considering a P6 3500 as a hobby car (that's if I can't find a 72/76 Ford Granada 3.0L - and at this stage there seems to be a lot more old Rovers around than old Fords.)

Q. How come my old-mans car fell apart in 10 years, yet there are still 35 year old models hanging around out there?

A good car 30 odd years ago, but looking very dated now especially the Series 1 models.

I have owned many P6s over the years of all variants, but would not go back. I think they have been relegated to the flat cap brigade status as most people I see driving them are well over 50

I now own a mint SD1 VDP EFi; ageless looks, speed, economy and hatchback practicality. Yes I know they can rust badly and have a few electrical niggles, but they're easy sorted if kept on top of.

In my opinion the SD1 is the last of the real Rovers ie Mr Baches babies, and has quite a few years before it ever reaches the flat cap status, if ever it does that is?

I don't think the SD1 will ever be a flat-cap car. The drop dead gorgeous styling and that thumping V8 means it will always have a much broader appeal, even being used as a serious contender on track days. I must have owned about 8 SD1s over the years.

By the way, I'm 35, don't wear a flat cap and have just bought a '72 P6 3500s to play with. I just like them. Tax exempt, thumping great V8 engine, big squashy seats, what's not to like?

Had a mint 2.2 TC when I was a student in the late '90's and absolutely loved it. Had been bought and restored by my father as a project. Still have very fond memories of the car, and I am a very long way from buying my first flat cap.