Rover P6 3500 Classic Car Review

Britain didn’t make “Muscle Cars”, right?

Wrong - ours were just that little bit more polite. But they didn’t come much more British than the V8 Rover P6, with it’s bulging air intakes and wide wheels.

“A Very British Muscle Car”

Motoring Presenter, Paul Woodford is back behind the wheel of an iconic classic car for this latest film; a story of the British Muscle Car industry.

[SOUNDTRACK]

Artist: Whitesand
Track: “Eternity”

[danieleregoli]

Not only it looks absolutely gorgeous, but the P6 is a delight to drive, is fast, safe, and supremely comfortable.
Thanks for the wonderful video. A true gem.

[bbiggs]

Owned a 73 3500s for 10 years, sold it 5 years ago and am still kicking myself now. Wonderful car, very well made and drove superb. I would have another one tomorrow if I had the space. Doesn't get the recognition it deserves. The closest we ever got to having a mass market V8 muscle car in this country, would blow the doors off almost any other car in its day. If you wanted faster then you had to spend a lot more money. Can't go wrong with a P6b I'd recommend one to anyone who wants a classic car.

[Mantenner]

You need more views, you're a great presenter, loved this video! Can't wait for more!

[Paramount]

I had a 1970 American spec P6, it was quite the car to drive! It was a rarity on the road when I got it in 1987, it was always good for a few stares and comments. I wasn't in a great financial position at the time, with a young family to look after, so it went back to England in 1997. I'm hoping it is still out there making someone smile!

[andymckane]

I once drove my 1970 3500S (NAS specification) from San Diego to Missoula, Montana. A distance of a bit over 1, 200 miles (over Interstates 5 & 15 and US Hwy 93). I had the spare wheel and tire mounted to the boot (trunk) lid for the trip. Had the tire cover on the spare tire. By the time I arrived in Missoula, the trunk lid of my Rover was out of adjustment. I suspect the reason for this was that during a fair portion of the drive, the Rover's cruising speed was in the low triple digits. That was one hell of a wonderful car to drive and was perfectly at home cruising at 110 MPH or so. These days I drive a Buick Enclave. The Land Rover products I owned many years ago have been replaced by a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. I'll always have a warm spot in my heart for Rover cars and Land Rovers.

[robertguttman]

My father used to own one of these cars in the U.S. As a professional engineer, he appreciated the way every detail of this car had been thoroughly thought out, not simply to make it look better or just for the sake of doing things differently, but to actually make the car better. That spare tire was a case in point. Just for the record, the spare tire was not normally mounted on the boot lid the way it is shown on this video, it was normally stowed inside the boot, as in other cars. However, in those days cars did not come with "run-flat tires", or reduced size "doughnut" spare tires. All cars came with full-sized spare tires, and the Rover 3500S had relatively large, wide tires, which occupied a considerable amount of space in the boot. Consequently, the engineers at Rover worked out a clever way to increase luggage space during long trips. They designed the Rover badge on the top of the boot lid to be removable, with a mounting point for the spare tire underneath it. That may not be a major feature, but it simply underscores the amount of thought that that went into the design of this car. The placement of the fuel tank forward of the rear axle, where it was protected in the event of an accident, the way the front and rear were designed as crumple zones while the passenger compartment was built inside a rigid roll cage were also sensible, well thought-out touches not seen on other cars then, and on very few even today. The only aspect of the 3500S that Rover did not think out was marketing it. In typically British fashion, they seem to have chosen to hide their light under a bushel, at least so far as the U.S. market was concerned. Here Rover had a car that put every BMW and Mercedes in the shade, and nobody knew about it. As a result, knowledgable American car buyers could pick up a second-hand Rover 3500S for a fraction of what they would have payed for a comparable BMW or Mercedes.

[derekbradley]

I drove the 3.5litre V8 version of this car as an advanced driver with the Metropolitan Police and, at the time, there is no doubt that, they were the best police car we ever had. They were powerful, fast, compact and handled superbly. I liked the car so much that I bought the 2000 version and thoroughly enjoyed it. I wish that I had a 3.5 now. In the Met they were superseded by the Rover SD1 which was a different beast altogether and, I think, one of the worst police cars we were lumbered with.

[AndrewClarkMarkRacing]

Excellent Mr Woodford-and even with the rare boot spare wheel carrier-awesome!

[lanctermann]

I remember seeing these on a British Leyland dealers lot, along with Triumphs, and Land-Rovers. Never knew they were so interesting underneath. Brilliant!

[alanwayte]

Fabulous to see you doing what you do best, creating excellent intelligent content about niche cars, I have missed this from you, keep it up..

[cdusen]

In 1972 I owned a 3500 in San Francisco. It was a beautiful tobacco leaf brown with two hood air scoops. We loved the car. But, came the day when I needed service, I literally had mechanics laugh and say, "Doctor, I couldn't charge you enough to work on that car." When I got the bill for a brake repair consisting of dropping the half axles off the Dedion rear end, I parted with the car and my bride nearly parted with me! We loved the car and each other. Thankfully she made the hard choice and we're still together.

[RoadHogz]

Just discovered your videos – very professional indeed, a cut above the rest 👍

[vulcanomad]

I bought a new one from in London in June 1970. Had a black vinyl roof added. Installed a Motorola 8 track stereo with a speaker in each door. Used it as a minicab when my girlfriend and myself weren’t travelling around the UK. Had lots of fun while I had it. Brilliant car, loved the era & the care free lifestyle. Plate no was NXC 284H.

[MrSteamywindows]

Great vid guys. I've got both a 2000 and a 3500. Love them both, but the V8 has a magnificence missing totally from modern plastic/electronic nonsense.

[OneSwitch]

Excellent video. The joy in what you're doing really comes across.

[ivarwb]

Excellent video! So good to see real passion for real cars. Keep up this good work!

[GrotrianSeiler]

Thank you for doing this Paul. This is one of my favorite cars of all time. Nothing like it.

[MichaelThomas-begq]

Hi. That was so brilliant to see someone half my age (I think) talk about the car I have owned for 15 wonderful years. I own a 1969 Rover P6 3500 Series 1 (yeah a mouthful) on a 'G' plate (aka The Red Car.... Brigade Red). I don't know how you got that one but it is gorgeous right down to the 'as new' leaflets. I have owned many classics (Hillman Imp California, Triumph 2500S, Toledo as well). I spent three years trying to find one of these, this car is such a high watermark in design, drive and ride for the time. There is nothing that can compare from the UK - it is peerless. It could outrun nearly everything except an AC or Jensen. I could go on but to see someone really get these cars, so young, and put it together in five minutes - just brilliant.

Needless to say, I'm a Dad now since I bought it, with a wife and two girls in the time They've all ridden in it, my kids love it and take the great engineering, the sound and the interior (which after nearly 50 years is evocative) to one side, they get this car, it's big (ish), loud (the Rover V8 is a legend) but it handles like nothing else since. They still hoot with joy when I take a sharpish corner. I recently bought a new car and my kids said: "It's okay but it's not as much fun as the red car."

The best thing I can say about this car, so criminally underrated - it has soul. You nailed it and whatever you do next, keep going.

P.S. I don't have a boot mounted spare - it was an option for those that travelled 'the continent' (or Europe). The point being you could drive this reliably to France or wherever because it was that reliable. That was unheard of at the time.

[dalxurxill]

Damn, I wish I still owned my one. Back in the day it was just another car. Nowadays you appreciate how great things were made then!

[EvilUnderTone]

Great video. Very good presentation. I've been driving a Rover V8 as my daily for a few years covering 10, 000 a year without fault. I also owned American V8's. I'll take the one with all round discs and handling every time.