Rover 8
| Rover 8 | |
|---|---|
1904 open 2-seater at Coventry Motor Museum
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|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Rover |
| Production | 1904-1912 |
| Designer | Edmund W. Lewis |
| Body and chassis | |
| Layout | FR |
| Related | Rover 6 |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine |
Base (1904-1912): 1327 cc single cylinder, 8 bhp (6 kW) at 900 rpm Optional (1911-1912): 1052 cc single cylinder Knight sleeve valve engine, 9 bhp (7 kW) |
| Transmission | 3-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 1,981 mm (78 in) base, 2,134 mm (84 in) optional |
| Length | 2,591 mm (102 in) base, 3,048 mm (120 in) optional |
| Width | 1,372 mm (54 in) base, 1,448 mm (57 in) optional |
| Kerb weight | approx. 10.5 long cwt (0.53 t) |
| Rover 8 | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg)
1924 open 2-seater
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|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Rover |
| Production | 1919-1925 17,700 made |
| Designer | Jack Sangster |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style |
|
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1.0 or 1.1 L two-cylinder side valve |
| Transmission | 3 speed manual, with reverse |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 88 inches (2,235 mm) or 94 inches (2,388 mm) |
| Length | 123 inches (3,124 mm) or 135 inches (3,429 mm) |
| Width | 58 inches (1,473 mm) |
| Kerb weight | 1,120 lb (510 kg) |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Rover 9/20 |
The Rover 8 was a small single-cylinder eight-horsepower 1327 cc car made by the British Rover car company. It was Rover's first production car. It was remarkable for having a backbone rather than a chassis. The first model was manufactured from 1904 to 1912, A Daimler-Knight sleeve-valve engine option was available in 1911 and 1912.
Following World War I a new 998 cc (later 1134 cc) twin-cylinder eight-horsepower light car was offered from 1919 to 1925. It was in its turn superseded in 1924 by a four-cylinder 1074 cc Rover 9.
The car, designed by Edmund Woodward Lewis (1870-1941) who had joined Rover from Daimler, had an unusual structure. Instead of the conventional chassis the car had a backbone formed by the engine crankcase, the gearbox housing, the propellor shaft housing and the rear axle housing, the whole described as having a box girder section. The backbone frame, without bump-compliance at the rear apart from the tyres, was suspended from the front axle at just one point by a pivoted transverse leaf spring which made no contribution to transverse stability and the whole car rested on just three points.
The body, through its own sub-frame, was mounted on the rear axle using semi-elliptic springs.
The single-cylinder engine displaced 1327 cc with a bore of 4.5 in (114.3 mm) and stroke of 5 in (127.0 mm). Its inlet and exhaust valves were both mechanically operated.
It had an unusual pedal control that changed over the valve operating cams to provide extra engine braking.
When it was wished to slow the engine a driver's foot lever moved the cams first to reduce valve lift and then second, on further pressure, the valves are closed completely and the engine is effectively an air compressor slowing the rear wheels.
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Wikipedia