Rover P6

Rover P6
Rover 2000 TC Mark II
Overview
Manufacturer	Rover
Production	1963–77 322,302 produced
Assembly	Solihull, West Midlands, England New Zealand South Africa
Designer	Spen King, Gordon Bashford, David Bache
Body and chassis
Class	Executive car (E)
Body style	4-door saloon
Layout	FR layout
Powertrain
Engine	2.0 L I4 OHC 2.2 L I4 OHC 3.5 L V8 OHV with hydraulic lifters
Transmission	4-speed manual (2.0 & 2.2) 4-speed manual (3500S, modified Rover box to handle the extra torque) 3-speed automatic B / W 35 and later B / W 65 (2.2 & 3500)
Dimensions
Wheelbase	103 in (2,616 mm)
Length	180 in (4,572 mm)
Width	66 in (1,676 mm)
Height	56 in (1,422 mm)
Curb weight	2,810 lb (1,275 kg)(2000TC) 2,862 lb (1,298 kg)(3500)
Chronology
Predecessor	Rover P4 Rover P5 (concurrent to 1973)
Successor	Rover SD1

Rover 2000/2000 SC/2000 TC
P6 Rover 2000, pre-facelift
Overview
Production	1963–73 208,875 produced
Powertrain
Engine	2.0 L I4

Rover 3500/3500S
Overview
Also called	Rover V8 Sport (South Africa)
Production	1968–77 81,057 produced
Powertrain
Engine	3.5 L (3528cc/V8/OHV) Rover V8

Rover 2200SC/2200TC
Rover 2200TC, Dutch license registration
Overview
Production	1973–77 32,370 produced
Powertrain
Engine	2.2 L I4

The Rover P6 series (named as the 2000, 2200, or 3500, depending on engine displacement) is a saloon car produced by Rover and subsequently British Leyland from 1963 to 1977 in Solihull, West Midlands, England. It was voted European Car of the Year in 1964, the very first winner of this title.

The P6 was announced on 9 October 1963, just before the Earls Court Motor Show. The vehicle was marketed first as the Rover 2000 and was a complete "clean sheet" design intended to appeal to a larger number of buyers than earlier models such as the P4 it replaced. Rover had identified a developing market between the standard '1.5-litre' saloon car class (such as the Ford Consul and the Singer Gazelle) and the accepted 'three-litre' large saloon cars (typified by the Wolseley 6/99 and the Vauxhall Cresta). Younger and increasingly affluent professional workers and executives were seeking out cars that were superior to the normal 1.5-litre models in style, design and luxury but which offered more modern driving dynamics than the big three-litre class and lower purchase and running costs than sports saloons such as the Jaguar Mark 2. Automotive technology had improved significantly in the mid-to-late 1950s, typified by the introduction of cars such as the Citroen DS and Lancia Flavia in Europe and the Chevrolet Corvair in America. The replacement for the traditionally-designed P4 would therefore be a smaller car with a two-litre engine (although a gas turbine was invisioned as power unit in the future) utilising the latest design, engineering and styling, thus making the Rover one of the earliest examples of what would now be classified as an executive car. The P6 would be lower-priced than the P4 and sales volumes were anticipated to be significantly higher. The P5 was sold alongside the P6 until 1973.