14 classic cars with a Rover V8

Gavin Braithwaite-Smith

September 11, 2024

British-American V8
© MG
The Rover V8 might have powered a range of classic British cars, but this legendary engine was born in the USA as the Buick 215 V8. Indeed, the 3,528cc compact aluminium engine was developed by General Motors for use by Buick, but was mothballed after just three years of service.

Rover was looking for a replacement for its ageing 3.0-litre straight-six, so it secured the rights to build the Buick V8 engine in the UK without paying any royalties to GM. This is a rather potted history of a national institution, but it paves the way for a list of British classics powered by the ex-Buick V8.
Rover 3.5 Litre P5B
© Rover
That’s ‘B’ for Buick. The Rover P5 had been on sale for nearly a decade when the P5B made its debut at the 1967 Earls Court Motor Show. The 3.5-litre V8 engine totally transformed Rover’s flagship, with Motor describing it as ‘the finest London club on wheels… as [well] as being the fastest’.

Rover modified the engine and fitted it with a pair of SU carburettors, but the cleverness of the installation is highlighted by the figures. More powerful, torquier and significantly lighter than the six-cylinder engine, the V8 delivered faster acceleration, a higher top speed, no change in fuel consumption, and, according to Motor, ‘a considerable improvement in handling’.
Rover 3500 P6B
© Rover
A year later, the V8 made its debut in the P6 to form the Rover 3500 (or Three Thousand Five). Like the P5B, the P6 was initially offered with an automatic transmission only, but a manual gearbox arrived in 1971 with the launch of the 3500S.

In 1968, Autocar said it had concerns over sticking a V8 in a car designed for a 2.0-litre engine, but added: ‘Any fears about the wisdom of such a move are quickly dispelled by a test drive in the car, which is as sweet and docile a machine as anyone could wish for’. The 3500S was even better, with Autocar saying: ‘We can best sum it up by saying that we cannot think of a single car we would prefer at the price’.
Morgan Plus 8
© Morgan
It wasn’t long before the Rover V8 attracted the attention of specialist and low-volume sports cars companies. Morgan required a new engine for its Plus 4 and had considered using the Triumph V8 destined for the Stag. Fortunately for Morgan, it opted for the Rover V8 to create the Plus 8, which remained in production with this engine until 2004.

To squeeze the V8 into the Plus 4, Morgan had to widen and lengthen the chassis, widen the body by two inches and fit an electric fan. It also added a new steering column and a larger fuel tank. The photo shows the Plus 8 in prototype form with development engineer Maurice Owen.
Range Rover
© JLR
In the Range Rover, the V8 engine looked to the manor born. It was essentially unchanged from its use in the 3500, albeit with a pair of Zenith-Stromberg CD2 carburettors instead of SUs, with the compression ratio lowered from 10.5 to 8.5 to 1. Morgan notwithstanding, it was also the first time the Rover V8 was available with a manual gearbox.

Rover billed it as four cars in one: a luxury car, estate car, performance car and cross-country car. Today, buyers expect a family SUV to tick all these boxes, but in 1970 this was a revelation. The lightweight engine also meant it could top 100mph.
Land Rover 101 Forward Control
© Newspress
The 101 Forward Control was the first Land Rover to be fitted with the Rover V8. The British Army told Land Rover it required a vehicle with four-wheel drive, a one-ton payload, 4,000lb towing capacity and weighing no more than 3,500lb in stripped form for lifting by helicopter. The result was the Forward Control, so called because of the position of the cab above and slightly in front of the engine.

Announced in 1972, the Forward Control entered production in 1975, before bowing out in 1978, by which time fewer than 2,000 units had been built.
MGB GT V8
© MG
Ken Costello was a racing driver and engineer who is perhaps best known for crowbarring V8 engines into the MGB. He completed the first installation in 1970 by squeezing a Rover V8 into a modified MGB roadster, before doing the same with an MGB GT and bits from an MGC. The Costello Motor Engineering Company completed around 220 ‘V8 Costello’ conversions from its base in Sidcup.

Predictably, British Leyland wanted a slice of the action, so the MGB GT V8 arrived in 1973, with uprated suspension, wider tyres and an array of upgrades. MG said: ‘At 124mph, the new MG is practically the fastest thing on four wheels up to £3,000’. That lightweight American engine was continuing to prove its worth.
Rover 3500 SD1
© Rover
Designer David Bache was happy to admit that the Rover SD1’s styling was inspired by the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’ and the Maserati Indy. And that’s fine, because the SD1 remains one of the most stylish cars to emerge from Britain in the 1970s. A worthy winner of the 1977 European Car of the Year award, not to mention the last time a proper British car would take the honours.

The V8 engine was tweaked for use in the SD1, with more power and torque, better breathing and new exhaust manifolds. According to CAR magazine, the Rover 3500 could hit 60mph in just 8.6 seconds and achieve 24-28mpg.
Land Rover V8
© JLR
Having demonstrated its capabilities in the Range Rover, now it was time for the Rover V8 to get down and dirty. Unveiled at the 1979 Geneva Motor Show, the Land Rover V8 was essentially a development of the Series III and known as the ‘Stage One V8’. With a timeline dating back to 1948, a new engine was long overdue.

It was built using components from the Range Rover and Forward Control, with the engine detuned to take account of the Land Rover’s handling characteristics. With more low-speed torque, it was great for serious off-roaders. The need for more space under the bonnet led to the creation of a flush front end, which would become standard on the new 90 and 110 models.
Triumph TR8
© Triumph
The TR8 is a prime example of what could have been, not least because the TR7 was designed with the Rover V8 in mind. As it was, the TR7 launched with a four-cylinder engine, with the V8-powered TR8 not arriving until 1980. Even then, the TR8 was designed for export, although several pre-production models remained in the UK.

In the TR8, the Rover V8 featured a pair of Zenith-Stromberg carburettors, but cars destined for California used Bosch L-jetronic fuel injection with a Lucas ECU. The TR8 was available as a convertible or coupe, although the majority were drop-tops.
Land Rover 90 and 110
© Land Rover
Launched at the 1983 Geneva Motor Show as the Ninety and One-Ten, these were the last of the original Land Rover models before the Defender name was adopted in 1990. It arrived as the One-Ten in 1983 with a V8 as an option, before the Ninety was added to the range in 1984 (the V8 became an upgrade a year later).

Interestingly, Land Rover bought the manufacturing rights for the V8 engine during the final years of Vitesse (SD1) production, meaning the Rover Group was actually sourcing its engines from Solihull. That said, the lion’s share of production was used to power the Range Rover.
TVR 350i
© TVR
‘TVR has built quicker cars than the new Tasmin 350i, but they’ve never built a better one.’ High praise from Motor magazine, when it tested the Rover V8-powered 350i in 1983. The Blackpool company had unveiled a Tasmin Turbo in 1982, but chief engineer John Box (formerly of Rover) realised the V8 would make more sense.

Indeed, despite being more powerful than Ford’s 2.8-litre V6, the V8 was significantly lighter and, thanks to its application in the Vitesse, equipped with fuel injection. The 350i could hit 60mph in roughly the same time as a Lamborghini Jalpa 3.5 or Porsche 911 SC Cabriolet, despite costing a fraction of the price.
Freight Rover Sherpa
© Vauxford – Wikimedia
Somebody needs to turn up at the Festival of the Unexceptional in a Freight Rover Sherpa. It’s the only car on our list to be previewed at the Blackpool Ambulance Show in 1985, although its official launch was at the Scottish Show in the same year. Freight Rover was approached by the Metropolitan Police with a requirement for a rapid personnel carrier with a reinforced high roof, heavy duty electrics, bulletproof glass and safety-banded wheels and tyres.

The installation of the Rover V8 gave the Sherpa van a top speed of 92mph when fully laden, making it perfect for rapid response duties. An ambulance version with softer rear suspension followed, with Freight Rover also making V8 vans available to express delivery firms.
Marcos Mantula
© Marcos
A Rover V8 in a car with a glassfibre body is a match made in heaven. Marcos Engineering experimented with the engine as early as 1966, but owner Jem Marsh was unable to obtain supplies from Rover. He found it easier now that production was being handled by Land Rover in Solihull, which is how the 1984 Mantula was born.

Because the car was sold in kit form, buyers could buy a new fuel-injected unit from Land Rover or one of the many used engines available on the secondhand market. The Mantula was essentially a reworked version of the Marcos GT, with a zero to 60mph time of around six seconds and a top speed of 140mph.
Sisu Nasu NA-140 BT
© Niki L – Wikimedia
The Nasu was an articulated personnel carrier designed by Sisu Auto for the Finnish Army. Its primary purpose was to carry 17 people (a driver and 16 passengers) through the snow and bogs of northern Finland, but it could also reach speeds of up to 4mph in the water.

Production of the NA-140 BT started in 1986 and continued until 1991, when it was replaced by the new GM 6.2-litre V8-powered NA-110.
Land Rover Discovery
© JLR
And finally, the Land Rover Discovery arrived in 1989 with either a 2.5-litre 200 Tdi engine or the now-ubiquitous 3.5-litre V8, initially with twin SU carburettors, before switching to Lucas fuel injection in 1990. Four years later, the engines were replaced by the 300 Tdi and 3.9-litre V8.

Indeed, the 3.5-litre unit lived on in 3.9, 4.0, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6 and eventually 5.0 variants, powering everything from low-volume kit cars to high-end Land Rovers and Range Rovers. Leyland of Australia even produced a 4.4-litre V8 for the Leyland P76. The Rover V8 was, quite simply, a British legend (with a touch of Americana).