Rover

In 1971, Rover - then part of British Leyland - began work on a new car to replace both the Rover P6 and the Triumph 2000/2500. Competing designs were submitted by each marque, with Triumph’s Puma proposal losing out to Rover’s P10. David Bache led the styling, drawing inspiration from the Ferrari Daytona, the 365 GTC/4, and Pininfarina’s late-1960s BMC 1800 study, while Spen King handled the engineering; the pair had previously collaborated on the Range Rover. Initially coded RT1, the project was soon renamed SD1 as Rover and Triumph were placed in British Leyland’s new Specialist Division. The production car launched in June 1976 as the Rover 3500, a fastback hatch powered by a V8, with 2.3- and 2.6-litre sixes following in late 1977 when the P6 and Triumph 2000 were finally dropped. Critically acclaimed, it won the 1977 European Car of the Year award. Its continental debut came at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show, though left-hand-drive sales were delayed by strikes and bodyshell disputes across several BL plants.