Rover SD1

Rover SD1
Jeremy Clarkson driving the Rover SD1 in Series 10, Episode 7.
Manufacturer	Rover
Parent Company	British Leyland
Production	1976–1986
Assembly	Castle Bromwich, England Cowley, Oxford, England Solihull, West Midlands, England Chennai, India New Zealand, South Africa (Blackheath) assembly of CKD parts
Predecessor	Rover P6 Triumph 2000
Successor	Rover 800 series
Layout	Front-engine, RWD
Engine(s)	Petrol: 1994 cc O-Series I4 2350 cc Leyland PE166 I6 2597 cc Leyland PE166 I6 2622 cc BMC E-series I6 (ZA) 3528 cc Rover V8 Diesel: 2393 cc VM Motori HR 492 OHV I4
Designer	David Bache & Spen King

"Went like cricket, stopped when it looked like rain."

―Clarkson's Top 100 Cars

Rover SD1 is both the code name and eventual production name given to a series of executive cars built by the Specialist Division (later the Jaguar-Rover-Triumph division) of British Leyland (BL), under the Rover marque. It was produced through its Specialist, Rover Triumph and Austin Rover divisions from 1976 until 1986, when it was replaced by the Rover 800. The SD1 was marketed under various names. In 1977 it won the European Car of the Year title.

In "SD1", the "SD" refers to "Specialist Division" and "1" is the first car to come from the in-house design team.

The SD1 was the final Rover-badged vehicle to be produced at Solihull. Future Rover models would be built at the former British Motor Corporation factories at Longbridge and Cowley.

Appearances

• In 1991 Old Top Gear Episode, Jeremy Clarkson recalls the Rover SD1 as being a most serious fault of its mended body by deliberately both open/close until promptly to eject by itself.
• In Clarkson: At Full Throttle, Jeremy Clarkson challenged then-current Top Gear host Vicki Butler-Henderson to a race in modified variants of their cars, Clarkson's Rover SD1 and Henderson's Vauxhall Nova, with Clarkson winning due to Henderson spinning out at the final corner.
• In Clarkson's Top 100 Cars, the Rover SD1 was ranked in 47th place.
• In Series 4, Episode 8 of Top Gear, Richard Hammond covered the SD1 in a tribute to the Rover V8 engine, which was used in a variety of British cars and was discontinued at the time of the episode's airing. Hammond later used the SD1 in a classic touring car race at Snetterton.
• In Series 10, Episode 7, during the British Leyland Challenge, Clarkson's car of choice was a yellow Rover SD1 3500 SE. The car had several problems, including the outer panel of a door coming off, and the engine making a screeching noise when the car starts up. During the handbrake test, the Rover SD1 generated so much smoke from wheel spin that it obscured the car from view, leading to Clarkson claiming he passed. During the ride comfort test, the SD1 passed with 4 grams of egg remaining in the colander, but lost two bits of trim in the process: a rear door and a side mirror. During the water test, the SD1 refused to fill up completely as water leaked out of the car very quickly, even with a third hose being brought in. When Clarkson took off, he only managed to cover 10 yards of the Top Gear test track before another rear door fell off.
• In One for the Road, the SD1 was picked as the last back-up car ever over the Volkswagen New Beetle, after the latter was pushed off a cliff. The trio described the SD1 as a car they all respect.