|
M
id fifties and Rover was doing remarkably well for a medium sized car manufacturer. The P4 sold
well and sales of the Landrover far exceeded expectations. There was enough money in
the bank to consider another model line. A smaller car than the P4 was considered,
but in the end it was decided to bring out a model above the P4. The P5, as it was
named, was clearly a response to the "success" Jaguar had with its Mk VII.
For the P5 the chassis with separate body was finally abandoned. However Rover being very conscious
of road and engine noise provided a detachable subframe for the engine, transmission
and front suspension. Although the car wasn't as silent as the P4 it still was a very
refined and silent car for its day. The P5 was styled by David Bache and he created
a stylish looking car. It was clearly a Rover but was sleeker, wider and lower than the P4.
As a starting point for the design Bache used a styling study of
Pininfarina based on the P4. Thanks to the unitary construction the new P5 had almost the same weight as the P4.
The front suspension of the P5
The front suspension had double wishbones with laminated torsion bars instead of coil springs.
At the rear an utterly conventional live axle with leaf springs was used. This gave
reasonable handling with quite some body roll in corners. Not so good, (an euphemism for bad), was
the power steering which gave little or no feel. Something the P5 owner had to live with during the whole
life of the P5. But this car was made for touring not to explore it's limits, mind you!
As usual the Rover interior was filled with acres of leather and wood, all made in the best British tradition.
In the Mk1 cars the popular bench
seat could be ordered or two individual seats in the front. The latter of a quality which perhaps could
also be found in a gentlemen's club. There were more nice touches like picnic trays in the front and the back.
And a tool tray in the dashboard. Not that you ever needed the tools except to help other less fortunate
motorists of course....
the Rover interior
The new P5 of 1958 saw a newly developed 3-litre engine based on the IOE lay-out.
A V-6 was tried but the engine did not produce enough power. Because of the limited time for further development
of the V-6 the existing unit from the P4 was taken and enlarged to 3-litres. The original 4-bearing block
was uprated to seven bearings and the cylinder bores were repositioned to ensure that there was
enough cooling water between the bores. There was also a more robust valve train
with roller cam followers. The engine now gave 115 bhp not much more than the 108 bhp of the P4
but with much improved torque. It was fitted with one single SU carburettor.
These alterations made the engine smoother than the XK Jaguar engine but it didn't
give it as much power. But then Rover didn't need or want the same racy image as Jaguar.
Dutch P5 Coupe
The first cars (Mk I) were equipped with perspex side louvres which gave draught free
ventilation, but with a noise penalty. For the first time a Rover could now be had with
(optional) power steering, and yes, actually the P5 needed it although it took away
a lot of "feel".
The Mk1A of 1962 saw the oil bath filter replaced by a cheaper paper element,
but it made no difference in power. The noisy side louvres were a thing of the past.
In 1962 some 2.4 and 2.6-litre P5's were
produced. However not for the UK-market but for export only. The 2.6-litre P4 engine
could be ordered in France and Nigeria and the 2.4-litre could only be had in Austria.
With the MkIIA of 1962 the P5 Coupe version was introduced. The coupe specified a lower
roofline (You now had to take your hat off before entering the car...)and the
dashboard featured a rev. counter, an oil-pressure gauge and
had standard power steering.
Like the Americans, Britain also had its power race.
To keep up with the Jaguars the 6-cylinder engine was uprated with a better flowing
head developed by Weslake. The 3-litre's power went up from 115 bhp to 134 bhp for the manual
cars and 129 bhp for the automatics. The automatic had lower power but was a bit
more flexible to provide smoother operation with the auto-transmission (Borg Warner DG 3-speed).
The P4 Roverdrive was tried in the development stage but the powerful 3-litre overheated the torque converter.
The MkIIB changes of 1963 only affected the saloon cars. So there are no MKIIB coupes.
Changes were a plain metal filler cap and an increased steering ratio. The MkIIC changes
saw the power steering standardised on all cars and bigger crankshaft journals on the
engine together with improved cooling to give longer engine life.
the 6 cylinder engine
The MKII changes weren't that dramatic. But with the 1966 MKIII Rover improved the car even more.
MkII cars were available for one year (1966) as a cheaper alternative to a MkIII.
The automatic box became the Borg Warner 35 with even smoother operation. The P5 became
quieter by a raised rear axle ratio. And hey, it now had Negative earth electrics with a 12 fuse box!
The seats were new, based on the excellent brand new P6 design. Bench front seats were finally no
longer available. The car now featured a rear 2-speed heater. The tool tray was relocated in the
middle and could also be used as a picnic tray. To prevent the rear passengers from starvation
they were provided with foldaway picnic tray's with a drink box between the rear seats in
the Saloon. Oh! what a joy to have a fine car and a driving pub!
Then in 1968 Rover introduced an engine which finally solved a problem the P5 had suffered
from the beginning; power and performance. The ex-Buick V8 was introduced. No one
expected Rover to come with a V8. BMW was about to abandon its dreadfully expensive
but beautiful V8's, Daimler had one in the Daimler 250 and the rest of europe used american
V8's (Jensen, Bristol, Vacel-Vega). Now you can find the history of this V8 in
the V8 history pages,
however the V8 really suited the P5. It was 200 lb lighter than the six and helped reduce the
understeer characteristics. The P5B (B for Buick) had 160 bhp, enough to show many Jag's it's distinguished
rear end. The manual box wasn't capable to taking the torque of the engine so only the automatic box
could be had with this beast. Some people argued the V8 burble didn't suit the P5 but it really
transformed a very good car into an excellent mile-eater.
There wasn't any real succesor at Rover for the P5. Add they developed one (the P8) but it was killed off
by the board of British Leyland. The main reason was because it would compete with the
Jaguar XJ series which also fell under the Leyland umbrella.
In 1973 the end came for the P5 after 69,141 cars had been built.
H.M. The Queen's Rover P5
|
|
The competitors
The P5 found itself even more upmarket than the P4. Over the years there were various competitors like:
- Jaguar 2.4/3.4litre Mk1/Mk2
- Jaguar XJ6
- Daimler Majestic
- Daimler 21/2-litre V8
- Humber Super Snipe
- Mercedes 220/250/280
- BMW 501/502
- Volvo 164/164E
|
|
Jaguar/Daimler
Main competitor was
Jaguar with its compact saloons in 2.4/3.4 litre, Mk1 and Mk2 form and the later 240 and 340.
From the start Jaguar had a more sporting character than Rover. The free breathing DOHC XK-engine really
was a first-class powerhouse. It started as a four-cylinder 2-litre prototype developing 146 bhp.
Later two cylinders were added and the engine was introduced in 1948 in 3.4-litre form for the XK120. This engine then
found its way into various Jaguar and Daimler saloons giving more than adequate performance
and establishing Jaguar's sporting image.
With the Buick V8 the P5 found itself in the same league as the Jaguar owned Daimler 2,5 litre V-8.
The Daimler 90-degree V8 was a design of BSA's motor cycle power unit man Edward Turner.
Daimler's V8 saloon sold reasonably well with 17,620 cars being built between 1962 and 1969.
|
|
Mercedes
The biggest competition for the P5 came from Jaguar. However this was mostly due to the fact
that most Rovers were sold in Britain itself, and off course the Britons bought British cars.....How I
wished they still did, Germans still do it!. However, on the continent Rover had to face stronger competition from
car manufacturers like Mercedes, BMW and in the P5's later years from Volvo.
It is amazing to see how fast Mercedes rose out of the ashes of WW2 as one of the leading
companies for upper class cars. Mercedes had about the same image as Rover in the 50's and 60's as a
manufacturer of high quality conservative automobiles.
The W111 model (220b, 220Sb and 220SEb) of 1959 was a stylish car with contemporary tail fin's. This is why it was called the
'"Heckflosse"" model in Germany. It was designed by Karl Wilfert and its team under the leadership of Fritz Nallinger
and became very popular. Technically the design was based on the former "'Ponton"' model. This included
the use of the Swing-axle design for the rear suspension. However it was improved upon the Ponton models
so road behaviour was now more acceptable. The 2,2 litre engine delivered 96 hp in basic form which
went up to 120 hp for the injection version of 1966, the 220Seb.
In 1961 a 300 version was introduced with a 3-litre 6-cylinder. the 160 hp gave a top speed of 195 km/h
Not bad in those days and just enough to keep up with the P5B. It was a very expensive car equipped with
complicated air suspension. In 1965 with the new 250/280 the styling was more Teutonic and less American
inspired than with the earlier 220 and 300 models.
|
|
BMW
BMW wasn't a big name like Mercedes in the 50/60's The range consisted mainly of the upper class
501/502 series and small bubble cars like the Isetta. In between there was a huge gap which would
only be filled by the 1500 (E114) in 1961.
The 501 (1954-1956) and the 502 (1957-1964) were the first postwar models for BMW. They were expensive
high quality luxury saloons with a styling which was not generally liked. Because of this
styling they were named "'Baroque Angel'". The cars came with a beautiful aluminium V8 with 100 hp
2,5 litre in the 501 and 160 hp 3,2 litre in the 502. The V8 engine was the first light metal production V8 in the world. Just before Buick came with
it's 3,5 litre. In total about 21,000 cars have been built. The V8 gave the 502 a top speed
of around 190 km/h
|
|
Volvo
Volvo, the Swedish car maker always operated in the middle class. With the 164 which was introduced
in 1969 they went more upmarket into P5/P6 territory. In fact the 164 models were no more
than standard 140 models with a restyled front-end, a more luxurious interior and a new
six in-line engine.
In 1972 the engine became available with electronic fuel injection delivering
a healthy 175 bhp. In it's last year, 1975, many components of the 200-series were used.
The standard 164 components had UNC bolts, the 200-series used metric.....Mmmm nice car to work on!
As usual the Volvo's were heavy, safe and reliable cars, but with uninspiring styling and handling.
Mechanically they were unbreakable and utterly conventional, like the P5....
In Scandinavia these cars sold very well and a total of 153,179 cars have been built which is
quite remarkable for such a small manufacturer.
|
|
|
1958-1973 The Rover P5 line-up |
|
Year 1958-1961
1962
1962-1965
1962
1962-1963
1963-1964
1964-1966
1966-1967
1968-1973 |
Model MkI 3-litre
MkIA 3-litre
MkI/II 2.6-litre
MkIA 2.4 litre
MkIIA 3-litre
MkIIB 3-litre
MKIIC 3-litre
MkIII 3-litre
MkIII 3.5-litre |
Capacity 2,995 cc
2,995 cc
2,525 cc
2,445 cc
2,995 cc
2,995 cc
2,995 cc
2,955 cc
3,528 cc |
Power 115 bhp
115 bhp
123 bhp
110 bhp
134 bhp
134 bhp
134 bhp
134 bhp
160 bhp |
Cylinders 6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
8 |
Bore x Stroke 77,8x 105 mm
77,8x 105 mm
77,8 x 92,1 mm
77,8 x 85,7mm
77,8x 105 mm
77,8x 105 mm
77,8x 105 mm
77,8x 105 mm
88,9 x 71,1 mm |
Compression 8,75 (7,5)
8,75 (7,5)
8,8
8,8
8,75 (8)
8,75(8)
8,75 (8)
8,75 (8)
10,5 |
Top speed 97 mph
97mph
..
..
105 mph
105 mph
105 mph
105 mph
110 mph |
Production 15,250
5,663
131
25
5,859
7,418
7,775
6,420
20,600
69,141 |
|
Mainpage
 © RWP Jan. 2005
|
