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| T4 experimented with turbine power |
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Rover's involvement with aeronautical manufacturing in the war had led to much experimentation with gas turbines, and a P4-based prototype became the world's first gas turbine-engined car. JET 1 (1950) set new speed records, achieving over 150mph, and other experimental cars included the four-wheel drive T3 (1956), a coupe with a fibreglass body, and the front-wheel drive T4 (1961). Rover even built a turbine-powered racing car, in conjunction with BRM: this took part in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1963 with Graham Hill and Richie Ginther driving, and 1965 with Hill and Jackie Stewart, finishing with the eighth-best time at its first - non-competitive - attempt and coming in 10th in '65, having achieved an average speed of over 100mph for the entire race. But the technology was still too advanced and expensive for use in production models, so Rover eventually abandoned further development of turbine technology.
The P5-series models of 1958, however, did mark a significant step forwards for the company. They were the first Rovers with unibody (monocoque) construction, and the range included a 3.0-litre six-cylinder version, a two-door coupe and, from 1967, a 3.5-litre V8, using an engine sourced from Buick. P5 models were used by the Queen and the Royal family, Prime Ministers and many dignitaries of the era.
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| Even the Queen had a P5... |
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The P6, launched 1963, was something else altogether: a more compact, sporty saloon with disc brakes all round, a de Dion rear axle, radial tyres and, in the first 2000 version, an all-new overhead-cam four-cylinder engine. It won the first Car of the Year award, and went on to become the best-selling Rover yet with over 325,000 made, many of them the 3500 versions with the Buick V8.
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