Fancy owning the Austin Rover company name?
Email address, registration number and Metro 6R4 drawings all going under the hammer next weekend
Even nearly 20 years later, it’s hard to avoid the ‘what ifs’ around the demise of Rover. What if this had happened before, what if so and so had done that, what if it was sold elsewhere and so on. While the MG side of the business is now flourishing under Chinese ownership, with 4s seemingly on every street and the Cyberster imminent - and the Rover marque owned by JLR - the Austin Rover Ltd name has lain dormant. Apparently, PWC sold it after MG Rover’s demise as part of the administration process, and it stayed with that long-term owner. Now it’s going to be sold once more, at auction next weekend.
Lot 254A at the forthcoming Supercar Fest sale includes the company name, company registration number, email address and even original factory drawings of the Metro 6R4. Which must be one of the stranger lots ever auctioned. Remarkably, there’s no reserve and no guide price. This year is 35 years since the last Austin Rover Group launch (the MG Maestro Turbo) before the wider Rover Group rebrand. For fans of '80s British cars (BL Cars became Austin Rover in 1981, the Maestro arrived in 1983, the Rover 200 in ‘84, the Rover 800 a couple of years later), it’s surely an enticing opportunity. And we’d bet on there being more than a few people on PH who might just like to have the Austin Rover email address...
There’s only one image currently of the 6R4 drawings, but again there are enough fans of the mighty Metro out there for it to be interesting. Especially with MST’s recently announced plans to resurrect it. There are said to be a ‘vast amount’ of the drawings, moreover, if the home office requires a spruce up. Quite what they’ll sell for is almost impossible to gauge, because it’s hard to see the collectability value for casual classic car fans. But if two die-hard Austin Rover fans get bidding, who knows where it’ll go - not every day you get the chance to be the guardian of a company name. Even if it's only the name that's left.
Nigel Gough, Iconic’s Automobilia Specialist, said: “This is a unique opportunity for someone to own a piece of British motoring history and possibly do something exciting with the brand. We recommend that any interested buyer comes to view Lot 254A in person to fully understand what is included.” If the winning bidder isn’t a PHer, we’ll eat our branded fleece. There’s just the company car for the new owner of Austin Rover lurking in the classifieds, too…
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