Classics dwarfed by moderns
Discussion
AppleJuice said:
The 75 in the photo was a press/show car on 19" 'Vortex' alloys made especially for it:
18" versions appeared on production models:
The P6 was (IMO) one of the most stylish cars ever built. The SD1 was like the Daytona's handsomely rough country-cousin. What was the designer's brief for the 75? "The designation "75" refers to the median age of our target market. Design something as dull as possible please."18" versions appeared on production models:
Yertis said:
The P6 was (IMO) one of the most stylish cars ever built. The SD1 was like the Daytona's handsomely rough country-cousin. What was the designer's brief for the 75? "The designation "75" refers to the median age of our target market. Design something as dull as possible please."
I think you are being rather obtuse. The Rover 75 is certainly no less boring visually than a same era BMW, Audi or Mercedes of similar size/model placement. And arguably considerably more interesting visually than a VW, Ford, Vauxhall, Toyota, Mazda of the same era/model placement/size.As for the naming, 75 was a name used for both the P3 and P4 models.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_P3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_P4
It is also worth recalling the 75 model replaced the 600 and 800 Rovers.
Personally I think it is and always was a good looking car.
Yertis said:
The P6 was (IMO) one of the most stylish cars ever built. The SD1 was like the Daytona's handsomely rough country-cousin. What was the designer's brief for the 75? "The designation "75" refers to the median age of our target market. Design something as dull as possible please."
The original design sketches show what looks like a 4 door Cerbera with 24" wheels! Any petrol head would have signed that off. 
OK team, how's our new saloon looking? I can't wait to see it.
Err....
Brilliant! Just make the wheels smaller and I think we're there!
The sketches almost look like a CLS / CL Mercedes from some angles, another missed opportunity. I was working for Rover at Dealership level when these were launched, we had some on ramps in the workshop for display on an open evening, customers were complaining that they had BMW logos on some of the plastics (like the locking wheel nut covers), I seem to remember the platform it was based on was originally developed as a front wheel drive 3 series that wasn't used as BMW decided that they had to stick with rear wheel drive
Dapster said:
The original design sketches show what looks like a 4 door Cerbera with 24" wheels! Any petrol head would have signed that off.
OK team, how's our new saloon looking? I can't wait to see it.
Err....
Brilliant! Just make the wheels smaller and I think we're there!
I suspect if you look at design sketches of any vehicle, they will generally look more aggressively sleek than reality when the real vehicle turns up. The Rover is not doing anything any different.OK team, how's our new saloon looking? I can't wait to see it.
Err....
Brilliant! Just make the wheels smaller and I think we're there!
And are you really suggesting that in 1998 on an entry level R75 it should have been sporting 24" rims??
I'm pretty sure the e46 never turned up with 24-25" rims and a hot rod style chop top either....
300bhp/ton said:
I suspect if you look at design sketches of any vehicle, they will generally look more aggressively sleek than reality when the real vehicle turns up. The Rover is not doing anything any different.
And are you really suggesting that in 1998 on an entry level R75 it should have been sporting 24" rims??
It was a joke. We all know that design sketches and the real thing are not often related. Also, I was suggesting the sketched car had 24" rims and joking that the real car in the image had comically small wheels with a lot of bare metal wheel arch on view. Anyway, if one has to explain a joke, then....And are you really suggesting that in 1998 on an entry level R75 it should have been sporting 24" rims??
Well quite.... 
As an aside, I don't know if true. But urban myth says BMW dictated the low front indicator in the bumper of the 75, this was done as Type Approval has a minimal height for the indicator. Thus forcing the 75 to ride higher and be less sporty and be less of a competitor to the 3 Series.
As an aside, I don't know if true. But urban myth says BMW dictated the low front indicator in the bumper of the 75, this was done as Type Approval has a minimal height for the indicator. Thus forcing the 75 to ride higher and be less sporty and be less of a competitor to the 3 Series.
300bhp/ton said:
It is also worth recalling the 75 model replaced the 600 and 800 Rovers.
Personally I think it is and always was a good looking car.
(In my opinion Personally I think it is and always was a good looking car.
) it looks flaccid, the lines have no conviction. And it looks like it's a homage to Rovers of the 1950's, rather than a descendent of those innovative cars of the '60s and '70s (and '80s for that matter). Not arguing by the way obviously, but for me it was/is a disappointment.
Edited by Yertis on Monday 29th October 11:45
300bhp/ton said:
It is also worth recalling the 75 model replaced the 600 and 800 Rovers.
Personally I think it is and always was a good looking car.
Apparently the 800's successor was due to recieve the 3.0-litre six-cylinder 'Storm' diesel engine - as was the L322 Range Rover:Personally I think it is and always was a good looking car.
2.0 I4 | smaller Rovers and Land Rover Freelander
2.5 I5 | Land Rover Discovery
3.0 I6 | large Rover and Range Rover
Shame the 75 didn't recieve the Td5 (though the XPower 135 CDTi put out the same power eventually). It was earmarked in 2002-2005 development planning to replace the BMW M47R with either:
- FIAT 1.9 I4 MultiJet
- Isuzu 3.0 V6
- PSA 2.0 I4 HDi
- VW Group 2.0 I4 TDI PD
But G-Series (L-Series block with new internals and a common-rail system) development continued and if MGR was still operating, G-Series prototypes (ZR) could have been running in August/September 2005.
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