RE: Rover 200 BRM | Spotted
Discussion
ch37 said:
s m said:
I think the Tomcat was the Coupe body
Yes there is one that has been racing at Castle Combe for many years (probably with about 3x the power mind) and they always refer to it as a Rover Tomcat, fantastic looking thing.Podie said:
Drove one of these in 2000 for a week as a courtesy car. Was actually pretty good and thoroughly enjoyed hoofing it about 
I preferred it when the orange bits were redone in silver by some dealers/ownersThey offered 306GTI-6 performance and the 30-70 time was its forte
Lotus sports car engine as some used to say ....
It's £2,500 more than it was in December too.
On that basis it will be worth £19k by Christmas!
https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1999-rover-200...
On that basis it will be worth £19k by Christmas!
https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1999-rover-200...
thewarlock said:
Hairymonster said:
Just what was that stupid orange cattle grid bolted to the front actually for?
To let other people know you had the fast one. 
“ Oh god Rover haters incoming...
"Take a zero off the price and it would still be a pile of junk" etc etc...”
Ok I’ll be the fall guy:
Take a zero off the price and it would STILL be a pile of junk”...
As another poster on here said, I’d prefer the 216GTi with the Honda engine. I came within touching distance of one ‘back in the day’ when my work colleague decided to sell his and just as I walked round to his house to put him he changed his mind. And who could blame him, his 216GTi was light, nimble and quick, whereas this thing....
s m said:
thelostboy said:
s m said:
I wouldn’t mind a 220Gsi Turbo - can’t be many left of those
Fastest of them all and quite a sleeper
Wasn't this the fastest accelerating FWD car for ages? Was it called a Tomcat or was that just a nickname?Fastest of them all and quite a sleeper
I bet this is actually pretty good to drive with the VVC K under the bonnet. Not only that, but Rover's engineers were known for pulling decent drivers cars out of fairly humble underpinnings on a shoestring budget.
That said, I am struggling to see this at £11k. I know old performance car prices have gone daft in general, but the 205 GTI, Golf GTI, Cosworths etc command those prices today partly because they were aspirational (and very cool/fashionable) cars for a whole generation, but inaccessible to many at the time because of age/income, crippling insurance premiums, and the high risk of theft back in the day. These people now have disposable income, and can afford to buy one as a toy, lock it away and enjoy it on sunny days, so demand has pushed up prices.
There can't be many of these people who've had a Rover 200 BRM itch that they've been prevented from scratching until now.
That said, I am struggling to see this at £11k. I know old performance car prices have gone daft in general, but the 205 GTI, Golf GTI, Cosworths etc command those prices today partly because they were aspirational (and very cool/fashionable) cars for a whole generation, but inaccessible to many at the time because of age/income, crippling insurance premiums, and the high risk of theft back in the day. These people now have disposable income, and can afford to buy one as a toy, lock it away and enjoy it on sunny days, so demand has pushed up prices.
There can't be many of these people who've had a Rover 200 BRM itch that they've been prevented from scratching until now.
Jon_S_Rally said:
Was the 306 really twice as good as its rivals? The Almera GTI, while not the best looker, was a cracking car, so I think the opening paragraph is perhaps being a bit harsh on the Pug's rivals.
I remember these BRMs being launched. I liked the combination of green paint and red interior. Didn't some dealers paint the grill surround silver in an attempt to tone it down a bit?
I don't think it will ever reach big values, but it's an interesting curio, and was actually a pretty decent car. The regular Vi got decent reviews at the time too. I think, for me, it would be hard to buy one over an MG ZR (if I wanted something like this at least). Shame most people will probably slate it anyway, just because it's a Rover.
This wouldn't see which way a 306 Rallye went around track.I remember these BRMs being launched. I liked the combination of green paint and red interior. Didn't some dealers paint the grill surround silver in an attempt to tone it down a bit?
I don't think it will ever reach big values, but it's an interesting curio, and was actually a pretty decent car. The regular Vi got decent reviews at the time too. I think, for me, it would be hard to buy one over an MG ZR (if I wanted something like this at least). Shame most people will probably slate it anyway, just because it's a Rover.
For £1500 it would be a bit of cheap fun. For £10k+ you just be bloody barking mad!
This exact car was part of the JLR classic collection which was sold at auction to employees in December 2019.
Then it sold on collecting cars https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1999-rover-200...
Then it failed to sell and only reached 5k https://carozo.com/auction/1999-rover-200-brm/
Now its up for 11K!?
Then it sold on collecting cars https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1999-rover-200...
Then it failed to sell and only reached 5k https://carozo.com/auction/1999-rover-200-brm/
Now its up for 11K!?
Well, I had one and it was actually quite a good car, my uncle still has a very original low mileage one he has had since 2001 or theabouts.
Good bits,
The gearbox is sublime, best i any car I have had or driven,
Engine is nice, quick enough for what it was/the time.
Handling, cornered pretty well and good steering feedback
I like the looks, I like it offends people, its only really the orange beak that is willfully odd.
LSD as standard
Bad bits
Gear knob on a hot or cold day leaves you like the Gestapo bloke from Raiders of the Lost Ark with a permanent imprint.
The seats can be a bit slidy, needs bigger bolsters or more grippy material.
Headgaskets, but after barely thirty years that got sorted so no longer an issue.
I wouldn't say a 205 GTI is in another league, drove a few and liked them but its not exactly on a different plane, these are a bit quicker, nicer gearchange and have the LSD. Plus this is way rarer, maybe for good reasons but not that many left and the sniffing at all things AR means they are still cheap, apart from this one obviously.
You dont need to pay 11 grand for one, saw a very nice one for six recently, ropey ones for a couple of grand. Anything else with that level of rarity would be worth silly money, and if they hadn't made it quite as "distinctive", but I like them, not for those who take themselves too seriously.
Good bits,
The gearbox is sublime, best i any car I have had or driven,
Engine is nice, quick enough for what it was/the time.
Handling, cornered pretty well and good steering feedback
I like the looks, I like it offends people, its only really the orange beak that is willfully odd.
LSD as standard
Bad bits
Gear knob on a hot or cold day leaves you like the Gestapo bloke from Raiders of the Lost Ark with a permanent imprint.
The seats can be a bit slidy, needs bigger bolsters or more grippy material.
Headgaskets, but after barely thirty years that got sorted so no longer an issue.
I wouldn't say a 205 GTI is in another league, drove a few and liked them but its not exactly on a different plane, these are a bit quicker, nicer gearchange and have the LSD. Plus this is way rarer, maybe for good reasons but not that many left and the sniffing at all things AR means they are still cheap, apart from this one obviously.
You dont need to pay 11 grand for one, saw a very nice one for six recently, ropey ones for a couple of grand. Anything else with that level of rarity would be worth silly money, and if they hadn't made it quite as "distinctive", but I like them, not for those who take themselves too seriously.
k.MurrayKnott said:
This exact car was part of the JLR classic collection which was sold at auction to employees in December 2019.
Then it sold on collecting cars https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1999-rover-200...
Then it failed to sell and only reached 5k https://carozo.com/auction/1999-rover-200-brm/
Now its up for 11K!?
Interesting - in which case it's the car I saw at a meet near Silverstone last August. The guy said he was spending some money getting it recomissioned after it had been in the collection.Then it sold on collecting cars https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1999-rover-200...
Then it failed to sell and only reached 5k https://carozo.com/auction/1999-rover-200-brm/
Now its up for 11K!?
ch37 said:
Yes there is one that has been racing at Castle Combe for many years (probably with about 3x the power mind) and they always refer to it as a Rover Tomcat, fantastic looking thing.
Was that in their home grown saloon championship? there was a VW scirocco in the class B cars that was always good to watch as well. Bob stealth, the Ultima and the jades and that RX7 engined car in the sports cars championship was my favourite....and an MGF briefly, I kid you not.I bought one for a few hundred quid about 10-12 years ago. Worth it at that money. It's not an eleven grand car.
As someone said above all the obvious traits are true, but the best observations are that the seats are too slidy and the gearknob is horrible. But of course it has the same problem as all Rovers - Rover electrics, drive through a properly big puddle and getting to work the next day (and a few after that) is a lottery.
The best thing you can say about this car, other than the obvious low miles and all that brings, is that it has presumably been garaged. The sun has yet to fade the carpet to a washed out orange.
My current friendly mechanic was a you man and trained at a Rover garage when these came out. They were apparently virtually unsellable on account of the interior, the orange grill and the price. Many dealers had to respray the grill silver or green to get shot of them. One thing that isn't obviously apparent is why they suffered from such a huge premium with the insurance companies. He tells me it was because they were unsold the young lads at the dealerships would use them, thrash them, and inevitable bend them. Hence the spike in premiums. Another reason nobody wanted to buy them.
As someone said above all the obvious traits are true, but the best observations are that the seats are too slidy and the gearknob is horrible. But of course it has the same problem as all Rovers - Rover electrics, drive through a properly big puddle and getting to work the next day (and a few after that) is a lottery.
The best thing you can say about this car, other than the obvious low miles and all that brings, is that it has presumably been garaged. The sun has yet to fade the carpet to a washed out orange.
My current friendly mechanic was a you man and trained at a Rover garage when these came out. They were apparently virtually unsellable on account of the interior, the orange grill and the price. Many dealers had to respray the grill silver or green to get shot of them. One thing that isn't obviously apparent is why they suffered from such a huge premium with the insurance companies. He tells me it was because they were unsold the young lads at the dealerships would use them, thrash them, and inevitable bend them. Hence the spike in premiums. Another reason nobody wanted to buy them.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff