eBay Rover twin plenum Vitesse!

[thurleigh5]

Auction ends very soon. I think this car is brilliant. This is the budget conscious alternative to Aston Martin! You know you want to, maybe.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-SD1-Vitesse-V8-Twi...

[Jimmy Recard]

I wish I could! I've always wanted one

[Alan L]

thurleigh5 said:

Auction ends very soon. I think this car is brilliant. This is the budget conscious alternative to Aston Martin! You know you want to, maybe.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-SD1-Vitesse-V8-Twi...

Not sure on the aston comparison, but a nice old rover anyway

[Balmoral]

It was known as the poor mans Aston Martin back in the day, I had that shouted at me a few times (not in a derogatory way, usually with a thumbs up) when I ran one as a demo car.

[andysgriff]

Apart from the engine, they are pretty crap as standard, god knows what electrical gremlins are lurking in one of these now.

[Alan L]

Balmoral said:

It was known as the poor mans Aston Martin back in the day, I had that shouted at me a few times (not in a derogatory way, usually with a thumbs up) when I ran one as a demo car.

Which aston would it be the poor mans alternative to, the only 4 door large saloon they did in the 70's was the lagonda. I personally think you would have been better back in the day in a 2.8 injection Granada

[Balmoral]

I don't bloody know! But back in the day the press, people in the showroom, on the street, leaning out of the drivers window of a bin lorry, down the pub etc. called it the poor mans Aston Martin. I never got involved in an adenoidal conversation about "which model of Aston Martin would that be then?"

[Alan L]

Balmoral said:

I don't bloody know! But back in the day the press, people in the showroom, on the street, leaning out of the drivers window of a bin lorry, down the pub etc. called it the poor mans Aston Martin. I never got involved in an adenoidal conversation about "which model of Aston Martin would that be then?"

Well you bloody well said it was shouted at you, thought you might have enquired :-)

[Yertis]

Balmoral said:

I don't bloody know! But back in the day the press, people in the showroom, on the street, leaning out of the drivers window of a bin lorry, down the pub etc. called it the poor mans Aston Martin. I never got involved in an adenoidal conversation about "which model of Aston Martin would that be then?"

[Balmoral]

Actually, I've just remembered more clearly, it wasn't a bin lorry, it was a petrol tanker, the demo Vitesse used to be parked at a jaunty angle with a bit of lock on, in front of the main showroom window, which was over the top of one of the tank covers. I got in to move the car, fired up and blipped the throttle a few times, lovely V8 sound. Tanker driver says "Poor mans Aston Martin".

[Alan L]

Balmoral said:

Actually, I've just remembered more clearly, it wasn't a bin lorry, it was a petrol tanker, the demo Vitesse used to be parked at a jaunty angle with a bit of lock on, in front of the main showroom window, which was over the top of one of the tank covers. I got in to move the car, fired up and blipped the throttle a few times, lovely V8 sound. Tanker driver says "Poor mans Aston Martin".

Poor effort, he was taking the piss.

A better one would have been some street urchin who had been chimney sweeping doffing his cap and saying "poor mans Aston" as you drove away with £5 notes fluttering out the open window

[Balmoral]

I notice you are in Notts, are you old enough to remember Hopewells of Tollerton? It would have been late Spring/early Summer of '84.

IIRC Autocar or similar also used the phrase as the title of a road test, might be able to find it with some Googling.

[Alan L]

Indeed I am old enough but in 1984 I was living in oadby just south of Leicester, so any drooling was to be done at the lotus dealer near the train station or the Ferrari garage at rothley, all of course gone now

[Balmoral]

A former boss used to have a Granada 2.8i Ghia X, in two tone green, I used to drive that sometimes, and he'd sit in the back pretending to be George Cowley.

[Keep it stiff]

Balmoral said:

A former boss used to have a Granada 2.8i Ghia X, in two tone green, I used to drive that sometimes, and he'd sit in the back pretending to be George Cowley.

George Cowley or George Cole?

[Flying Phil]

Alan L said:

Indeed I am old enough but in 1984 I was living in oadby just south of Leicester, so any drooling was to be done at the lotus dealer near the train station or the Ferrari garage at rothley, all of course gone now

Well Oadby is still there, the railway station is still there, the Ferrari garage at Loughborough (Graypaul?) is now in Nottingham, but Rothley is still there - so really it is only Lotus that is missing....PS I like Rover V8s too.

[Alan L]

Flying Phil said:

Well Oadby is still there, the railway station is still there, the Ferrari garage at Loughborough (Graypaul?) is now in Nottingham, but Rothley is still there - so really it is only Lotus that is missing....PS I like Rover V8s too.

Ah a pedant has arrived, very good. Yes the Ferrari was greypaul I think, but there was another Ferrari dealer in Loughborough, possibly after the one in rothley closed, also the BMW dealer in rothley is now a library I think, or possibly a co op.

[IroningMan]

Alan L said:

Ah a pedant has arrived, very good. Yes the Ferrari was greypaul I think, but there was another Ferrari dealer in Loughborough, possibly after the one in rothley closed, also the BMW dealer in rothley is now a library I think, or possibly a co op.

It was the HQ for Leicestershire Libraries stock management team for some years. It's now a Co-op.

[Balmoral]

Balmoral said:

Autocar or similar also used the phrase as the title of a road test, might be able to find it with some Googling.

It was MOTOR.

And I found this too...

http://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features-he...

[Alan L]

Balmoral said:

t was MOTOR.

And I found this too...

http://www.pistonheads.com/features/ph-features-he...

Ha yup you were right indeed