Last Rover goes on show

Rover 75 was last one out of Longbridge

By PH Staff / Friday, 4 November 2005 / Loading comments

End of an era

The British Motor Industry Heritage Trust revealed it has discovered the mystery surrounding the very last car built at the Longbridge plant in Birmingham. Museum curator Stephen Laing recently unveiled a frostfire Rover 75, 1,955cc four-cylinder diesel -- the last vehicle on the register out of the plant. The Trust now owns the car, which is on public display in the museum at the Heritage Motor Centre near Gaydon in Warwickshire. It seems likely that it will also be the last car to be adorned with the Rover badge.

Almost 15 million cars were manufactured in the century since Rover Cars was founded by Herbert Austin. It was on 8 April this year that MG Rover at Longbridge went into administration and car production ceased. Only a small group of skilled car workers was kept on at the plant over the summer to complete a number of unfinished vehicles, before the company was sold on to the Nanjing Automobile Corporation of China.

The Trust also owns the first Rover 75 car built under the company’s former owners BMW at Cowley Oxford in 2000.

Rover's history

The Rover 75 was the first large Rover car for 20 years, replacing the Honda inspired 600 and 800 models. Introduced in 1999, the 75 was initially built at the Cowley factory in Oxford, which had undergone a £700 million facelift, including a completely new manufacturing and paint shop facility. The 75 took styling cues from Rover’s heritage, while engine options were four- or six-cylinder petrol units from the K-series range, together with a BMW-derived diesel.

When BMW decided to sell Rover Group in 2000, production of Rover models moved to the newly formed MG Rover Group’s Longbridge factory. The 75 range was quickly developed, with the addition of an estate model, more sporting MG versions and a long-wheelbase limousine. A V8 powered version was also developed, re-engineered with rear-wheel drive.

During 2004 the 75 range got a facelift, with a redesigned look for the front and rear end of the car and modifications to the trim specification.