Powered Under Licence - Rover P5B 3.5 litre Coupe

In September 1960 the author of a technical review on the then new all aluminium 185 hp Buick 215 V8 engine could have had little idea of how prophetic for the British automotive industry his following words would be, "We will wager that the most widely copied engine of the next 10 years will be the superb new aluminium V8 by Buick."



Despite it's glowing press the Buick V8 and various Oldsmobile and Pontiac variants these motors were only in production from 1961 to 1963, after 750,000 units had been produced the Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac switched back to cheaper to manufacture iron blocks which were cast with thinner walls than had hitherto been possible.



Rover managing director Bill Martin-Hurst was on a sales mission trying to get Mercury Marine in Wisconsin interested in Rover gas turbine engines for marine applications when he stumbled across a Buick V8 being prepared for power boat racing on the Mercury Marine shop floor.



Bill realised immediately that such a motor might have a future in several Rover car projects and had the motor on the shop floor shipped to England and made enquires at GM about making their recently discontinued aluminium motor under licence.



Somewhat disbelieving GM agreed a deal which eventually included the soon to retire designer of the aluminium Buick 215 Joe Turley who would help prepare the V8 for production in a market that put engines under more stress, no speed limit at the UK at the time, than encountered in its original US application.



The Buick V8 was first tested in a P6 prototype, but the final iteration of older P5 design seen here, with a B for Buick designation, was the first Rover to be offered to the public with an aluminium Buick 215 V8 derived motor in 1967.



Four successive British Prime Ministers and the Queen of England used P5B's, so impressed was the British government with these vehicles that they bought the last batch of them for future government ministers to use in 1973. Indeed Prime Minister Margret Thatcher was often seen in one as late as 1979, before switching to a Jaguar.



A Rover P5B featured alongside a Lamborghini Islero in 'The Man Who Haunted Himself' starring Roger Moore, Olga Geoges-Picot and Hildegard Neil.

Vehicles featured on GALPOT that are powered by variations of the aluminium Rover V8 include :-

CMT

Reliant Scimitar GTE V8

Triumph TR7 Rally Sprint Replica

Triumph TR8 Convertible Replica

Triumph TR8 Twin Turbo

Further examples of Rover V8 powered vehicles can be found in these less specific blogs :-


GMC Suburban

Darian Wildcat T89 GTR

MGB Kayne Special

Rover SD1

Thanks for joining me on this Powered Under License edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', I hope you will join me again for a Scandinavian Edition tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Poor Mans Roller - Rover P5 Mark II 3 Litre

The P5 was Rovers top of the range saloon / sedan when it was introduced in 1958 .



Initially powered by a 115 hp, 2,995 cc / 182.8 cui straight six with the novel F head featuring an overhead intake valve and side exhaust valve as on the smaller motor used in the P4 series.



In 1962 the Mark II P5 was launched, as seen here, now with 129 hp, a quarter light front window and no glass wind deflectors atop the door windows.



The prototype P5 was fitted with 11 inch drum brakes all round however by the time the car was launched to the public disc brakes were fitted to the front wheels.



This was the vehicle of choice for a succession of British Prime Ministers and UK Government cabinet ministers and it is said Her Majesty the Queen of England preferred her Rover P5 as her daily driver.



When production ceased in 1965 15,676 Rover P5 Mrak II 3 litre saloons had been manufactured.

Thanks for joining me on the poor mans Rolls Royce edition of 'Gettin' a lil psycho on tyres' I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Mechanical Orchestra - TVR T350

The TVR T 350 is probably as close as one can get to a four wheeled motorcycle that will scare a young mans prospective in laws to death, it's small and according to one journalist in 2004 the engine belongs in an orchestra pit.



The T 350 comes with TVRs own 350 hp 3605 cc / 219.9 cui Speed Six all alloy 24 valve engine that is canted over at 30 degrees so that it fits into the svelte T 350 body that measures just over 13 feet long by six feet wide by 47 inches high.



TVRs under the direction of previous owner Peter Wheeler dispensed with creature comforts like interior lights, air bags and traction control, though these vehicles did come with air conditioning.



Weighing just 2,616 lbs / 1,187 kg performance from rest to 62 mph was 4.4 secs up to 100 mph in 9.5 secs with an official top speed of 175 mph.



Production of the T350 ran from 2002 until 2006 when Russian/Greek/British baby oligarch Nikolai Smolenski took over the company and soon after halted production of all TVR models.

Allegedly Mr Smolenski has announced various plans to restart production most recently with a Corvette powered model which might be built anywhere between Blackpool and Cape Town, here is hoping this hairiest of automobile brands finds its way back to the market soon.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this T350 along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed todays orchestral edition of Gettin' a little psycho on tyres and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Rustproof & Secure - Subaru Impreza WRX STi Type UK

Top of the 2007 Subaru Impreza range was the WRX STi with 260 hp, considered at the time the default Rally Replica of Choice in some circles.



The STi Type UK was available with an optional 300 hp engine with Prodrive re engineered engine parts that were stronger and or lighter than the originals including a larger air intake and intercooler.



Unique to the Type UK is a Thatcham Category 1 alarm, satellite tracking system, enhanced rust proofing ...



and 10 spoke gold alloy wheels attached to a reengineered suspension which is more stable than the standard Subaru Impreza WRX STi.



Prodrives Driver Control Centre Differential System (DCCD) allows the driver to control the oversteer (loose) and understeer (push) characteristics of the car by adjusting the front to rear torque balance delivered to the four driven wheels.



Against the contemporary Mitsubishi Evo the STi Type UK appeared the the more reasonable value.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this Type UK along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed today's Type UK edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Integrated Nose - Porsche 944 S2

Porsche introduced the 944 model in 1982, it shared the same platform as the earlier 924 and latter 968 models. The 944 shares similar body revisions, wider wheel arches, of the earlier 924 Carrera GT.



In 1987 the 944 S2 broke new automotive design ground being the first example of a vehicle with an integrated front bumper where the wing and bonnet (fender and hood) blended smoothly with the bumper. This design feature is still much in evidence today.



The 944 S2 was also noted for carrying the largest 4 cylinder motor of it's day the then brand new 208 hp 3 litre / 183 cui engine was particularly smooth thanks to its counter rotating balance shafts.



Optimum front to rear weight ratio of the 924/944/968 design was achieved by placing the gearbox directly in front of the rear axle.



60 mph from rest could be reached in 6.6 seconds,



top speed for the 944 S2 was quoted as 150 mph.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this 944 S2 along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed today's integrated edition of 'Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

UK Limited Edition - Subaru Impreza P1

Last week I looked at the Prodrive P2 which was based on a Subaru R1 with Impreza WRC running gear.



The Subaru Impreza P1 (Prodrive One) is a limited edition of just 1000 models based on the Impreza WRX.



The power of the AWD flat four turbo P1 was boosted from 218 hp to 280 hp.



The front and rear spoiler designs are credited to Peter Stevens who was responsible for the latter Prodrive P2.



The P1 was the result of a collaboration between Subaru Technica International (STi) the racing department of Subaru and Prodrive who ran the Subaru WRC rally campaign.



When the car was launched in 1999 just 500 units were envisaged for the UK market only however demand was so high that production ceased with the 1000th P1.

My thanks to the Pistonhead who brought this UK Spec only P1 along to the Sunday Service at the BMW plant back in January.

Hope you have enjoyed UK Limited Edition of ' Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres', and that you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Superfast2 - Ferrari 430 Scuderia

The Ferrari 430 Scuderia, launched in 2007, fell between the standard road F430 and the race only Ferrari F430 GTC as a track day car.



A 430 Scuderia benefits from a weight saving over the standard F430 of 100 kg / 220 lb.



Performance of the 430 Scuderia was further enhanced by electronic upgrades including Superfast2 software for the semi - automatic transmission which facilitates 60 'millisecond' shift times.



The Scuderia engine produces 508 hp at 8500 rpm enough to give the vehicle a rest to 62 mph time of 3.6 seconds and a top speed of 198 mph.



When tested around the test track by a popular TV series the Scuderia proved to be even Stevens with the Nissan GTR and fractionally faster than the Porsche Carrera GT and significantly faster than a Mercedes Benz SLR.

Thanks to the pistonhead who brought this fabulous Ferrari along to January's Sunday Service.

Hope you have enjoyed today's Scuderia edition of Ferrari Friday and that you'll join me again tomorrow, don't forget to come back now !

Mini Rust Beater - Domino HT

Today's blog comes from the BMW Plant near Cowley where the current range of retro Mini's are made and where I saw this splendid little Domino HT at the recent PistonHeads Sunday Service.



The Domino's in 4 styles were Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) kit cars designed around Mini running gear and manufactured by Fibretech GRP Ltd which was taken over by Domino Composite itself renamed Composite Designs from at least 1978 to 2007 when liquidation forced the cessation of production. It would appear an wholly autonomous group DominoCars - Organisation is attempting to keep the Domino brand alive.



The HT (hard top) model seen here was the follow on from the original T top Pimlico model and is loosely based around a standard Mini though it is bereft of the standard Mini seams and gutters. It is also significantly different below the waist line with built in flared wheel arches and a flared body around the top of the road wheel line. The doors are 2/ 1/2 inches shorter than Mini doors to accommodate the higher sills needed to aid the structural integrity of the GRP body.



If your original style Mini is falling to bits with dreaded tin worm you could do worse than find a smart Domino GRP body, take of all bits of your Mini and transfer them straight on to the GRP shell including subframes, interior, windows, up to 13" wheels and off you go in your new car with parts recycled from your old one.

Hope you have enjoyed to days Glass Reinforced Plastic edition of 'Gettin a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !

Mission Possible - Bristol Cars Ltd

Last Monday 27 employees of Bristol Cars Ltd passed through these gates on their way to work.



This morning only 5 employees will return through these gates as the manufacturing arm of Bristol Cars Ltd has been placed into administration with RSM Tenon.



Tom Maclennan of RSM Tenon is quoted as saying " There have been a number of immediate redundancies due to the financial position of the company, (but) we are maintaining the sales and service operations so customers will continue to be supported."



Though not without some criticism over the way the company has been run in the past, there has been a significant amount of support for Bristol Cars Ltd on the internet, in the light of this unfortunate development, from owners and non owners alike as evidenced by threads on pistonheads.com, The Nostalgia Forum and particularly on the Bristol Owners Club forum where members recall many of the Bristol Cars Ltd team with fondness having known them for many years.



One member of the Bristol Owners Club, Teb Marius from the Netherlands with professional experience in handling these types of financial situations is calling for professional assistance from members and non members in the UK to investigate the possibility putting together a Bristol Owners Club led Consortium to negotiate a viable future for Bristol Cars Ltd with the administrators. Send Teb an e-mail if you can offer any such professional assistance.



Alternatively for anyone with the financial muscle who wants make a bid for the manufacturing division of Bristol Cars Ltd, Tom MacLennan and Trevor Binyon at RSM Tenon have been appointed joint administrators of the business and would be interested to hear from you.

In anticipation of good news about the future of Bristol Cars Ltd I hope you'll join me again at "Gettin' a lil' psycho on tyres". Don't forget to come back now !

Who can it be now ? - Vauxhall VXR8

The Vauxhall VXR8 is a badge engineered HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) Clubsport built in Clayton, Victoria Australia.



HSV Clubsports, based on the then current Holden VE Commodore body, were sold as the CSV (Chevrolet Special Vehicles) CR8 in the Middle East and Pontiac G8 in the United States.



This model is fitted with a 425 hp 6162 cc / 376 cui LS3 engine.



A Bathurst option was available with a 530 hp supercharged version of the LS3.



Regular GALPOT readers might remember the HSV strap line from my blog on the HSV Maloo R8 runs ' I just want one !' which is equally applicable to this antipodean model I think you might agree.

Hope you have enjoyed today's Clayton, Victoria edition of 'Getting a lil' psycho on tyres' and that you'll join me again tomorrow for a look at some of the details from this weekends Race Retro exhibition at Stoneleigh. Don't forget to come back now !