The best thing about this car is that it's not a boring Ford.

The "Jam Sandwich" police car of my youth. It still looks fantastic now, huge presence and impression of power even when it's sitting still. I'm envious of the owner.

One of the best automotive channels, I came here via Harry's garage. This Tyrrell's channel is excellent, many thanks

Thanks for this. Nostalgia for me. I drove an uprated Vitesse with fuel injection (maybe the twin plenum), at pace in the Police at 23 years old. To say it made me smile is an understatement. I couldn't wait to get to work... out of my 1.3 Ford Escort into this V8 supercar, my reward for completing the Police panda, then advanced training with a first. At the time, not much on the road could compete with the Police specials and once AR called time, we bought a lot of the parts and kept ours going for several years in Carcroft, SYP. Even when we had the 4WD Sierra Cosworth turbo later, it didn't have the grunt, responsiveness or RWD heroics of the Rover.

I drove an SD1 for 3 years. A 3500 Vandenplas built 1983. It had the standard 2 SU carburettors and a manual gear box. I bought it second hand in 1988 with 150.000km on the counter and drove another 100.000 problemless km with it. It had the same silver grey exterior coulour and a light bourgondie velours interior. A beautiful combination. The engine was a delight. It had power and strong torque from low revs onwards. Its 4th gear could be used from 40 km/h onwards all the way up to 200. But in those 3 years, I got married and we bought a house, with a loan of course. And the car became too expensive to keep. Fuel consumption was on average over these 100.000km 11,5l/100km. Very good for a 3,5 V8. But still. And specifically road tax was very high. Here in BE road tax is based on engine capacity and a 3,5 litre is considered to be a luxury only for the rich. So I decided to change the car and bought a second hand Ford Sierra 2,3D. It handled pretty well actually but of course it was slow. On the other hand road tax was low and fuel consumption was only 7l/100km. Much better for the budget. I keep the Rover in my memory as a very pleasant car. Probably not the best built car ever, but a very nice looking car and what a fine engine. For pleasure I sometimes started it up, opened the bonnet and put my hands on the engine just to feel how almost vibration free it ran on idle.

That Vitesse is something else with that performance exhaust 😍

I have a US spec 3500 in Santa Barbara I am restoring. This video gives me so much inspiration! Thanks for sharing a wonderful car!

This engine wasn't just a Buick transplant, as insinuated. It was thoroughly re-designed by Rover for sand-casting and with proper steel liners to make it more robust and prevent the cracking and wear to which the Buick design was prone. Changes to oil routing and cooling were also made, as well as better carburation and, of course, later adding the electronic fuel injection we see in the series II SD1s and subsequent Land Rover products. By 1980 It's barely recognisable as having Buick ancestry. JRT (Jaguar Rover Triumph, later Austin Rover) had the potential use of the Triumph V8 as well by the 70's, so wasn't reliant on this engine although it clearly preferred to develop it so much so that it ended up with a 4.6L capacity and modern electronic injection & engine management. It is interesting to imagine the original powerplant plans for Rover: a jet turbine-powered sedan... Vitesse, indeed...

I would rather have this than any of the other cars you've shown. The perfect mix. People can be snooty if they like but what a sound.

I had this car for several years until Gemany introduced the catalytic converter regulation. Of all the cars I had, my Rover Vitesse was my great love and will remain in my memory. PS. Many laps on the Nürburgring with the Rover Vitesse were a real pleasure. Greetings from Germany.

This was such a great car. A friend of mine used to have one of these in manual (a twin plenum), and we drove from the UK to Le Mans in France in it several times back in the day. It was so comfy and practical but looked awesome with a really staunch, low-slung stance on the road - and that assertive front end gave it real presence. For a big car, it never looked clumsy - unlike the Porsche Panamera of today, which I suppose is a similar sort of car. I remember driving the SD1 down "the road to Morley", a beautiful, curving, sweeping road that goes for miles and miles with barely any traffic - and although the steering was a bit light and uncommunicative, the car handled beautifully. Grippy, neutral, engaging and fast, with great punch from that V8. Thanks for bringing back the memories!

What a fantastic car. Spacious, comfortable and great looking with a ripper engine. Would love to own one. 🤤

That lovely little V8 sounds delightful. I do remember the Vitesse being referred to as the poor man’s Aston. Poor is a relative term!

Great video for a great car. The shape is absolutely timeless. At the moment I am restoring a 3500 from 1978 (in normal case I restore clocks and watches, but I love british cars). One day a friend called me, and asked if I want an old Rover. I said no because I had too many projects. Then he said, that if I dont take it, it will be scrapped, so I had to save it and am now very happy to own it. I hope, that it will be back on the road next year, after 30 years of standing in a barn. I can´t wait for your next video. It is always a joy. It would be great to see a video from you of a Scimitar in the future. Many thanks for your work!

Dad had one talked about it all the time, he’s passed now but I’d love to be able to buy one and restore it

When the 3500 Rover Vitesse was launched in 1982, I was working for a part of Rover at the time and fondly remember driving a metallic blue Vitesse from North Wales down to London (and back the same day) to attend a concert in 1986. What a fun car to drive and the sound it made was glorious.

Tyrrell driving that Vitesse with some real finesse!

My mate bought one in the mid eighties with some compensation he got from a bike accident, we went out in it one night for a kebab, Stockport to Birmingham and back flat out. Brilliant 😃

My friend’s Dad had one of these in the 80s and I remember being impressed with the interior and the acceleration.. It’s like a British muscle car!

such a great representer! i simply love the way he describes all the details, great man. A salute from germany, where guys like him dont exist. By the way, what the rover is capable of, has been shown from chris harris in a classic race...

Just opened KZfaq with my first coffee of the Sunday morning as a South African in Kansas USA.. Good memories of my Dad's six cylinder 2600. Great start of the day.

Clicked on this wanting to skip the talk and go straight to the driving bit but I couldn't stop listening to mr Tyrrell's presentation, fascinating.

I had a van den Plas 3500 for 10 years. My friend took it apart and completely rebuild it. Had to sell it moving to Canada. I still miss it. I loved the roar of the engine. The manual transmission was great. Tuning the two carburetors was lots of fun. I drove it on propane and found out that the hoses to the carburetors had to be of equal length after 8 years.. than it had as much power as on gasoline. Thanks for this great video.

I grew up a stone's throw from the old British Leyland factory on Drews Lane in Birmingham in the late 1970s as a little nipper walking to school looking at all the cars thru the fence railings and on occasion seeing these Rover Vitesse beasts in the vast carpark at the side of the main building. Loved how immensely powerful looking they were on the road amongst the Austin Princess' and the MG Montego's lol. Those were the days. Great video, brings back the fond memories.

It's not just the wonderful cars, but your incredible knowledge of the cars and their history. Many thanks.

Hands down the best automotive channel on KZfaq followed by Harry and Jay lenos Garage . True top class gentleman 👍

When I was 15 this was a car I coverted, fast forward 40 years and it still is. What a beautiful looking car the owner has.

Wish more SD1s found their way to the States. The soundtrack is familiar, but the album cover would definitely turn heads on this side of the pond.

I'd seen this car in the background of your last couple of videos and thought of asking if you'd feature it. But when you look around at the other machinery in your place, at any one time, didn't think there would be any chance, so thank you. I love these cars, and growing up a couple of miles away from Cowley, in Oxfordshire, there were BL products everywhere, many of which owned by people who worked at the plant, so you could see how far they were up the food chain. One of my friends dad's had an oporto red Vitesse, which I thought was fantastic, especially as I really hated almost everything else that company made at the time. I managed to get a 1983 Vitesse, single "plenum", when I was 19. It was £550, so you can imagine it wasn't exactly mint, but it was solid, had a good strong motor, and, surprisingly, all the electrical items worked. I loved this car, and still miss it today, but alas, after six months of crippling, foot permanently welded to the floor, single digit fuel consumption, it had to go. I'd never let anyone drive it before, so had never heard it from the outside, and when the guy who bought it pulled off the driveway and floored it, I felt like crying, as I really hadn't wanted to sell it. I did get another SD1 a couple of years later, this time an 85 Vanden Plas, as it was far too cheap not to buy it, and although I still really liked it, it had the automatic box, and softer suspension, so it wasn't as fun, although still just as greedy when it came to fuel! Unfortunately, the engine let go whilst racing a 205 GTI on the A40, so that was the end of that. I would love to have another Vitesse one day, this time a TP, but like you said, they are getting very rare now, and don't often come up for sale. Besides, the last one I saw they were asking £15k!!Back in the mid 90's when I had mine, a really nice one was only about £2-2.5k.

When I was a kid, this was the most beautiful shape of a car ever. Later I learned that they were slapped together by striking workers in the factory with poor quality. But the shape and design.....just epic.

I'll have one of those. And also, at last a man who's not afraid to rev an engine.

it brought back lots of fond memories of my first job at rover in 1984 working on sd1s and for the next 34 years with ,Rover,BMW,Ford,JLR

Always loved SD1`s , TVR used the engines too and love the dash design where the the passenger vent is the sterring column hole for left hand drive , so it all "just" swaps over , great idea

Just love the sound of those Rover V8's. My friends Grandma had the Vitesse Auto.

This was a YT suggested video, and all I can say is WOW!! Thanks for the memories of my mid 20's (mid 80's - early 90's) during which time I was lucky enough to have owned 5 SD1's and had way more fun than was probably allowed. You're correct in saying they'd get to 140+ MPH, one night I had a race with a Ferrari up the A12 from Chelmsford to Colchester - it lost, but I had the pleasure of literally seeing the fuel gauge move downwards! I'd really love another one, but sadly, it will never be...

Just to say one of best videos I've seen on youtube. Not the V8 but I had a 2.3 straight 6 SD1 on a V plate 1980 the car was 5 yrs old when I bought it and had heard all types of horror stories about the 2.3 engine, but, it never missed a beat, all you said about that car was true, a great trip down memory lane, thank you.

Absolutely superb. Back in the early 90's as a Land Rover apprentice I lusted after a colleagues twin plenum vitesse and always told him I'd buy it given the chance. He then gave me the chance when I had no money! Regretted ever since not buying it, for what today would be considered buttons!

What a fantastic car, My first car at 20 years old was a Rover Three Thousand Five (P6 S1 3500) I bought that car to restore, it was a running car in Tobacco Leaf brown and I restored it to a factory look and finished it with Brigade Red. Fantastic car, lovely smooth engine, superb handling. I loved it, it introduced me to a lot of friends via the clubs and got me to a lot of places. I showed it at the NEC twice in one year, went to no end of other shows, even the Rover factory. I had a blast with that P6. It's changed hands a couple of times since myself and is now on the south coast. I'm now 31 and on my 4th Jag although a lot more modern. XK next on the list :D

My father had one of these in blue back in 1984. I remember driving to Spain in it and every time he parked it somewhere, when we got back, there was always a crowd admiring it! Still gorgeous today

The sound of that V8 is absolutely glorious through that performance exhaust. It's very reminiscent of Steve McQueen's 68 fastback Mustang in, 'Bullitt.' What a sublime machine, despite it's build quality issues, I can forgive the SD1 for any of it's failings. It's a superb piece of styling by David Bache, it looks far better than any contemporary mass produced car on offer today, it oozes character and charisma. Brilliant video- many thanks! :)

The rover v8 was one of the great sounds of my childhood.I am nearly 38 years old and i still love the engine to this day.This vitesse sounds awesome

Great to see you back Iain. I'm in Melbourne in isolation and it's late at night. I noticed the new episode had been uploaded 10 Mins earlier and bloody hell you've already got 30 comments. You'll be up to 3 million in no time.- Well done - keep up the good work.

I have always loved the SD1 V8 father in law had an auto, Great engine I have a 78 Range Rover and it still works great

Ouch! Back down memory lane. I used to work for Rovercraft back in the day, so this became one of my favourite engines and cars to work on. So many things were different back then, and i was not a question of re mapping or bolting on goodies, it was down to the engineering talents of the Law brothers Simon and Nick. Watched many a V8 on the rolling road exceed demands. Great video as usual.

As a young driver in the 80’s I always had desires on this V8 Rover and it’s beautiful rumble. Great to see that they are still around and there are some extremely clean examples of them around today. Superb insight into the history of this car, love the detail. Keep up the great work on the channel.

Always loved this car- especially with the 3.5 power plant in it. Only ever drove my mate’s 2.6 automatic. I can’t comment on Longbridge during the 70s, but worked at Land Rover all through the 90s. The workers in the British car industry get a lot of flack over quality, but I remember it quite differently. If we stopped the track for any quality/parts defect issues, we were rounded on by managers who told us to send it through, thus meeting their targets. Our competitors in Europe, especially in the luxury car market, would have addressed the issue with the suppliers and probably sought recompense for lost production, rather than sending the work through, to be reworked on overtime- on THEIR insistence. Don’t believe everything you read!

Absolutely one of my all time favourites. My mate has one which has been in his garage for 30 years or more, He keeps threatening to do it up but I know he never will. One of my customers (I was a sales rep) took me out to lunch in a black version. Having turned up in Fiat Mirafiori it was a real treat but it was way our of my pay grade. Still today it's a handsome car and I still wished I owned one dam it!

Loved this video! My father also had one in Canada, a 3500... He bought it from his English boss and loved it. Also, did its job and saved him from a drunk driver when he was T-boned... Thankfully everything was ok, otherwise, I wouldn't be writing this :)

My father had one in the 1980s......Most comfortable car I ever sat in.

My father had 5 in a row as company cars and my god the velour. All v8s, all manual, last one was gold…

My brother had an SD1 back in the eighties, such a lovely car to look at. I remember he had some horrible electrical problems with it, lol. I Particularly remember a trip we did from Geraldton to Perth in West Aus at night. It was about 360km and I drove most of it. It was my first experience driving a European car On an empty dark highway and it was fantastic, yep we broke the speed limit a few times that night... You didn’t mention that the same engine was used in a bunch of other British car brands. I had the pleasure to own a Triumph TR7 V8 in the mid nineties, a 1982 model I think. Fantastic car with such an awesome V8 exhaust note! I really wish I still had that car now... sigh.

Love it! What a cracking bit of kit! And it does what it says on the tin (vitesse). Rover/Leyland was an enigma - brilliant engineers vs rubbish management

I was launched the same year and despite being a car mad child didn’t like these. Fascinating to see this one and I have more respect and some love for the dashboard. The V8 always a gem. Great to see an exotic everyday car in the workshop.

Despite being a middle class saloon/hatchback with questionable BL build quality, it fits in so well with its exotic stablemates in Iain's garage. The great pretender! I'll admit that I enjoyed this episode as much as any other.

I had an early SD1 V8 Manual about 30 years ago, i would love to get another one one day, Great review thanks.

If Britain could be summed up in a car this would be it, talented, classy, a little old fashioned, surprisingly powerful with a splash of help from our American friends, quite thirsty, and don't forget appallingly managed.

Of all the the incredible cars I've seen on this channel, quite oddly, this is the one I want the most. It just seems like tremendous fun!

My father, a private pilot and accountant, Dennis Pritchard had a 1985 3500 vanden plas auto, metallic silver with Grey velour and burrwood trim, which was about two years old at the time. Very, very quick car, especially when the kickdown was used. One of the first hatchbacks. Went to the unveiling at Henley's car show room in Bellingham, south London. Never had any problems at all, had it for five years. Fabulous design.

I love how this guy just stands there without a script, sharing an enormous knowledge of these cars.

Loved seeing these in the 80's bouncing over curbs with Mr Walkinshaw at the wheel in the BTCC. Great story and history Ian.

Wow brings back memories. I had a twin plenum vitesse, for a year or so. Also fitted one to a Triumph TR7 convertible and twin turbocharged it using Janspeed manifolds (another name from the past ey😉) This was years before the internet so it was down to studying books like David Hardcastles book on the Rover V8. My engine even had a girdle and was stroked for a bigger capacity, the turbos were T0-4Bs🤔 Miss both cars🤗 Great channel this, thanks🤗

I have a 1996 Vitesse twin plenum which I purchased in 2000 and it sat in my garage for the past 19 years. In the winter of 2019 my Brother jazzed me on to get it up and running, well after a long winter we got it on the road for the past year or so and it is a a super car. The comfort and power is amazing and we drive it regularly. That video really made me appreciate what i have as they are getting so rare nowadays. Thanks as I really enjoyed the detailed video review of the rover vitesse V8. Tommy Raleigh. From Ireland.

Quality car, thanks for sharing. I love the sound of those old V8s! It's such a shame that the build quality with British Leyland wasn't consistent. Most needed rebuilding/attention after a short time because of circumstances already mentioned. It's nice to see that some people have managed to keep them tickin' over

Looked forward to this for months, one of the best cars I ever had!

Absolutely love Rover SD1, my dad bought brand new one in 1979

I remember the SD1 from my old Rover mechanic days. I was also a mechanic in the Toyo Fast Road championship!. We raced an Maestro Turbo. The SD1'S where absolutely stunning on track for such a big car . Back to the boat engine theme. Remember the later Rover 825 diesel. That had individual cylinder heads because it was a marine engine.

My dad owned one of the rare twin plenium versions manual versions, and sent it off to a Rover specialists upgrading everything including the engine, sent it to 4.2 or 4.5 it was lumpy on tick over, due to the camb, he used to go to work in it, took the lads on a golf trip to Ireland, would sit all day at 120+, was an absolute beast of a machine, wonder where it is now, sold it decades ago for £2000, I drove it in the car park where I live, the engine ticking over lumpy, stalled it Police watching so no burns outs, all my friends watching, so cool, such a car

This must be one of the biggest sleepers in history.

Look at the visibility out of the greenhouse, amazing how thick A pillars have become. Had a factory V8 MGB for a short time, characterful car for sure.

Thank u 4 an amazing vid . I'm 55 now and I remember these beasts! Reminds of mad max interceptor! I think a true muscle car of it's time back in the day especially in this guise. I can c u r a true enthusiast of great cars . God bless u son.

I have just watched this for the third time - what a brilliant video, great commentary. good history. My favourite KZfaq channel.

Undoubtedly one of the most charismatic car's ever built, loved them for decades ♥️

The dash layout really stands out for its compactness, quite unique for late 70’s car design engineering. Interesting story. Thank you.

I've always loved these. The twin throttle V8 sounds really fruity and powerful. The car has real character.

Found one of these in Ecclestone quarry back in the 80s while diving, believe it or not the lights were still on, we arrived early in the morning so it must have been stolen and dumped very recently. We reported it after finishing our dive. Lovely car.

I do love the sound of a Rover V8 - a particularly burbley quality (this one did sound a bit more feisty than usual!). A great video as always!!

When the throttle opened up fully for the first time, I just started giggling :) Excellent commentary, keep up the great work!

That's the best thing I've heard on KZfaq.

I had an SD1, the computer broke just after midnight Jan 1st 2000. We were joking about the millennium bug at the time. When I eventually found it (under the passenger footwell) Someone had written on the top in sharpy "Congratulations, this is the last car off the production line in Solihull". There were some other details and a name. The garage that replaced it threw it away, I was furious. It wasn't a Vitesse but it was very fast, I've had several Rover v8's in my youth and the SD1 really moved. I got it airborne over a hump in the road which greatly impressed my young son and nephew:)

My late father had an automatic version of this car and I recall it’s amazing performance as well as it’s stunning looks. Your video bought back some memories of my driving it whilst he was abroad on business trips which I enjoyed a lot. I’m not surprised you’ve reached the number of subscribers you mentioned as I always look for honesty and integrity when I subscribe and your videos always portray that to a high degree. Many thanks and please keep them coming. Regards, Chris

Always watch this channel. Iain's knowledge is encyclopaedic, he just makes everything interesting and clearly loves what he does for a living. I particularly relish the mechanical and bodywork rebuild and restoration content, the piece on the yellow Miura was nothing short of fascinating. It's the best car oriented channel (although Harry Metcalfe and M539 Restorations come quite close)

What a wonderful kind of life this must be...lovely space to be in every day..the perfect reassurance of old classics as a surround.. and dare i say, it appears to communicate through the transmission to our consummate host.

My mum had one of these. 3.5l. Used to be taken to school in it, and the sound was just really cool. Best car outside the school by far hehe.

Another great classic from my childhood and what a lovely example. Great to see you actually driving it properly too and not just walking around it and admiring it.

My Dad had one of these and had the pleasure of driving it as an 18 year old! Loved it.

One Monday morning back in 1982 i got sacked by a new boss that started that day ,so off i went for a day on the beer like you do at 18 .Came out of a pub late the same day and took a short cut across the firms secluded carpark only to find the said married boss with a young secretary with her skirt up her arse spread eagled across the bonnet of the firms company car a Rover vitesse ,strangely i got offered my job back the very next morning but told him to stick it .30 years later i ran into that secretary again at a function one night ,the look on her face when i reminded her of that night was priceless !

My dad had an sd1. When he Collected me from school I could hear him coming five mins before he arrived.

Congrats on getting onto trending Iain and team! Very much deserved.

That was a lovely and informative video; thanks. In '76 I was a first year impoverished first year apprentice in the Lucas Service fuel injection shop in Johannesburg. I wanted one of these V8 Rovers really badly, but they were new and way out of my range. I ended up with a Ford Granada 3.0 two door coupe though, which I loved. Happy memories.

Dear Iain Tyrrel, You just broke my heart!! I owned this car from 1995 till 2008 when circumstances forced me to sell it. Thank you for your factually very correct story. Gerard G. The Netherlands

When you first started showing up on KZfaq there were always a ton of XJSs in the background... then it all went Lambo, Lambo, Lambo. Show us some XJS! This SD1 is a step in the right direction :)

Let’s see the XJC in detail, please.

Thank you for letting me hear that engine again and 140 mph was so smooth in one of those beast's so smooth.

Wow !!!! worked for AR Dealer in the 80s, thanks for giving this care some love and help preserve some British motoring history (:

Oh yes…..Love the SD1’s they were on the roads when I was a kid early teens. It’s the kid of Car I love to take on a summers day from Thirsk to Scarborough through all the lovely little villages and i’m saying that only driven the road in question on Holidays. To the owner you have been looking after it well after all you brought it to the Workshop but please keep doing it and know when you do take it out your giving a fair few a wee smile that see it on the road.

We used the alloy V8 alot here in Australia... my Dad had them in his Leyland truck and I could lift the engine block up as a boy... we even used them in beach buggies because they were so light and powerful

Great episode. Have to admit could not get Clarkson out of my head talking about Rovers. Mercury Marine have made legendary motors for cars such as the Corvette ZR-1.

I had a 1985 Vanden Plas in silver, loved it. wished it was the 3500 instead of 2600. Such a fantastic looker.

I have been lucky to have owned many Rover SD1 V8s including mrk 1 SD1 V8S, VDP V8 single plenum, Vitesse V8 single plenum and stacks of SE V8 manuals. I enjoyed converting lots of non V8 SD1s to V8. Great car and design lines taken from the Ferrari Daytona, awesome! 👍

This is a wonderfully produced and presented story. Thank you.