Description
One of the very oldest Rover 75s and possibly one of the best of these pre-production Rover 75s left with low mileage.
There’s a lot to tell you, so please put the kettle on, make a brew, pull up a chair and read on.
This is an extremely early Rover 75, likely to be about the 8th oldest on the road and of those, it’s the lowest mileage example (current mileage at the time of typing is 40, 700 miles). It is what is known as a “pre-production” model, meaning it was manufactured before the main production run began on 12th April 1999 - our car actually came off the factory production line in Cowley at 3:45pm on Monday 22nd February 1999. These early pre-production cars were used for testing, production line checks, supplying to dealers as demonstrators, to name just a few reasons.
These pre-production, and now extremely rare, 75s are distinguished by a unique number range in their VIN and fitment of some items unique to the pre-production models such as a black surround to the combined hazard switch/ central locking switch in the centre control.
A large number of pre-production 75s were scrapped and with them having been made over 26 years ago, very few pre-production examples remain in existence.
Finished in Pearlescent Atlantic Blue and with 17 inch ’Serpent’ alloy wheels, our car is identical to the one which starred in the TV advert (the advert is available on YouTube) and photoshoots for the magazine adverts at launch.
Fast forward from 1999 to 2022 and another photoshoot took place, this time it’s our car (T789ABD) in the photoshoot for when it was featured across 10 pages in the July 2022 issue of Classic Modern Retro magazine (issue 12), a copy on which is available to the new custodian.
Our car has had 3 previous owners - first owned by Rover (due to being a pre-production car), then in 2001 it passed through the dealer network to SMC Rover with branches in Slough and Uxbridge from whom it was sold to Mr Read who bought it at the age of 69. Mr Read kept it for 17 years until 2018 when it was sold to Mr Tuner - the previous owner to ourselves.
When the previous owner found it for sale in 2018, he knew it wasn’t just any 75, he knew it was one of the very oldest. He bought it and due to it having some scuffs, he spared no expense bringing it up to his exacting standards. During his ownership it underwent a full respray as he went to extreme lengths to make this one of the most stunning pre-production Rover 75s, sourcing new ‘old stock’ parts from across Europe. Not only did he have a full respray in the beautiful Pearlescent Atlantic Blue (keeping it’s original colour) but he also spent a small fortune on brand new ‘old stock’ chrome to replace pretty much all the exterior chrome. This included the ultra rare chrome slatted Rover 75 grill (most have black plastic slats). He also had the 17 inch ‘Serpent’ alloy wheels professionally refurbished and perfectly colour matched to the new old stock centre caps he sourced and finished off with wheels with new Michelin Primacy 4 tyres.
The attention to detail didn’t stop there, other items he purchased include:
- New old stock door mirrors together with new chrome mirror caps,
- New old stock steering wheel,
- New old stock gear knob,
- New foam within the driver’s seat - the leather and piping were perfect but the base had sagged,
- New heating element in the driver’s seat - this was working perfectly fine but whilst the seat was at the trimmers having the new foam fitted, he asked the trimmer to fit the new heating element, as preventative maintenance,
- New brake pads and discs front and rear and
- New silencer and other items.
He also carried out preventative maintenance, for example, fitting new:
- Variable Intake System (VIS) assembly, an innovative air intake system - there was nothing wrong with the system fitted to the car, this was only replaced as part of preventative maintenance,
- key components on the cooling system which weren’t faulty but are known to sometimes cause problems, these included the thermostat and other pipes - he wanted to carry out as much preventative maintenance as he could,
The cambelts and water pump had already been changed a few months previously - we’ve also had the camblets and water pump changed in 2023 due to age, not mileage, this was done by a local Rover specialist with ex-Rover staff. As you can imagine, the car is still in stunning condition and all the above work and items are documented in the comprehensive history file.
We bought the car for my dad to take to car shows and it’s proved a popular car on the scene. We’ve had a number of Rovers over the years and when we were looking for a Rover 75 for dad, we learnt of this one and for a number of reasons, we decided this was the one we wanted.
We like unusual vehicles - a few years ago we owned one of the nicest Bedford Rascal vans - an example of the quirky, different vehicles we like. We also owned a special Rover 200, a 200vi 5 door in white with around 18, 000 miles on it when we sold it - the current owner has actually had it featured in the July 2025 edition of Classic Retro Modern (issue 35), like the 75 was three years ago.
With a silky smooth 2. 5 V6 engine, 177PS (and 240 Nm of torque) and mated to a 5 speed automatic gearbox (with Normal, Sport and Winter modes), it’s such a lovely drive and with laser alignment of the wheels earlier this year, it certainly is a delight to be behind its wheel as it soaks up the miles. Tweak the seats to your perfect position with the ease of the electric adjustment, adjust the steering wheel, switch on the ice-cold air-conditioning or put the heated seats on (on cooler days/ nights or just when you want to get cosy) and relax, it’s a Rover, as the adverts once said.
With the real wood veneer dashboard (replaced by plastic wood later in 75’s lifetime) and a two-tone interior of Sandstone and Ash Grey trim, it has a quality and light, airy feel, especially with it having the pale “Sandstone” original roof lining, which is in perfect condition. Complimenting the lovely interior combination are genuine Rover 75 floor mats, also in Ash Grey - additional over mats have always been used, therefore these genuine Rover 75 mats are almost as new.
Being a Connoisseur, our car has a high spec and because it was a pre-production car, it has some interesting options, firsts for Rover, these being:
- Electric memory driver’s seat with height and tilt adjustment and remote control via the remote control on the key, meaning when you unlock the car using the remote control, the driver’s seat can move to the preferred position associated with that key and
- Electric rear sunblind mounted inside the rear parcel shelf.
Other features as part of the standard Connoisseur spec include:
- Leather Ash Grey seats with contrasting pale piping and Rover embossed logo on both front head rests, leather steering wheel as well as a leather trimmed, padded lid to the front centre console,
- Electric passenger seat,
- Heated front seats,
- Lumbar adjustment of both front seats,
- Tilt-adjustable front headrests,
- Dual zone automatic climate control,
- Twin front cupholders - rare and only on earlier more upmarket models, most had a single cupholder on the passenger side,
- Folding rear seat (another a rare feature) with armrest and ‘ski hatch’,
- Rear cupholders,
- Rear heating both for your feet and upper body via adjustable vents and
- Front fog lights.
More recent maintenance, aside from servicing, has been replacement of the cambelts and water pump again, this time in March 2023 at 38, 678 miles, this was based on age and the car is MOT’d until March 2026.
Other nice little touches are that our car features are the Rover badge on one of the ignition keys - something which was removed after a few years as part of Rover’s Project Drive cost-cutting exercise as were other features such as real wood veneer on the facia being replaced by ‘plastic wood’, removal of the Rover embossment of the front headrests, removal of numerous badges on the exterior and removal of some sound insulation over the coming years, amongst many other changes.
To summarise, this is a beautiful example of one of the very first Rover 75s and it still has the slim plastic emergency key which is designed to take up very little room in a wallet or purse.
The wealth of information on the Rover 75 and MG ZT forum has helped me learn of the rarity of pre-production cars, my research is ever continuing but as highlighted earlier, the signs are that ours is possibly the 8th oldest on the road.
