The Rover 800 – The Time is Now

Let’s get something out of the way. We have a Rover 800. It’s a 1999 800 Vitesse Sport and while it may currently be in bits, we do still love it (it’s the silver one below, in case you’re wondering). But, we’re not here to shout from our soap box and tell you to buy an 800 because we have one. No, you should buy one because the Rover 800 is a good car. Ignore the jokes, ignore the painful Alan Partridge references, and ignore the stigma of head gasket failure. Ignore it all, and instead look at the 800 with fresh, untainted eyes. What you’ll see is one of Rover’s finest efforts, and a slice of proper bargain luxury.

The 800 was the last big car to be built by Rover, and on that basis alone it’s quite special. The 800 is the coming together of years of expertise and knowledge of building luxury cars. That’s what you need to remember, not the Partridge jokes. The 800 was the then modern embodiment of what Rover stood for, and it was the last hurrah of the company’s large luxury efforts before it went bust in 2004. Yes, we had the 75, but that was a smaller car. The 800 was more like a modern P5 or P6. And also, the Rover 800 was nowhere near as bad as pub bores who have never driven one would like you to believe. In fact, it was lauded by the motoring press for its build, it’s pace and its luxury. And who doesn’t want a slice of that on their driveway?

An introduction to the Rover 800

The 800 was a joint project between Honda and Rover. The two had already teamed up on the Acclaim/Prelude, which served as a proof of concept in terms of a partnership. The 800 was built in conjunction with Honda’s Legend – a car built to occupy the large luxury segment, in which Honda was absent. Rover also needed to regain a foothold in this segment having killed off the SD1, so the partnership made sense. Share the development costs, borrow each other’s technology, but in the end produce two very different cars. Plus, Honda’s goal for the Legend was to penetrate the North American market, so there would be very little toe stepping on UK soil. Good news for Rover.

Development started in 1981 with Rover working under the codename of XX (the Honda was HX). The cars would share the same core structure, but the design and finish of the cars would be unique to each manufacturer. The good news for Rover, and for buyers, was that Honda would supply the V6 engines along with both manual and automatic transmissions. Rover would provide the four-cylinder engines. And before you jump in with a head gasket joke, don’t. The four-cylinder engines in the 800 were the robust M series and the turbocharged T series – not the weepy K series that did have the gasket issues. Oh, and there was also a 2.5 diesel, for those of you looking for those MPGs.

In terms of the chassis, the partnership served to generate a brilliantly strong platform that featured disc brakes all round, fully independent suspension and sharp steering. The 800 was praised for its ride and handling when it was released, and it’s still a pleasant car to drive today. And that’s the case if you’re in the 134bhp 2.0 or the 198bhp turbo.

Of all the 800s in the range, the Vitesse and Sterling models are the ones to go for. The Vitesse started life in the mk1 800 as a 2.7 177bhp V6 and was the car Tony Pond famously did an average speed of over 100mph around the Isle of Man. Later cars switched to the T series turbo, which was around 180bhp on distributor cars, or 200ish on later coil pack cars. These are the cars to have, especially the early Vitesse and the last of the line Vitesse Sport. Though cars in the middle, age wise, are just as good. As are the Sterlings, which represented the absolute top of the range, with electric everything and more leather than you could shake a Hells Angels meet at.

Furthermore, Rover made a coupe version of the Mk2. With doors longer than the QE2, this is a proper old school coupe and is a brilliantly elegant machine. The only difference was the doors, or lack thereof, so finding mechanical parts shouldn;t be too much of an issue. Do check the door trims and cards though, as they’ll be a nightmare to replace.

What are prices like?

You can pick up a basic 2.0 800 Mk2 for around £500 if you look around, though realistically you’re going to be looking at £1,500 for something in good condition and with a bit of history. If you fancy a later Vitesse Sport, you really need to be looking at spending around £2,500 for one that hasn’t been flogged to death. History is key with these cars.

If you fancy one of the Mk2 Coupe models, add around £500 to the above prices, as the Coupe is exceptionally desirable car, and one that never hangs around when adverts do appear.

The Mk1 models are already on the up, so you’re going to have to pay a bit more. That said, bargains are still out there. We recently bought a Mk1 827SLi manual, in reasonable condition, for just £1,200. We’ve seen similar cars for sale since from around £2,000. For an early Vitesse V6, you could easily get up to five-grand for a mint one, but as long as you have all the history and the car is as good as the price suggests, you’re going to be pretty save investing that kind of money.

Diesel models are exceptionally rare, so when they come up, they tend to be north of £1,500. Though in reality, the diesel is a clattery old beast and really isn’t suited to the 800, so don’t be too upset if you miss out on buying one.

Why should I buy one?

Rover is a brand unfairly tarnished by armchair experts and unwanted opinions. Yes, it went out in a blaze of embarrassment and mediocrity, but that was the fault of mismanagement. The cars shouldn’t be held accountable, nor should the people who worked on them. Rover was a once great brand, one that in its infancy, pitched itself against the likes of Rolls Royce and Bentley. Rover is a brand we should be proud of, and the 800 is the perfect way to do that.

Buy an 800 and you’ll have a rare, interesting car but one you can drive every day. Mechanical parts are still easy to come by, and while trim is difficult to obtain, the network of dedicated enthusiasts behind the 800 means that what you need is normally more than a few forums of social media posts away.

But aside from all that, the 800 is a good car. That’s why you should consider one. It’s large, it’s comfortable, it handles well for something the size of Sussex, it’s staggeringly fast in Vitesse guise and if you buy a fastback, it’s immensely practical. It could well be all the car you ever need. Plus, it’s nice to drive a bit of British motoring heritage. Stiff upper lip and all that.

How long will it take to see a return?

Prices are slowly on the climb, as you can see from the date we’ve pulled from the site over the last nine years or so. For example, we bought our Vitesse as a knackered project car for £475, and while it’s still not finished, we could easily get £1,500 for it. Once it’s on the road, add a grand. The big money does seem to be on the late-model Vitesse cars, though when an early V6 Vitesse pops up, it will jump in at over four-grand.

More basic models can be had for around a thousand pounds, though be prepared to add at least 500 of you’re looking at a Mk1 800 – they’re currently the most sought after. As for the cheaper cars, you can get a roadworthy Mk2 for £500-750, but expect it to be a bit rough around the edges. If you plan to buy one to restore, you need to look closely at the trim, as like we said, it’s becoming increasingly hard to find.

For your own slice of big-build Rover luxury, here’s where you can find a Rover 800 for sale.