Rover P4

Rover P4 series
Rover 90, 1956 Model
Overview
ManufacturerThe Rover Co. Ltd.
Production1949–1964
130,312 units
DesignerGordon Bashford
Body and chassis
ClassMid-size luxury car
Body style4-door saloon
LayoutFR layout
Dimensions
Wheelbase111 in (2,819 mm)[1]
Length178.25 in (4,528 mm)[2]
Width65.6 in (1,666 mm)[2]
Height63.25 in (1,607 mm)[2]
Chronology
PredecessorRover P3
SuccessorRover P5 (concurrent from 1958)
Rover P6

The Rover P4 series is a group of mid-size luxury saloon cars produced by the Rover Company from 1949 until 1964. They were designed by Gordon Bashford.

The P4 designation is factory terminology for this group of cars and was not in day-to-day use by ordinary owners who would have used the appropriate consumer designations for their models such as Rover 90 or Rover 100.

Production began in 1949 with the 6-cylinder 2.1-litre Rover 75. Four years later a 2-litre 4-cylinder Rover 60 was brought to the market to fit below the 75 and a 2.6-litre 6-cylinder Rover 90 to top the three-car range. Several variations followed.

These cars are very much part of British culture and became known as the 'Auntie' Rovers.[3] They were driven by royalty including Grace Kelly and King Hussein of Jordan whose first ever car was a 1952 75.

The P4 series was supplemented in September 1958 by a new conservatively shaped Rover 3-litre P5 but the P4 series stayed in production until 1964 and their replacement by the Rover 2000.

  1. ^ Culshaw; Horrobin (1974). Complete Catalogue of British Cars. Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-16689-2.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Motor1954 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Denis Jenkinson, being totally impressed with the Rover... remarked that the car had tackled the torturous journey just as if going to Auntie's for tea. The term of endearment stuck and forever after the P4 has carried its 'Auntie' nickname." (Bobbitt 2007, p. 36)