1961 Rover P4 100 Saloon

The Rover P4 range, designed by Gordon Bashford and built by the Rover Company from 1948 to 1964, incorporated a true sense of Britishness which happily remains to this day. In a P4 one can rejoice in the luxury of leather, wood and a quality of workmanship, which perhaps accounts for their longevity and the charming ‘Auntie’ nomenclature affectionately attached to the model.

Initially offered with an engine from the 1948 Rover 75, subsequent development offered both four and six cylinder engines, mostly with manual gearboxes and some with the benefit of an overdrive. The P4 had a separate chassis with independent suspension and a steel body with aluminium doors, boot lid and bonnet made by the Pressed Steel Company. Not perhaps intended as a sports saloon, it is nonetheless a motor car which can be driven with some exuberance as some classic rally and circuit racing participants have discovered! The Hundred was available from 1959 to 1962 and had a powerful six cylinder 2638cc engine mated to a manual/ overdrive gearbox. Servo assisted Girling disc brakes were fitted on the front with drums at the rear. Here then is a chance to be truly British in your choice of motor car, as did the American actress Grace Kelly and King Hussein of Jordan in their day.

This fine concours-winning P4 100 originally resided in London. It eventually found its way to Staffordshire and remained there throughout the 1980s, 90s and 00s, before the current custodian’s father purchased the Rover in 2011.

During that ownership, the Rover was the subject of a total restoration to a very high standard. We understand that everything has been attended to; photographs in the file show an engine rebuild, a mechanical and complete body restoration and respray to an exceptional standard.  

It has continued to be well maintained, as evidenced in the file, and has won awards at shows, most notably a first at the 2012 Joint Rover Clubs Annual Rally. The motor car remains in excellent order throughout and is difficult to fault. The engine runs well and performs as one would expect, the interior is in original condition and has obviously been well cared for, and the body and paintwork are still in concours condition.

The history file contains many MOT test certificates, dating from the early 1970s, plus MOT history confirming the mileage and the most recent MOT certificate which expired in 2020 with no advisories, together with many photographs of the car and its restoration, tax discs, invoices, an original Rover owner’s manual, an original workshop manual, Technical Tips, the aforesaid first place award from 2012, an RF60, a V5 document, a V5C and the current V5C registration certificate.

SOLD