1971 Rover P5B Coupe

Description

Current owner 39 years; only 51,000 miles from new; highly original and always garaged; driven 35 miles to the sale; a lovely example of this sleek British icon

Wilson, Heath, Callaghan, Thatcher – all very different but with one thing in common: their Ministerial transport was a Rover P5B Saloon. Produced from 1967 until 1973, the P5B became a familiar sight in the nation’s living rooms, flying through the gates of Downing Street on the nightly news.

With a Buick-derived 3.5-litre V8 putting 160bhp and bags of effortless grunt under his foot, the Special Branch driver at the wheel could whisk his VIP passengers to 110mph and crack 60 in under 11 seconds, even with the mandatory auto box. Coupled with surprisingly good ride and handling and some of the most comfortable seats ever to grace a motorcar, this really was the archetypal gentleman's club on wheels.

For cads and villains, Rover also produced the P5B in four-door coupe style with a lower roof-line, slimmer chromed window surrounds, twin-armchair rear seats and additional dash instruments. Sleek and menacing, the Coupe is the most collectable variant today, commanding a 50% premium over the stately Saloon. Some 20,600 P5Bs were sold before production came to an end in 1973, with just 9,000 being in the desirable Coupe style.

First registered in Wolverhampton in April 1971, this wonderful Coupe has had just four local owners from new, our vendor acquiring the car way back in August 1984 when it had covered around 40k miles. The Rover had come in as a part exchange at Charles Clark Motors of Darlaston and was in good condition apart from faded paintwork and some corrosion to the o/s/r wing.

In 1985 our vendor sent the car to Wednesbury Motors, a British Leyland dealership that had just opened a new state-of-the-art paint shop. They took the car on as a project to showcase the skills of their workforce, stripping the bodywork right down and repainting it in the original Silver Birch over Zircon Blue using the original BL paint. The o/s/r wing was replaced with a new one but otherwise all the panels are original. The brightwork is also all original apart from the rear bumper which was rechromed.

For the next 30+ years the Rover was looked after by the vendor's own business, Falcon Garage of Wednesbury (founded by his father in 1965), being maintained in-house by the vendor and his team of mechanics. Used sparingly in fine weather only, it went to many shows and did the odd wedding for friends and family, always being kept garaged when not in use. In recent times it has been used less and less frequently, the MOT history showing that it has only covered 2,500 miles in the last 18 years. It is currently showing just over 51,000 miles which is warranted to be correct.

As you can see in the photos, it looks most attractive with lovely paint and good bodywork – a testament to the skills of the BL boys who repainted it all those years ago. Apart from the carpets which were renewed some time ago, the interior is all original and nicely mellowed.

Recently fitted with a new battery and driven some 35 miles to the sale, it has been starting promptly and running beautifully as we have moved it around on site. One of the nicest Coupes we have seen, and certainly the most original, this low-mileage beauty, from long-term ownership, looks mighty tempting at the sensible guide price suggested.

For more information contact James on 07970 309907 or email james.dennison@brightwells.com