Find of the Day: This Five-Speed, V-8-Powered 1980 Rover SD1 Needs Some TLC

It really should have been a success in America — a luxury sedan with a U.S.-bred V-8, featuring hatchback utility and exciting styling that borrowed heavily from the Maserati Ghibli and the Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona. But Rover Cars, suffering under the mismanagement of parent company British Leyland, wasn’t able to capitalize on the car’s promise here, withdrawing it from the U.S. market after a single year. That makes cars like the 1980 Rover SD1 we found in the Hemmings Classified Ads a rare sight on our roads.

A premium car for a new era, the SD1 was a return to convention for the Solihull-based manufacturer. Its previous sedan, the P6 of 1963, bristled with technology, including four-wheel disc brakes, a de Dion rear suspension, base unit construction with unstressed body panels, and an overhead-camshaft four-cylinder. The SD1 was designed to be both cheaper to build and easier to live with, with conventional disc/drum brakes, a solid rear axle, and unit-body construction. At launch, it boasted a 3,500-cc, all-aluminum V-8, Rover’s reworked version of the Buick 215-cu.in. V-8 it had purchased from GM in 1965. Reflecting its displacement, the car was named the 3500, and as the first product of BL’s Specialist Division, it carried the codename SD1.

At British Leyland, Rover was living under the same roof as its former rival Jaguar, and Jaguar boss Sir William Lyons did what he could to keep the SD1 from being too much of a competitor for the Jaguar XJ6. Production costs were ruthlessly cut; though Rover had wanted to use Wilton wool carpeting and walnut trim, the interior budget was slashed to the equivalent of an Austin Allegro’s. Still, it was a lot of car for the money, so impressive that it won European Car of the Year honors for 1977. Rover introduced the SD1 into the U.S. market for 1980, but withdrew it after just one year, with fewer than 1,300 sold. (U.S.-market cars can be spotted by their four round headlights, rather than the flush-mounted units of the home-market cars.)

According to the seller, this 1980 SD1 shows just over 72,000 miles, and had been owned by a Rover enthusiast who kept the car garaged for the past several years. Because it’s been sitting, the Rover will need its fuel and braking systems gone through, though the seller notes that the fuel-injected V-8 has been started using starting fluid, and appears to be in good health. The asking price for the car has been adjusted in consideration of the mechanical work that will be needed, the seller says.

This example is equipped with the new LT77 five-speed, rather than the optional three-speed Borg-Warner Type 66, to make the best use of the V-8’s power. It also features leather upholstery, rather than the less-than-durable nylon velour that was standard on these cars. Leather only became an option after Rover stopped selling the SD1 in America; the seller doesn’t say, but we’d imagine that the seats, or maybe seat covers, were installed at a later date. Niceties like power windows, air conditioning, and an AM/FM stereo cassette with four speakers were standard equipment on U.S. cars. “The body is very straight and unmolested, and appears to have very little rust,” the seller notes.

In spite of its failure to launch in America, the SD1 was a success for BL, with total production estimated at a little over 300,000 between 1976 and 1986. This means that parts aren’t difficult to come by. Are you up for the challenge of getting this one back on the road?

The post Find of the Day: This Five-Speed, V-8-Powered 1980 Rover SD1 Needs Some TLC appeared first on The Online Automotive Marketplace.