Jeremy Clarkson 5.2 Rover SD1.What happened to it!

[bmwfan4lyfe]

FAKE! the RPI Rover was stripped not long after jeremy drove it for the dvd he made, the original car was using a borrowed engine out of one of RPI's other cars along with other parts, and the shell was scrapped a long time ago....

[savagev8]

@bmwfan4lyfe How many more people! Its not fake, i worked at RPI for the best part of 11 years!

The engine was a customers (a new build) not one of RPI's cars.

The other parts sat on the car in the back yard (the boot was sold with the whale tail on it). Everything was left. I used the seats and rollcage on the Hammond SD1, and the Jag brakes etc off my old wide arch SD1.

[TheVx490]

why the bother,its a rover,not a masserati

[eimantuks6]

its still a good car

[ScottiesVlog]

Sorry but this is blatantly fake.....

[alexander1485]

put a airplane engine in it, don't need an interior :P

[nautbijker]

that's not the same colour, is it? maybe i'm wrong.

[Baskentli]

Idiots. It isn't the same car:D

[dnbrhythm]

il take it off your hands if you like and restore it

[Ferrari73703]

@dnbrhythm, I restored an SD1.

[theymusthatetesla]

Beautiful creature. Pininfarina designed, no less.

[LandroverB1]

HOW MUCH is it ?i can rebuild worse but am in oz

[Teribus13]

Shame to see the state this car was left in :-(

[bigdonkey1000]

The Rover SDI 3.5 was and still is one of my all time fave cars !! i only like the older 70s-80s cars,new cars have no shape or character at all !! they are to disposable

[GeneralHoohah]

You suck for not restoring this car... should have but a new Nissan racing engine in it. :D

[savagev8]

@GeneralHoohah Ha haaaa, you must be a mind reader :-)

[GeneralHoohah]

@savagev8 You gonna do it or not dammit?

[halflife103]

@67675656565655656565 You read but do not hear. Growing up with a vehicle doesn't make you an expert anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car. You are allowed an opinion, but you are no true car enthusiast.

[halflife103]

@67675656565655656565 a REAL car enthusiast loves all cars for their own quirks. Look at me, i love Geo Metro's because they are so simple, i love this car because its very unique, not to mention bold.

[havvacuppa]

Looks like the interior has been stripped, presumably to help restore another Rover - so even if this one's never going to drive again, at least it\s helped save another one.

[blackmetalofnorway1]

Its not being restored?

Why???

This is sad news indeed 

[savagev8]

@blackmetalofnorway1 Far to much work was needed, i will be building another when i have finished my current project

[GanEdenAustralia]

87,000 watch this????

[eimantuks6]

the rover sd1 was the best car ever made and i don't care who says it is not

and the 1963 wolksvagen bug was the second and i don't care again if anyone says they're not

[thebulldogman]

great cars shame to see it like this but!!!!

[aircooledwizard]

These cars were great, ive had eight of them, all V8's. Pity the build quality wasnt a little better. Water in both gloveboxes became tiresome every winter. But that engine was a peach of a motor and found its way under countless bonnets of custom and factory built cars alike. The SD1 will be missed by me.

[Asestar]

Aww so sad. He should have taken it along for his clay pidgeon shooting.

[kazimann]

@67675656565655656565 Very ignorant comment.

[67675656565655656565]

@kazimann i speak the truth

[kazimann]

@67675656565655656565 How so, did you ever own one? The Rover V8 was one of the best built engines ever.

[russ13b]

@kazimann yes, but, it (the rover v8) was designed by buick, and when they decided they didn't want it, rover bought the design

[brigadeir998]

@67675656565655656565 - really? The SD1 was the best-handling car in its class, better even than the BMW 5-series, rode as well as a Merc or a Jag, looked stunning, and it was the most practical car in its class too, with a massive boot, that hatchback, folding rear seats... the six-cylinder engines were smooth (albeit prone to problems), the V8 was smooth and reliable... it's just unfortunate that a lazy workforce meant that it wasn't as well built as it needed to be.

[maikedinho]

GAME OVER ROVER

[rrc1985]

I've driven a NA 4.6 discovery that would outdrag that pathetic attempt at an engine. No wonder Clarky didn't keep it and it ends up scrapped. If you restored it I could point you towards the man who does Rovers right unlike some of these cowboys.

[savagev8]

@rrc1985 Yeah alright then lmao!

[rrc1985]

@savagev8 Check out Armson AE and Rocket Sled tuning ;-)

[crofty1984]

@rrc1985 Um, a heavier less aerodynamic car with a smaller NA variant of the same engine? How?

[yonel1000]

justin timberlake what goes arround:d

[yonel1000]

thank you buergie >:d<

[yonel1000]

thank you

[yonel1000]

what is name for the song



[buergie]

@yonel1000

I think it must be "The Shitty Beatles - Shice goes around"

[savagev8]

@67675656565655656565 Well you have taken the time to watch the video and comment on it lmao!

[petervinten]

why on earth was that car taken off the road and not kept its such a shame to see a car like that go down the tubes

[67675656565655656565]

who cares it was a heap of shit

[savagev8]

@67675656565655656565 Well you have taken the time to watch the video and comment on it lmao!

[arospeed169]

@67675656565655656565 as a car that rover was excellent the problem was the catastrophical build quality

[halflife103]

@67675656565655656565 Good to see i found another person who isn't a car enthusiast.

[Crazybenjiwoo]

rover make shite cars... save this to save some face.

[nenno31]

not this car isnt it .. jeremy never ever die car

[IXIGaryIXI]

NO ITS NOT.

[SEWegman]

What a shame. Had potential :(

[cliffthelightning]

Let it rest

[tyu198]

Would it be sold ?

im interested.

[hamster700]

the rover sd1 never got the engine it deserved in europe

[bigdonkey1000]

I remember this rover very well,i was a member on the sd1 website,and it ended up being owned to a guy,then he sold it on ebay,so i'm sure this is'nt the one..everyone on the sd website was raving about it..

[savagev8]

@bigdonkey1000 That was a british racing green SD1 but not the Clarkson SD1, the car was built by RPI Engineering and never left them lol!

[lowdowncustomz1]

@savagev8 The car was broken up shortly after that was flimed, The shell was scraped by them as the engine and bits were borrowed from other cars they had at the time

[savagev8]

@lowdowncustomz1 .................. Wrong!

The engine was borrowed, thats it. The boot was sold with spoiler shortly after. I have worked at RPi on and off since 1999 ;-)

[stfergus608]

that aint the same car

[savagev8]

@stfergus608 whatever lol.

[stfergus608]

what the hell do you mean whatever lol ? am i suposed to take as a joke just because you put lol at the end of it ? get a life and a new car those sd 1`s are nothing but piles of shit anyway

[savagev8]

@stfergus608 if you say so mate, your the one watching videos of them, and then claiming that there not the car they are. And your telling me to get a life??

[stfergus608]

no actually i was watching jeremy clarkson videos by the way . if thats the same car why is it a dfferent colour ? were are the gold wheels on the car ? were is the spoiler ? and many other parts missing .. that is a different car a shell of an sd`1 that has nothing to do with the top gear rover

[savagev8]

@stfergus608 The boot is a different colour because it was sold with the spoiler on it, and a gold one sat on it, the wheels were sold, and the green paint faded after being left in a field for years, the rollcage is gone as i fitted that to the Hammond SD1, along with the seats.

[stfergus608]

i dont think the paint would fade that fast anyway i dont think they are the same at all . who do you work for if you build those cars ?

[savagev8]

@stfergus608 was a cheap paintjob just for the video, and i work at RPI Engineering, search RPIEngineering on here to see my work account videos.

[fpvshitsonhsv]

Not much rust,all she needs is some running gear and paint

[TheBritBoy101]

like jeremy clarkson would of got rid of that its a good car and other then that he liked it and he built it

[savagev8]

lmao, you know that for a fact do you? He built it yet he knows nothing about the mechanicals and how to build cars etc. He had RPI Engineering build it, and he used it for the day!

[smtbbo]

I don't think that restoration will ever happen...

too much wasted money on a non worthy car

[Nikovercetti]

yeah..many idiots who know nothing but talk like they know something...is the engine still in there? yeah go restored it man..its gonna be a true classic there :)

[drewerz01]

Come on Morons it plainly isn't the same car.... I think you'll find the car is now owned by RPI Engineering, is kept at their factory & is used for promotional photo shoots & the occasional track day!

Anyone who believes this is the same car is very easily lead & you have my pitty!

[savagev8]

I think you will find your the moron mate, i worked at RPi Engineering on and off fromm 1999 to last year, which is where i took these photos and where i planned to restore it you idiot! Also they dont have a factory lol, just a normal garage! They didnt use it for photo shoots and promo work other than 1 show, as the engine was one we built for a customer lol. You have my pitty! :-)

[MatrixEmpire08]

Who the hell cares? I don't...they paid for it, they can do what ever they want with it. The car in this video isn't the same one anyway, so whats the point in making a fuss about it.

[savagev8]

How many more idiots are going to say this is not the same car!?? And who paid for it?

[farmereddy11]

i see they took the engine and box..

[nathanpisces]

i wonder why.... O.O

[TheHaleRoe18]

personally i tihnk this is discusting they soend all that money doing it up to race and it ends up like that whoever let that car get that that oaght to be ashamed of themselves

[savagev8]

Agreed.

[moltenriches]

What's this got to do with jeremy Clarkson?

[savagev8]

He raced it in a video of his.

[cornflakes002]

Was clarksons rover not TVR powered

[Gordanovich]

Well the old TVR V8's (i.e. not the AJP V8 used in the Cerbera) were basically Rover V8's, so in a way you are right. But so far as i'm aware it wasn't TVR who did the 5.2 litre conversion on Jezza's car.

[savagev8]

No mate, it was a 5.2 built by RPI Engineering. A 4.6 taken to 5.2 ;-)

[discodreama]

fuck sd1 right in the ear, i love rover v8 power, thats why im buying a land rover. :)

[benjieishere]

good luck to u m8

[mikeMBW]

Oh dear. That's a shame - good to see it's landed in the hands of an enthusiast rather than the scrappers! ;) When was this in it's prime?

[savagev8]

ffs, how many more people!!!!! How do you know it had a welded in roll cage?? Did you build it? Nope! Have you seen it in the flesh, obviously not! I took the cage out(which was bolted in) to use in the Hammond SD1!!! Now get your facts right you twat!

[MercSLRFan]

pitty

[winjinsinjon]

such a shame, sad end to an awsome car, yes it had a stupidly powerfull engine and no other mods but thats what made it so good.

[glenni09]

such a fucking shame looked amazing

[steve12790]

i hear it was the shell was 2 far gone

[glenni09]

has it been scrapped now has it

[steve12790]

glenn me old m8 i agree wit u m8

[glenni09]

thats gutting that looked such a lovlely car

[PaintSniffer07]

The best place for it i reckon. This is what you get if some midlanders buy an old american V8 and stick it in their piece of crap Rover and try to make it iconic. Even Jaguar gained more creditability for making the XJS

[EccentricRichard]

Err... excuse me, what about the legendary P5B and P6B? Bombproof cars as long as they're rust-proofed at new (everything rusted then), comfortable, agile... yes, the SD1 was a comedown in build quality and quality of interior from the P6, and the rear live axle was likewise a retrograde step. Still not a bad car by any means.

[PaintSniffer07]

still scrap metal compared to a jaguar or a muscle car. The P6B does have an impressive styling, but the P5B just looks awful. Sorry, but rover haven't really made many iconic cars and the one in this video certainly isn't one. Good engine; wrong car.

[savagev8]

Wrong, SD1's have an absolute huge following, yeah the build quality wasnt great, and they didnt handle, but that was part of the fun ;-) If i had the money i would be building a very very serious Sd1

[PaintSniffer07]

How is it fun to drive a car that is badly built, has rubbish performance and not an ounce of history? The very first Ford Mustang wasn't the greatest of cars performance wise, but people loved it, it practically spawned a long line of V8 engined cars that people liked! Rover's SD1 is just another British Leyland hell spawn which has no redeeming feature then it's engine, which is a pretty shallow excuse.

[musicalpyramid]

Have you ever owned one, PaintSniffer07? Ever driven one? Have a clue what you're talking about? The SD1 was and remains one of the greatest British cars of all time. A total classic. Just fabulous!

[PaintSniffer07]

i don't need to drive one to see that it's an ugly rust bucket thanks and it's hardly a British classic when they had to use the same engine the Americans used in the Oldsmobile Cutlass, Pontiac Tempest/leMans and the 1961 Buick special. All of those american models were alot better designed then the Rover and have a greater legacy then cars designed by British Leyland. I don't dislike british cars, but for this rover i make an exception.

[voltagemaxx]

I'm a huge fan of American muscle, but at the time the Rover SD1 was launched the Americans were only just waking up to disc brakes! The SD1 has one of the best located live axle set ups of all time. I'd put an SD1 Vitesse against a non tuned mustang of the era on a track any day.

Having said that, yes the build quality was awful, but it was a very well designed car. The British police were a HUGE fan of the V8 SD1's for example :)

[amerbritcan]

ok what? SD1 one of the greatest british cars of all time? nothing rover was ever one of the greatest british cars of all time. EVER. England has/had too many brilliant automakers for rover to even get on the list of good british automakers, let alone one of their cars even be considered important. Aston Martin, Jaguar, Morgan, MG, Triumph, Austin Healey, Morgan....need I go on? Dont ever say a rover is worthy of being considered one of the greatest british cars of all time. they are not worthy.

[musicalpyramid]

Rover made a number of great cars - the Land Rover, the P5 coupe, the Range Rover, the P6 etc. How someone can discount Rover but include MG and Triumph is beyond me. Yes there were great MGs and Triumphs, but to suggest that a list that included MGs or Triumphs could not include the Rover P5 or the Land Rover doesnt make sense to me. The Land Rover alone gives the Rover Motor Company it's place in history for all time & Prime Ministers prefered the P5 to any offering from Jaguar for decades.

[EccentricRichard]

The Rover P5 and P6 were both better than Mk2 Jag - the Government even preferred the P5 to the Mk1 XJ. The P6 was a better car than the Triumph 2000/2500/2.5PI in every way. The MG Magnette was a joke, frankly, not a real sports saloon.

[paulb4uk]

The p6 is not better than the triumph 2000 or 2500 thats bullshit i have driven both triumph has a much better engine straight six was a load better than the 4 cylinder rover only the v8 engine was any good and that was only thanks to the Americans selling the rights to it .besides rover failed to sell well in America unlike triumph .

[EccentricRichard]

@paulb4uk - yeah, the Triumph six was better than the Rover four. Rover were developing a modular family of fives and sixes when the British Leyland merger happened and the project was killed. However, the Triumph six was heavy and not the most reliable... Also, Rover reworked the V8 significantly, it wasn't only good because of GM, and the reason Rover didn't sell in America was because the Yanks didn't understand such complex engineering. Oh, and P6 De Dion > Triumph semi trailing arm IRS.

[lewis72]

@EccentricRichard

I don't think that the P6 was better than the Triumph 2000 in every way;

- The P6's front suspension was over-complicated to package a gas turbine that never was.

- The 2 litre model was a four cylinder, not a six.

- The Triumph was a monocoque construction and available as (mass produced) estate.

IMO, the P6 was the more luxurious, the Triumph was the sportier.

Mk1 XJ6 was arguably the best car in the world at launch and as for the XJ12...

[EccentricRichard]

@lewis72 - the P6's front suspension was brilliant, leaving a wide engine bay, and making the P6 very stable. The Ariel Atom, widely acclaimed as the best-handling car ever, has a similar arrangement.

- The 4-pot engine was supposed to be temporary, but BL killed development of its 5- and 6-cylinder replacements.

- The Triumph was a simple unibody with flawed semi-trailing arm IRS. The Rover was a monocoque skeleton, all external panels removable: it was stronger, safer and cheaper to repair.

[EccentricRichard]

@lewis72 - the P6 was more luxurious, but, in moving away from the old-fashioned wood and leather of the Triumph, and with its butch, boxy, slab-sided looks, it was ahead of its time. The Triumph was sportier, and oversteer is achieved more easily than in the P6, but the P6 was more innovative.

The XJ6 was and remains fabulous, but it was much more expensive and five years newer. The V12 was too heavy, it spoiled the handling and drank like a fish. The six is smooth and powerful enough.

[tannaton]

@EccentricRichard - Not true - just look at the all time favorite getaway car of 1970's criminals - Mk2 Jag - everytime. I'm not knocking the Rovers or the Truimphs, they were great cars too - but the Jag was better, much better, especially with IRS.

[andycarr75]

Haha! Wow - how little you know about cars is quite funny. Rover was supeior to all those cars you listed. Aston Martin built cars that weren't particularly good and was slipping in and out of recievership like no tomorrow. Jaguar built flimsy but stylish cars that were fun to drive. Triumph built great cars let down by reliability.

Rover - up untill the 70s, was without doubt Britain's if not Europe's highest quality and technologically forward car company

[tpaladino]

Dude, no. Rover was at no time higher quality or more technologically advanced than Mercedes. They've been pretty consistently always the top European car. Even pre-1970.

[andycarr75]

I would totally disagree. The Rover P6 for example was a great leap forward for any motor manufacturer. And remember - Rover when it was its own company was about 1/10th the size of Mercedes. Rover developed 'customer care' at its dealerships, quality was second to none in the world.

Thats not to diss Mercedes at all. But Rover was easily in top 5 manufacturers in the world for quality, technoology, prestige and forward thinking.

[andycarr75]

I'd also imagine you probably know very little about Rover or its cars. You probably assume that Rover and the rest of the British car industry consistantly made cars like the Austin Allegro.

Wrong.

Up untill the 70's, the British car industry could have easily been argued to being the best in the world.

[alexkvaskov]

@andycarr75 Um, yeah fucking right!

[EccentricRichard]

@tpaladino - erm, the P6 showed the way with its skeletal construction. Very safe, strong, lightweight, and the detachable panels meant that minor accident damage could be repaired very quickly and cheaply. Mercedes' conventional unibodies were much more difficult to repair. Also, the P6 V8 engine was all-alloy, at a time when M-B blocks were still iron. The P6 was THE luxury four-door sports saloon of its time, and arguably created the whole 3-series/C-class/A4 etc sector.

[WDB123220]

@andycarr75

Quote:

"Rover - up untill the 70s, was without doubt Britain's if not Europe's highest quality and technologically forward car company "

Britain's - yes, but Europe's - no, not by any means.

Cheers

[steve12790]

sorry ppl 4 beening negtive what a shame i b gutted if that was m8 car :(

[RPIEngineering]

This is Clarksons car. We built it! And no, he is no longer restoring it. It was far to badly rotten to restore once he got into it. You would of had to replace more or less the whole thing, and its just not worthwhile.

[steve12790]

that ent his car lol nice try haha

[savagev8]

Idiot.

[DNA540i]

Any news on this? are you still restoring it?

[paulhunter123]

all ican say it fucked up rovers and really bad taste

[tmetson1]

has it still go the engine in it

[savagev8]

No mate, that was sold on shortly after the video :-(

[walther1950]

Lying bastard that's not the same car .

[savagev8]

Lol, Twat!

[StuRaz]

I've got "At Full Throttle" on DVD and it is sad to see Clarkson's Rover now in that state. Good luck restoring it!

[dctim]

Why was it ever stripped like that anyway? Surely it would be worth more and a lot better to leave it as was!

[morgrp]

Not the same car

[savagev8]

FFS. Read the other posts you tw*t!

[ratty383]

I'm watching this space . Good Luck !

[supraking85]

cant believe the car got to such a state, now got me wondering what happened to vickys nova?

[savagev8]

Think they still use the Nova mate, or they were not long ago. Running 13 second quarter miles i believe.

[FrightfulAccountant]

All SD1s ever manufactured went to such state.

Buying an SD1 is a never ending restoration... :P

[misterinley]

and why did it end up like this?

[seltsum]

dawn it hurts to see this verey very very nice car in that condition! hope you'll restore as it was in the film. its a shame the previos owner didnt care about the car... :(

[rudeboysw9]

surely it'd be cheaper to find a good SD1 and have the work carried out!?.....Good luck either way that car was AWESOME!!

[SBGuitars]

That's tragic... I still remember the first time I saw this monster and my jaw dropped... my Uncle had an SD1 when I was a kid and I always loved it - this made me want one even more! What on earth posessed anyone to break it and then leave the rest to rot?! Please restore it to its former glory.

[PhantomMark]

I contacted RPI after the show with a view to buy this car, sadly it was too much of a dream for me at the time, too expensive, I forget now how much they wanted for it. Did you get all the running gear etc or just a rolling shell ? Good luck mate, was an awesome car they built for Clarkson for sure :)

[LushmanGB]

In the video 'full throttle' where RPI Engineering's 5.2 V8 is featured, the car that Jeremy Clarkson bought to be modified was Gold and Complete before they worked on it. the inside of the door says it all. Such as shame.

[5245jah]

good music at hte backgrpund. Why don't you get a download link for us, please?

[muddydigger]

Well hows the Rest comming along? can we see any pictures of what youve done so far? Pleas keep this updated. And to all you idiots saying its not the same car look carefully before putting fingers to keeboard!

[savagev8]

To be honest mate i have not had the time or money to do much at all.

I have completely stripped the inside out, including dash etc. Removed bonnet and boot etc.

But thats about it so far.

Once i get some spare cash the shell will be taken to be sand blasted.

As soon as it starts getting somewhere i will be getting some new video footage for you all but its a slow process at the minute:-(

[poodumrover1]

Hola I am workin on a P5B with 3.9 and ported heads (possible stage 2 using BIG inlet/exhaust ports but std.rockers) dunno about x bolted have not looked yet. I know RPI are doing bigger exhaust downpipes for P6 but are they available for P5 ?

Cheers.

[savagev8]

Best thing you can do is give us a ring mate or an email.

If we dont have what you need on the shelf then no doubt we can make it for you.

[goldeneye145]

cant exactly see it. y has it got this bad anyway?

[goldeneye145]

if it is clarksons car wouldnt it have the gold writing on it still?

[savagev8]

It is still on the doors put peeling off badly, it still has the 5.2 Litre power badge on the back as you can see.

[goldeneye145]

if that was clarksons rover in the pic which it isnt then it wud have the spoiler on the back which it doesnt, so it is not the same car. rpi engineering will have that car.

[savagev8]

I work at RPI lol!

The spoiler was sold along with the boot,thats why it has a gold boot on it!

I took the cage out of it back in 2004 to put in the Hammond SD1 we did along with seats and harness's etc etc.

It is the Clarkson car mate lol! ;-)

[goldeneye145]

that is not the same car that jeremy drove in the video,the shell is a completly different rover sd1

[savagev8]

I think you will find it is the same shell! Why is it different? I already had someone accuse that its not the original. Why would i lie about a rotten piece of metal???

[Vulture1980]

I've seen the car and the desolate state it was in when I visited RPi in Horsford. I sure hope you'll get it back on the road!

[savagev8]

Mate, I work at RPI Engineering so will of course be using one of our engines;-) Should hopefully be a 5.2 again!

This time it will get proper suspension and brakes for sure.

The car was in RPI Engineerings field when i got it mate, its been there a very long time, as you can see:-(!

[urbex2007]

I asked about buying the Rover complete after the video. RPI engineering had sold the engine and said they would put me in touch with whoever had the shell, he wanted silly money. Rather than make a profit it was scrapped through sheer greed!

[Kerosene20k]

shit man! what the hell happened? did you park it in a bad neighbourhood!? best of luck with the restoration.

[muddydigger]

Criminal!!! what a waste!! I hope the the owner will bring it back to what it was, may be actualy finish the car off properly! Good luck I will be watching this I wish you all the luck your going to need it!

[savagev8]

Thanks lol,i will do a proper job of this and make it better than it was.

[urbex2007]

Best of luck - out of interest, where did you find it! I was offered the car minus engine for silly money and it didn't even have proper suspension on it.

Contact RPI Engineering for a suitable engine, they are very good.

[M3addicted]

I don't really think this is the actual RPi car, because it was a fase 2 and this rotting shell is a fase1!

[savagev8]

Wrong!!!!

It was a series1,evidence of this is on the Clarkson video,the behind the scenes video,which i have put on the site on my business account and the pics of the car on our (RPI's) site lol.

Check out the evidence lol ;-)

[Dukeofhazzard69]

I have the original video here, it quite clearly is the same car. If you remember the first time you see it in the video before its done up its a light brown series 1, like in the picture of the inside of the drivers door.

[landiv8]

I don't understand, how did it get from such a beast to a rotting shell. Did Rpi take the engine and box back at the end of the shoot? Could have been a good marketing asset. Are you going for rover or chevy power?

[Knightvitesse]

What a waste! ;( How could he have let that happen?

[savagev8]

Dont worry,it will be back ;-)