Lot details
Registration No: YNX 567
Chassis No: 616800420
Mot Expiry: July 2012

Launched in 1949, the distinctive Phil Armstrong-designed Rover P4 family of four-door Saloons remained in production until 1964. Over 130,000 were produced in that time, many of which continue to provide sterling service to this day. The cars featured a separate chassis, all but the last of which were clothed in aluminium body panels. The independent front suspension was by coil springs, while the rear comprised a live axle supported by semi-elliptic leaf springs. The early cars had drum brakes all round, with Girling front discs becoming standard from 1959. The first derivative of the P4, dubbed the '75', was undoubtedly the most distinctive, thanks to its centrally mounted third headlight - or 'Cyclops Eye'. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder '60', 2.6-litre six cylinder '90', 2.1-litre/2.2-litre '75 Mark II' and 2.6-litre '105R' and '105S' were all offered prior to 1959, at which point the P4 range was rationalised to just two models - the four cylinder '80' and six cylinder '100'. The final iterations were the '95' and '110'.

This P4 is one of the very rare (less than 75 are thought to remain) 105R models, where 105 represented the car's top speed and the R stood for 'Rovermatic' - the company's own two-speed plus overdrive automatic gearbox. 'YNX 567' was manufactured in 1958, the middle of the three year production run, and features Black coachwork teamed with a Green leather interior. The vendor's research suggests it could initially have been owned by The Viscount Slim, the 13th Governor-General of Australia. Subsequent keepers include Reginald Bernard Goodall (an eminent conductor), Major Kenneth Joseph Gardner (a chaplain in the Salvation Army) and the company Rover P4 Spares. The vendor currently considers the bodywork, paintwork, engine and transmission to be "good" and the interior trim "fair to good". This eminently usable classic is taxed and MOT'd into the middle of 2012.