1949 Rover P3 75 Six-Light Saloon
Bridging Rover’s prewar designs with postwar innovation, this interim model combined traditional coachwork styling with more advanced mechanical components. The six-light designation referenced the additional rear quarter windows flanking the spacious four-door saloon body.
Traditional features included flowing wings carried over from earlier models, an upright grille with the distinctive Viking mascot, and substantial chrome bumpers.
Independent front suspension marked a significant departure from previous Rover practice, paired with a revised steel ladder-frame chassis and all-steel body construction rather than earlier wood-framed methods.
The 128 cubic inch (2.1-liter) straight-six featured Rover’s innovative inlet-over-exhaust valve arrangement, producing approximately 75 horsepower at 4,000 rpm.
A four-speed manual gearbox incorporated synchromesh on third and top gears, along with Rover’s characteristic freewheel mechanism allowing clutchless gear changes.
Production lasted just 18 months from February 1948 through September 1949, with approximately 7,837 examples of the 75 model manufactured before the arrival of the all-new P4.
Priced at £1,106 including purchase tax, the six-cylinder variant targeted Britain’s professional middle class. The IOE six-cylinder engine would continue in refined form in the P4 range through 1954.
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