A heavily modified Rover P6 2000 intended as British Leyland’s entry into Group Two touring car racing was the star of the Rover Sports Register’s exhibition stand. lan Giles’ 1966 car was modified by Leyland’s Motor Sports department in 1970 and fitted with a huge Traco-Oldmosbile 4.5-litre V8. It took part in saloon car races later that year, but BL later abandoned the project. The Leyland Blue car has now been
fitted with a more familiar Rover V8, but retains the original engine’s Weber carburetors, along with its McLaren M10B-sourced braking system and Jaguar E-type differential. It was joined on the stand by a 1973 Rover P5B Coupé previously restored by Wheeler Dealers’ Mike Brewer and Edd China and a Rover 12 Sports Saloon that competed in the 1934 RAC Rally when it was new. Register chairman Mike Maher (above, front) said: ‘We had a lot of people coming on to the stand to look at the cars, with the P6 racer and the RAC Rally car providing particularly popular among showgoers. ‘We tried to focus on the entire
history of the Rover marque, so we had everything from one of Rover’s earlier models right through to the end of production with the 75.’
