Rover V8 engine

The Rover V8 engine is a compact, aluminium block V8 internal combustion engine produced by Rover in the United Kingdom.

Related Topics:
V8 - Internal combustion engine - Rover - United Kingdom

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The engine's design was sourced from the United States. In the late 1950s, General Motors' Oldsmobile division developed a cast-aluminium V8 with the very small (for the US market of the time) capacity of 3.5 litres (215 cubic inches), a size that was normally the province of a straight-6. It appeared in production in 1961 fitted to compact models from Oldsmobile, Buick and Pontiac, but proved to be underpowered for the increasing size of the American car of the period. It was soon dropped for more conventional, larger-displacement iron blocked units.

Related Topics:
United States - 1950s - General Motors - Oldsmobile - Straight-6 - 1961 - Buick - Pontiac

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As the aluminium block made this engine one of the lightest stock V8s built there were some attempts to use it in racing, including at Indianapolis. The Australian firm Repco converted this engine for Formula One by reducing it to 3 litres and fitting a single overhead camshaft per bank rather than the shared pushrod arrangement. Repco-powered Brabhams won the F1 championship twice, in 1966 and 1967. For the 1968 season the Repco engine was fitted with new 4-valve double overhead camshaft heads. This made the engine roughly as powerful as the Cosworth DFV but proved to be too much for the stock block that broke in many occasions.

Related Topics:
Australia - Repco - Formula One - Single overhead camshaft - Brabham - 1966 - 1967 - 1968 - Cosworth DFV

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Rover were in need of a new, more powerful engine in the mid 1960s, and became aware of this small, lightweight V8. It's reported that one of Rover executives, William Martin-Hurst, first saw this engine in a marine conversion by Mercury Marine. After some negotiation they acquired rights and tools to it and have produced it ever since, its first appearances being in Rover saloons in the late 1960s.

Related Topics:
Rover - Mercury Marine - Saloons

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As well as appearing in Rover cars, the engine was widely sold by Rover to small car builders, and has appeared in all kinds of vehicles. Rover V8s feature in some models from Morgan, TVR, Triumph, Land Rover and MG, among many others. They're also the standard British engine in hot rods, much like the Chevrolet 350 small-block is to American builders.

Related Topics:
Morgan - TVR - Triumph - Land Rover - MG - Hot rod - Chevrolet - Small-block

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The last mass-produced application of the Rover V8 was the Land Rover Discovery, up until the vehicle was redesigned in 2005. It is still used by some hand-built sports cars built by some independent manufacturers.

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