This 40,000 mile Rover SD1 Vitesse V8 turned out to be an incredible survivor - possibly the best preserved SD1 Jonny has seen. It has sat in a garage since 1999, gradually getting buried under blankets and boxes.  

Ironically, Jonny discovered this big old ’80s Rover luxury muscle car up on the Wirral in Merseyside (near Liverpool) via the Renault Zoe electric car owners club. The owner, Oliver Dawson, is a member and was persuaded by others in the group to trust Jonny for a visit.

In 1985 Oliver bought the two year old Rover SD1 Vitesse manual and treasured it hugely. In 1999, however, he took it off the road for a handbrake cable adjustment and basically never got around to bringing it back out of the garage. So there it has sat, through his kids turning into adults, job changes, life changes, until gradually the old Rover muscle car got buried beneath clutter.

The thing about ‘barn finds’ that Jonny loves the most is when the car ends up being even better condition that we thought. The Rover falls into this category. Oliver had maintained it fastidiously and even made a point of covering the car in blankets; and in the video you will see how remarkably well preserved this rare car is.

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