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{{Short description|Former British car company}}
{{about|the company acquired by Leyland Motors in 1967|the company sold in 1988|Rover Group|the marque|Rover (marque)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
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|founder = [[John Kemp Starley]] &<br />William Sutton
|key_people = [[Spencer Wilks|Spencer]] & [[Maurice Wilks]]<br />(Management & Engineering,<br />1929–63)<br />[[John Towers (businessman)|John Towers]]
|location = England:<br />[[Coventry]],
|industry = [[Automotive industry]]<br />Motorcycle industry (until 1925)<br />[[Bicycle industry]] (until 1925)
|products = Rover [[Automobile]]s<br />Motorcycles (until 1925)<br />Bicycles (until 1925)<br />[[Land Rover]] All terrain vehicles
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|subsid = [[Alvis Cars]] (1965–67)
}}
'''The Rover Company Limited''' was a British car manufacturing company originally founded in 1878, beginning car manufacturing in 1904. It primarily operated from its base in [[Solihull]], [[Warwickshire]]. Rover also manufactured the [[Land Rover series]] from 1948 onwards, and created the [[Range Rover]] in 1970, which went on to become its most successful and profitable product. [[Land Rover]] eventually became a separate company and brand in its own right.
Rover was
Currently, the Rover marque is the dormant property of the Rover Company's ''de facto'' successor
==History==
===
The first Rover was a [[tricycle]] manufactured by Starley & Sutton Co. of [[Coventry]], England, in 1883. The company was founded by [[John Kemp Starley]] and William Sutton in 1878. Starley had previously worked with his uncle, James Starley (father of the cycle trade), who began by manufacturing sewing machines and switched to bicycles in 1869.▼
[[File:1885 Rover bicycle advertisement.jpg|thumb|1885 Rover safety bicycle]]
In the early 1880s, the cycles available were the relatively dangerous [[penny-farthing]]s and high-wheel tricycles. J.K. Starley made history in 1885 by producing the Rover [[safety bicycle]]—a rear-wheel-drive, [[bicycle chain|chain]]-driven cycle with two similar-sized wheels, making it more stable than the previous high-wheel designs. Cycling Magazine said the Rover had "set the pattern to the world"; the phrase was used in their advertising for many years. Starley's Rover is usually described by historians as the first recognisably modern bicycle.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cycle market: Moving into the fast lane|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/cycle-market-moving-into-the-fast-lane-1702191.html|agency=The Independent|date=26 February 2018}}</ref>▼
▲
The first product of the new company was a [[tricycle]] manufactured by Starley & Sutton Co. of [[Coventry]], England, in 1883.
The words for "bicycle" in [[Polish language|Polish]] (''rower'') and [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]] (ро́вар, ''rovar'') are derived from the name of the company. The word ровер (''rover'') is also used in many parts of Western Ukraine.▼
▲In the early 1880s
▲In 1889, the company became J.K. Starley & Co. Ltd., and in the late 1890s, the Rover Cycle Company Ltd. The words for "bicycle" in [[Polish language|Polish]] (''rower'') and [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]] (ро́вар, ''rovar'') are derived from the name of the company. The word ровер (''rover'') is also used in many parts of
Rover started building [[Rover (motorcycles)|motorcycles]] then cars using their Viking longship badge from 1904.
=== Rover motorcycles ===▼
▲===Rover motorcycles===
{{Main|Rover (motorcycles)}}
In 1899 John Starley imported some of the early [[Peugeot]] motorcycles from France in for experimental development. His first project was to fit an engine to one of his Rover bicycles. Starley died early in October 1901 aged 46 and the business was taken over by entrepreneur [[Harry John Lawson|H. J. Lawson]].<ref name="NZ" >{{cite web|url=http://www.rover.org.nz/pages/histpic/hind1.htm|title=Rover – How it all began|last=Phillips|first=Kevin|access-date=6 February 2009|archive-date=14 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014201901/http://www.rover.org.nz/pages/histpic/hind1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Rover 1912 3-speed 1.jpg|thumb|left|1912 Rover 3-speed]]
The company developed and produced the ''Rover Imperial'' motorcycle in November 1902. This was a 3.5 hp diamond-framed motorcycle with the engine in the centre and 'springer' front forks which was ahead of its time.<ref name="Mirco" >{{cite book|last=De Cet|first=Mirco|title=The Complete Encyclopedia of Classic Motorcycles|editor=Quentin Daniel|publisher=Rebo International|year=2005|isbn=978-90-366-1497-9}}</ref> This first Rover motorcycle had innovative features such as a spray carburettor, bottom-bracket engine and mechanically operated valves. With a strong frame with double front down tubes and a good quality finish, over a thousand Rover motorcycles were sold in 1904. The following year, however, Rover stopped motorcycle production to concentrate on their 'safety bicycle' but in 1910 designer John Greenwood was commissioned to develop a new 3.5 hp 500 cc engine with spring-loaded tappets, a Bosch magneto and an innovative inverted tooth drive chain. It had a Brown and Barlow carburettor and Druid spring forks. This new model was launched at the 1910 Olympia show and over 500 were sold.
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[[File:Rover 500 cc 1920.jpg|thumb|right|1920 Rover 500 cc]]
Rover supplied 499 cc single-cylinder motorcycles to the [[Imperial Russian Army|Russian Army]] during the [[First World War]].<ref name="Mirco" /> The company began to focus on car production at the end of the war, but Rover still produced motorcycles with 248 cc and 348 cc Rover overhead valve engines and with [[
Poor sales of their motorcycles caused Rover to end motorcycle production and concentrate solely on the production of motor cars. Between 1903 and 1924 Rover had produced more than 10,000 motorcycles.<ref name="cybermotorcycle"/>
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===Early Rover cars===
[[File:Rover 1329cc 1906.jpg|thumb|1906 Six open two-seater]]
In 1888, Starley made an [[electric car]], but it
Three years after Starley's death in 1901, and H. J. Lawson's subsequent takeover, the Rover company began producing automobiles with the two-seater [[Rover 8|Rover Eight]] to the designs of Edmund Lewis, who came from Lawson's [[Daimler Company|Daimler]]. Lewis left the company to join [[Siddeley-Deasy|Deasy]] in late 1905.
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On his recommendation [[Spencer Wilks]] was brought in from [[Hillman]] as general manager and appointed to the board in 1929. That year, Searle split Midland Light Car Bodies from Rover in an effort to save money<ref name=NMM/> and instructed Robert Boyle and [[Maurice Wilks]] to design a new small car.
This was the [[Rover Scarab]] with a rear-mounted V-twin-cylinder air-cooled engine announced in 1931, a van version was shown at Olympia, but it did not go into production.<ref name=Beetle>{{cite web |url=http://www.lightauto.com/Thevwbeetleroad.html |title=The Road that Led to the Beetle |publisher=Light Auto |access-date=30 March 2011 |archive-date=13 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713205306/http://www.lightauto.com/Thevwbeetleroad.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During this time the [[Rover 10#Rover 10/25|Rover 10/25]] was introduced, with bodies made by the [[Pressed Steel Company]]. This was the same body as used on the [[Hillman Minx#Pre WWII Minx|Hillman Minx]]. Prior to this time Rover had been a great supporter of the very light [[Weymann Fabric Bodies|Weymann]] bodies that went suddenly out of fashion with the demand for shiny coachwork and more curved body shapes. Weymann bodies remained in the factory catalogue until 1933.
Frank Searle and Spencer Wilks set about reorganising the company and moving it upmarket to cater for people who wanted something "superior" to [[Ford Motor Company|Fords]] and [[Austin Motor Company|Austins]]. In 1930 Spencer Wilks was joined by his brother, Maurice, who had also been at Hillman as chief engineer. Spencer Wilks was to stay with the company until 1962, and his brother until 1963.
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===Second World War and gas turbines===
[[File:Welland.JPG|thumb|right|A [[Power Jets W.2|Rover W.2B/26]] on display at the [[Midland Air Museum]]. This design was later to become the [[Rolls-Royce Derwent]].]]
In the late 1930s, in anticipation of the potential hostilities that would become the [[Second World War]], the British government started a rearmament programme, and as part of this, "[[British shadow factories|shadow factories]]" were built. These were paid for by the government but staffed and run by private companies.
[[File:Land Rover Celebrates 65 Years Of Technology & Innovation (8837420139).jpg|thumb|left|150px|Maurice Wilks]]
In early 1940, Rover was approached by [[Frank Whittle]] to do work for Whittle's company, [[Power Jets]].{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|p=72}} This led to a proposal from Power Jets in which Rover would put forward £50,000 of capital in exchange for shares in Power Jets. Rover contacted the [[Air Ministry]] (AM) regarding the proposal, which ultimately led to an arrangement between Rover and former Power Jets contractor [[British Thomson-Houston]] (BTH) to develop and produce Whittle's jet engine. The Air Ministry had left Whittle and Power Jets out of these negotiations.{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|p=73}} Rover chief engineer Maurice Wilks led the team to develop the engine, improving the performance over the original Whittle design.{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|p=73}} The first test engines to the [[Power Jets W.2|W.2B]] design were built in Bankfield Shed, a former cotton mill in [[Barnoldswick]], Lancashire which Rover moved into in June 1941 (along with Waterloo Mill in [[Clitheroe]]). Testing commenced towards the end of October 1941.<ref name="Vikings">Vikings at Waterloo, David S Brooks, Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust, {{ISBN|1 872922 08 2}},1996</ref>
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In March 1950, Rover showed the [[Rover JET1|JET1]] prototype, the first car powered with a [[gas turbine]] engine, to the public.{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|p=82}} JET1, an open two-seat [[tourer]], had the engine positioned behind the seats, air intake grilles on either side of the car,{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|p=76}} and exhaust outlets on the top of the tail.{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|p=81}} During tests, the car reached a top speed of {{Convert|88|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.{{Citation needed|date=October 2014}} After being shown in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1950,{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|p=84}} JET1 was further developed,{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|pp=84–85}} and was subjected to speed trials on the [[Jabbeke]] highway in Belgium in June 1952,{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|p=86}} where it exceeded {{Convert|150|mph|km/h}}.{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|p=87}} JET1 is currently on display at the [[Science Museum, London|London Science Museum]].
Four further prototypes were built, the P4-based front-engined T2 and rear-engined T2A saloons,{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|pp=89–91}} the rear-engined four-wheel-drive [[Rover T3|T3 coupé]],{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|pp=92–94}} and the front-engined front-wheel drive T4 saloon.{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|p=97}}
Rover and the BRM Formula One team joined forces to produce the [[Rover-BRM]], a gas turbine-powered sports prototype that entered the 1963 [[24 hours of Le Mans]], driven by [[Graham Hill]] and [[Richie Ginther]].{{Sfn|Bobbitt|2007|pp=100–101}} It averaged 107.8 mph (173 km/h) and had a top speed of 142 mph (229 km/h).
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===Golden years===
[[File:Land Rover Series I 1948 (HUE 166).jpg|thumb|The first production Land Rover (HUE 166) 1948]]
[[File:
The 1950s and '60s were fruitful years for the company. The [[Land Rover]] became a runaway success (despite Rover's reputation for making upmarket saloons, the utilitarian Land Rover was actually the company's biggest seller throughout the 1950s, '60s, and '70s), as well as the P5 and P6 saloons equipped with a [[Rover V8 engine|3.5L (215ci) aluminium V8]] (the design and tooling of which was purchased from [[Buick]]) and pioneering research into gas turbine-powered vehicles.
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Rover continued to develop its '100-inch Station Wagon', which became the ground-breaking [[Range Rover Classic|Range Rover]], launched in 1970. This also used the ex-Buick V8 engine as well as the P6's innovative safety-frame body structure design and features such as permanent [[four-wheel drive]] and all-round [[disc brake]]s. The Range Rover was initially designed as a utility vehicle which could offer the off-road capability of the Land Rover, but in a more refined and car-like package.
[[File:Rover 2000 (15149098437) (2).jpg|thumb|1964 [[Rover P6|2000 or P6]]
===Mergers to LMC and BL===
{{Main|British Leyland}}
[[File:1967 Rover P6BS Prototype Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon.jpg|thumb|right|This Rover prototype for a
In 1967, Rover became part of the [[Leyland Motor Corporation]] (LMC), which already owned [[Triumph Motor Company|Triumph]]. The next year, LMC merged with [[British Motor Holdings]] (BMH) to become the [[British Leyland Motor Corporation]] (BLMC). Rover was grouped together with Triumph and Jaguar in the Specialist Division, which was the performance-luxury division of BLMC. This was the beginning of the end for the independent Rover Company, as the Solihull-based company's heritage drowned beneath the infamous industrial relations and managerial problems that beset the British motor industry throughout the 1970s.
==Models==
[[File:Rover 16 Witham.JPG|thumb|right|1938 [[Rover 16|Sixteen]]
===Launched under the independent Rover Company pre-merger (1904–1967)===
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* [https://mrc.epexio.com/records/ROV Catalogue of the Rover archives], held at the [[Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick]]
* [https://mrc.epexio.com/records/WOR Catalogue of the Paul Worm Automotive Industrial Relations Collection of papers concerning Rover], held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
Video of early Rover motorcycle manufacture:▼
* https://www.facebook.com/thevintagenews/videos/656478785160217/▼
{{Rover}}
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{{Automotive industry in the United Kingdom}}
{{BMW}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Rover Company| ]]
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[[Category:British companies established in 1904]]
[[Category:Companies disestablished in 1967]]
[[Category:1967 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:Car brands]]
▲Video of early Rover motorcycle manufacture:
▲https://www.facebook.com/thevintagenews/videos/656478785160217/
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