The Rover 60 was produced from 1954 to 1959, during this period 9261 cars were built. It was conceived as a lower price alternative to the Rover 75 with a 2 litre four cylinder overhead inlet/side exhaust valve engine which giving 60 bhp. This engine was developed from the earlier 1.6 litre engine which was subsequently used in the Land Rover but with a cast iron head instead of the aluminium unit on the saloon.

The 1955 models had the rear end facelift and the 1956 models had the revised front wing styling alongside the other models in the P4 range. For the 1959 season much more chrome was added to the body, again in line with the six cylinder contempories,

The maximum speed was only 2mph less than the 75 but the acceleration times were longer. The fuel consumption was around 30 mpg as opposed to the 22mpg of the 75. The car was not commercially successful, probably due to the small price difference from the superior 75.

The final demise of the Rover 60 was brought about by the development of a new four cylider engine for the Land Rover (see Rover 80).

The Rover 60

Neil Launchbury's 1957 Rover 60 at the 1993 National at Ragley Hall

Click here to return to list of models

Click here to return to contents page



©B.Kensett 2023