Club of the Month - 40th Anniversary of the Rover SD1 Vitesse

As the Rover SD1 Vitesse celebrates a milestone anniversary this month, we’re thrilled to announce that the Rover SD1 Club is our October Club of the month! Below the Club takes us through the iconic car’s history and we can’t wait to see their display at next month’s Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show.

“When the Rover Vitesse hit the Austin-Rover showrooms in October 1982, it was the culmination of several years’ development on the big Rover that had been launched some six years earlier. This halo model for the SD1 range was initially due to be called the Rover “Rapide”, but Aston Martin Lagonda held the rights to that name, so Vitesse was chosen instead – the same name given to the sporty 6 pot Triumph Herald 20 years earlier.

The first glimpse of a Vitesse came in 1979 when a T -reg car, used by manager David Clarke, was developed to show what was possible. This car had exterior modifications and a 200bhp V8. Legend has it that Harold Musgrove (chair of Austin-Rover) loved it and wanted a more refined and exclusive version to sell to enthusiast drivers.

At £14,950, the Vitesse was the most expensive SD1 that year. Unique to the model were some styling updates, such as the big black rear spoiler, rear wheel arch fairings, “Vitesse” decals, different alloy wheels, new seats and a black (rather than silver) rear badge plinth. More importantly, for the driver, improvements were made to the brakes, steering and suspension. Initially only available as a manual, of the 3,897 types made, 363 were automatics.

Of course, the Vitesse is admired most for what was under the bonnet. The Rover V8 was now fuel injected by an EFI system, derived for the North America and Australian EFI markets. This uprated engine, still at 3528cc, developed 190bhp and generated 220lb ft torque.

However, it was in the last full year of production that the ultimate Vitesse was created. Not easily identified without lifting the bonnet, the Rover Vitesse Twin Plenum is the model that every SD1 enthusiast lusts for. A production run of 500 (or thereabouts) examples was to homologate the final years of the Rover Vitesse on the racetrack.

The SD1 Club are proud to be celebrating the 40^th anniversary of the Vitesse this year, culminating in a Vitesse-only stand at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the Birmingham NEC this year.”