MEET THE OWNER – JON COUPLAND AND HIS ROVER 75

For many years, the virtues of the Rover 75 were taken for granted: its comfort, level of standard equipment and quiet dignity. Now they are receiving the attention that is due to them, and Jon Coupland is especially taken with his early Cowley-built 1.8-litre version. He explains:

I bought it just before Christmas to save it from the scrap yard. It has needed some fettling and mechanical work, as carried out by my dad and me and documented on my YouTube channel. I am slowly returning it to its former glory, and it was an emotional purchase for me, as Dad used to work for Rover. He worked at a garage locally but trained at Cowley and Gaydon for his role as a technical expert. I remember him bringing home a 75 in Wedgwood Blue at their launch to take down to the factory and later to Gaydon for his training. This example had only one owner from new. - interestingly, his name was Mr. Cowley!

Almost any 75 enthusiast will tell you it is too easy to overlook their importance to Rover. By the late 1990s, the company’s losses amounted to £300-£400-million per year, and Car bluntly described the 75 as “Rover’s last chance saloon”. Meanwhile, a Mr. J Clarkson wrote in Top Gear magazine:

Because we didn’t like it the Midlands will have to be closed down. Three hundred million people will be thrown out of work and as the money runs out, local businesses will close too. Children will be forced to spend their formative years up inside chimneys and their parents will wander aimlessly over rubbish tips searching for bread and guano.

But Mr. Clarkson did go on to observe:

We looked at the overall package and decided that while it offered submarine quietness and ocean-going luxury on the motorway, it fared less well as a driver’s tool. And while we said it was good value, we didn’t like the noisy wipers or the dash.

Fortunately, Autocar believed Rover could “be proud of the manner in which it managed to create a distinctive and clear cut identity for the 75 without it feeling contrived or overdone”. What Car declared it their Car of the Year, and their editor described the 75 as “a truly sensational car!”

Funding from BMW also meant a £250m virtual rebuild of the “Rover Oxford” plant at Cowley. Sales of the Rover 75 began in June 1999, and production moved to Longbridge shortly after BMW sold Rover to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000. Sales ended in 2005, and seeing images of Jon’s 75 is a reminder of how remote the late 1990s now seem. Even James May looked young when reporting on the new Rover, saying that “it rides more smoothly than a Rolls-Royce Corniche” -

Jon believes that the 75 was overlooked for too long - “the butt of the usual K Series joke”. As for the road manners of his Rover, he remarks: “Aside from driving it home after picking it up, I have not taken it anywhere yet. Our first show between us will be the Rustival Festival that the YouTube stars are hosting”. You can follow the adventures of the Coupland 75 here and learn about his other fleet members, including a Proton Black Knight. But that is another story! -

With Thanks To: Jon Coupland