Rover P3

The Rover P3 caur produced bi the Rover company in 1948 an 1949 wis very muckle an interim model.

For the post war mercat Rover haed a new ingine that haed been in preparation syne the late 1930s wi owerhead inlet an side exhaust valves. It wis made in twa version for the caur, the "60" haed a fower cylinder unit o 1595 cc an the "75" haed a sax cylinder version o 2103 cc. The gearbox an traditional Rover freewheel wur kept unchanged frae the previous model.

Tae go wi the ingine a new caur wis prepared. Awtho the body wis seemilar in stylin tae the Rover 12 an 16, mony o the body panels wur in fact new but the wings an bonnet frae the 12 wur carried ower. The caur wis 0.5 inch (12 mm) wider ootside than the 16 but bi makin better uise o space this translatit tae 2.5 inches (60 mm) inside. It wis 4.5 inches (115 mm) shorter in the wheelbase. An aa new, an a first for a Rover, wis independent front suspension but the brakes remained a hydraulic/mechanical hybrid seestem. Rather than haein a complete chassis, the new frame, which wis a box section, wis stopped short o the rear axle an the rear semi-elliptic springs wur attached tae the body. This allowed the rear axle traivel tae be increased an an improved ride resulted.

Twa body styles wur available, a sax licht saloon an fower licht "Sports Saloon".

The caurs wur expensive at £1080 for the "60" an £1106 for the "75" an wi early post war production problems an material shortages it wis never intendit that the caurs wad be produced in lairge nummers. Eventually, 1274 o the "60" an 7837 o the "75" models wur made afore the caur wis replaced bi the aw new P4 o 1949.

The ingine an gearbox frae the caur wur an aa uised as the basis for those in the oreeginal Land Rover Series.

References
 The Rover Story. Graham Robson. 1977. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-175-2
 A-Z o Cars 1945-1970. Michael Sedgwick & Mark Gillies. 1986. Bay View Beuks. ISBN 1-870979-39-7

P3
Category:1940s automobiles
Category:Sedans
Category:Rear wheel drive vehicles
Category:1948 introductions