ROVERS REBIRTH

Like other British motor manufacturers the Rover Company spent World War II helping the war effort rather than building cars Bombed out of its original home in Coventry during the Blitz in 1940 it was fortunate in 1945 to be able to move into the new factory at Solihull that it had been managing on behalf of the Air Ministry The Solihull factory was not only new it was huge Its size presented Rover with a welcome opportunity for expansion but first the company had to get back into the game With no new car designs ready Rover s only option was to re start production with mildly improved versions of their pre war models New models were a long time coming Early ideas focused on a small economy car but it soon became clear that this was not what the public wanted Meanwhile ambitious plans for a new and ultra modern car using mechanical elements that had been under development before the war had to be put back when there were delays in designing a satisfactory modern body style As a temporary measure Rover added their new mechanical elements to modified pre war style bodies to deliver the P3 models in 1948 The solution was unexpected Rover s Chief Engineer had bought a war surplus Jeep for his own use and he quickly realised that Rover could easily buil