Those were the days. I had three 827s, the first was E444AMA a 1988 827SLi saloon which was like a rocket ship very eager and quick, the subsequent 827s an M reg and a N reg were slower and couldn’t hold a candle to the SLi. All were reliable with that bulletproof Honda V6 engine, I remember having a problem with an electric window which was a common problem, that’s all.
The SLi wouldn’t do much more than 22mpg, didn’t seem to matter then. Happy days.
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I had the 2 litre turbo Vitesse for a couple of years...very quick.!...it was in white and it was quite common to witness cars moving over on motorways to let me pass...lol
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I had the 2 litre turbo Vitesse for a couple of years...very quick.!...it was in white and it was quite common to witness cars moving over on motorways to let me pass...lol
That turbo motor in Rovers was a peach, it had great torque for the time, pulled like a steam train.
Period road test of the 827 from Car Magazine here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/sets/72157629429699175/
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In switzerland I had an 827 vitesse short bumper lhd in british racing green that had been sold by another dealer, 6 months on the lady owner px'd it for an Audi, and i bought it half price from the Audi dealer.
Very fast, super comfy. and very thirsty.. Got it up to about 200 kph on french motorways before i chickened out .. It was allegedly good for 215 kph..
Those were the days..
Edited by oldroverboy. on 17/12/2019 at 09:46
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In switzerland I had an 827 vitesse short bumper lhd in british racing green that had been sold by another dealer, 6 months on the lady owner px'd it for an Audi, and i bought it half price from the Audi dealer.
Very fast, super comfy. and very thirsty.. Got it up to about 200 kph on french motorways before i chickened out .. It was allegedly good for 215 kph..
Those were the days..
My F 1989 827 Si Hatchback According to the Clock I managed 147mph, but it was a bit iffy at that speed and the fuel tank reading was dropping very quickly, I think the reliability of that car made me want a Honda but prices were out of my range in those days, Fun car to drive and acceleration was really good
The 2.0 vitesse was easy to find in those days, but the 827 Vitesse BRG was difficult to find and expensive due to its rarity at least in SE England
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My F 1989 827 Si Hatchback According to the Clock I managed 147mph, but it was a bit iffy at that speed and the fuel tank reading was dropping very quickly
I think your speedometer was a tad optimistic there bolt, 177bhp will only take you so far, and that point had been passed about 15mph previously!.
As Scottie says, 'Ye canna change the laws of physics"
I do remember cleaning a red 827 fasback we got traded in at the Saab dealer i worked at in the early 90's. Lovely looking thing, the colour really popped, and the interior was only let down by the awful looking airbag equipped steering wheel.
A few years later in another garage i cleaned an 827 Coupe in British racing green (non metallic). It had cream coloured leather with dark green piping and was some machine when finished. I wasn't overly impressed with it on first sight, but it grew on me!.
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And who remembers this advert?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ-DEi1LP50
(Edit) Sorry Doc, just noticed you'd already posted it!
Edited by badbusdriver on 17/12/2019 at 16:06
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I think your speedometer was a tad optimistic there bolt, 177bhp will only take you so far, and that point had been passed about 15mph previously!.
145 and still pulling, ex plod driving school, so i expect the speedo to be thereabouts.
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Great find Trilogy!
I had an 820 SLi in 1991 in Platinum Silver for a few months as a company car (the job did not last)
I enjoyed driving it, it was quite lively with 131 BHP, 31 MPG overall
However, it had two annoying faults. The first was that the speedometer was horrendously optimistic, I would guess it was doing about 61 MPH at an indicated 70. I complained to the Service Manager that I was overtaken by a milk float on the M6. So I have no doubt that the indicated 147 in the 827 mentioned above was probably about 125.
The other more serious problem was that the front wheels would not balance. Can't remember how many times it went back, but I could not get rid of the wheel shimmy. The car didn't have alloy wheels (imagine that on an 'executive' car nowadays) so in the end it was put down to some poor Dunlop tyres.
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I believe it was advertided in Switzerland, where i lived (and worked in a Rover/jaguar dealers) as Le 215kmh les plus raisonables....
215 kmh very reasonable...
On 6 June 1990 Tony Pond completed the first 100 mph (160 km/h) average speed lap in 22 minutes, 9.1 seconds driving a Rover 827 Vitesse.[43] Isle of Man TT course.
db0nus869y26v.cloudfront.net/en/Snaefell_Mountain_...e
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I had two 820is as company cars.
First was a Mark 2 early - every electric window switch failed - MANY times. The exhaust rusted through after 18 months. The HG went at 60k miles.
Then I had a later one. The clutch central plate failed one Monday am tring to drive forwards out of teh garage. ( I have never had cluctch failure on any other car in over 50 years of driving)
Then I had a company 825D.. The turbo hose fell off at 1k miles. It boiled in hot weather.
Utterly horrible JUNK...
Edited by madf on 17/12/2019 at 17:59
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145 and still pulling, ex plod driving school, so i expect the speedo to be thereabouts.
Sorry to disagree GB, but the 2.0 turbo version would just about manage 140mph, so there is no way the 827 could manage 147mph with 20bhp less.
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I think your speedometer was a tad optimistic there bolt, 177bhp will only take you so far, and that point had been passed about 15mph previously!.
I already knew that, but considering the weight of the car I thought it was still good and got their quicker than I expected, after that I got the old intermittent tappet problem, not that I really knew what it actually did speed wise but I liked using the acceleration on it.
it was nice trying, except the fuel consumption was the worst I had had on it, which it had never been that low before
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I remember my dad giving me the keys to his newish F reg 827Si and £30 to go to Silverstone for the Friday F1 qualifying after I'd finished my first year at Uni. Coming home along the Oundle bypass, I was behind a 3 litre Carlton who was up for as much fun as I was. As the speedo hit 95, I noticed an Esprit on my six. My bravery allowance was almost empty, so I checked the road ahead was clear, and that there was an Esprit-sized gap between me and the Carlton, then stuck my left indicator on. The Lotus took us both with ease. And did it sound good as it went by.
Note to any Law Enforcement People who might be reading this: it was a long time ago. I was young and rather foolish. As people have pointed out, in those days, 95mph in an 827Si was probably nearer 56mph in real terms. I wouldn't dream of doing such things again. Honest.
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I remember my dad giving me the keys to his newish F reg 827Si and £30 to go to Silverstone for the Friday F1 qualifying after I'd finished my first year at Uni. Coming home along the Oundle bypass, I was behind a 3 litre Carlton who was up for as much fun as I was. As the speedo hit 95, I noticed an Esprit on my six. My bravery allowance was almost empty, so I checked the road ahead was clear, and that there was an Esprit-sized gap between me and the Carlton, then stuck my left indicator on. The Lotus took us both with ease. And did it sound good as it went by.
Note to any Law Enforcement People who might be reading this: it was a long time ago. I was young and rather foolish. As people have pointed out, in those days, 95mph in an 827Si was probably nearer 56mph in real terms. I wouldn't dream of doing such things again. Honest.
I thought the Lotus Carlton has a 3.6 straight six, though could be wrong, my bil had a Opel Monza and that couldn't keep up with one on A_ though the tank didn't take long to empty like the 827 you could watch the needle drop
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Bolt, he was talking about an Esprit and a 3.0 Carlton.
Sorry, read it too quick.....
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The ordinary Carltons were 1.8/2.0/2.2 but there was a Carlton 3.0 GSi and the Lotus-Carlton 3.6
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The ordinary Carltons were 1.8/2.0/2.2 but there was a Carlton 3.0 GSi and the Lotus-Carlton 3.6
As well as the above, there was also a 2.6 which made 150bhp. This, like the 3.0, was a straight 6. The 3.0 made 177bhp in its initial 12V guise, then 204bhp for the 24V version.
I think at one time, the Carlton was the most aerodynamic production car you could buy.
Very popular with the police too!.
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My dad nearly bought an 800 demonstrator back in late 1988, had the test drive, liked the car & trade in value for his SD1. Checking the 800 over before going to do a deal he noticed some damage to the 800 front bumper lower lip the salesman refused to repair - wanted £200 extra OR reduce trade in value by £200 to cover it.
My dad walked away, went & saw his mate up the Peugeot dealer & done a deal on there 405 demonstrator instead.
FWIW- At least he got a test drive at the Rover dealer, Vauxhall wouldn't even give him a test drive in the new mk3 Cavalier.
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