Rover 3500 (SD1)

The story

David Bache took his cue from the Ferrari Daytona and gave a big Rover a hatchback, which nobody expected. It won European Car of the Year for 1977. Build quality let it down, but police forces loved its pace.

Inside

The instruments sit in a box on top of a flat shelf, so the same dash could be built for left or right-hand drive. The back seat folds for estate-car loads.

In period colours

Tap a colour to respray the drawing.

Meanwhile, in 1976

A long, hot summer brought drought, and Concorde entered passenger service.

Best-selling single of 1976: Save Your Kisses for Me by Brotherhood of Man

Before you buy a 1970s car

• Rust is common in sills, wheel arches, front panels and the bottom of the doors.
• Check the wiring and electrics carefully, as they age badly.
• Many volume-selling cars still have good parts support, but badge-engineered and low-volume models can be harder to source.

General notes, not specific to this model. Check the model's own history before buying.

Rivals of its day

Picked automatically: cars on sale at the same time with similar size, speed and price.

See the real thing

These open in a new tab: the car on Wikimedia Commons, the interior and the badge as Google image searches.