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YEARCARCAR 1960s CAROFTHE All three finalists were forward-thinkingintheir design; both Renault (left) and NSU (right)boasted modern front-wheel drive The 1963 Rover2000 embodied the Carofthe Year ʼs guiding criteria fora winner toatee. David BacheʼsP6designwas aerodynamicallyefficient, compact, andwith just the right blendofmodernity andtraditional Rovercuesto broadenits buyerappeal, without offending branddie-hards. Technologicall y, it left many so-calledsports cars in the shade with its trick de Dion rearsuspension, whichditched the need forsliding-spline driveshafts,keeping the rearwheelsinaparallel/vertical plane,and imbuing the 2000 with realdynamic flair. Thelong-overdue P4 replacementʼscleansheet design also made bold ticks in thejudgesʼ safety box, with disc brakes as standardall round, pluscabin ergonomics that were not onlypleasing to the eye, butfunctionallystateof-the-art comparedwith its rivals. No surprise,then, that theRover wasthe first cartowin over the CotY judges. With 76 points, it madearunner up of the über-advanced Mercedes-Benz600, andrelegated the new HillmanImp to thirdspot. Judgespraised the 2000ʼsride andhandling, value (it wascheaper thanthe outgoing P4) andoverall quality.Only Roverʼsnew 1978cc single-overhead-camʻfourʼ –the default engine,initially–blotted its copybooksomewhat: the economical 89bhp unit made light work of cruising on the newly emerging motorways,but CotY ʼs judgesclearly thoughtthat it wasnofirecracke r. Hasthat viewchanged among ourex-CotY cohorttoday?The fact thatretiredautomotive 78 Classic&Sports Car February2024 From top: early P6 wears its CotY win with pride; sohc ‘four’lackspunch; rational interior wasa revelation From top: period deflectors cut buffeting; R16’s neatly packagedengine; column change takes familiarisation
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‘Technologically,the Rover left manyso-called sports cars in its shade,with trick de Dion suspension that imbued real dynamic flair’ From left: stylised script matchesNSU’schic design; Wankel is cleverbut can be costly;remarkable modernity continuestoroomycabin PR guru Denis Chickʼsbeautifullypreserved, 9000-mile 1966 carisamorepowerful TC model mayhelp, but, even so,the judges remain broadlyaligned with their forebears. “Quietness andsupple low-speed ride are its strongest suits ,” ventures Steve. “It makes acomfortable motorwaycruise r, too. Butother cars of the eraand price had nicer engines .” Matt concurs:“It hasagreat ʻbig-carʼ ride,but beyond that it doesnʼt doalot forme.” Rayalso reckons that,while the Roverʼs clever constructionmirrored that of the groundbreaking Citroën DS,itlackedthe Frenchcar ʼs otherinnovations.“It ʼs an early attempt at an ʻexecutiveʼsaloonwithaneat, comfortable cabin,”hechimes in, “but it was heavytodrive andnot very fast.” So,will Renault ʼs 1966 CotY-winning R16 find morefavour among ourjudges? Likethe Rove r, it wasa giant-feller,its 98-pointscore beating both the runner-upRolls-Royce Silver Shadow andthe third-placed Oldsmobile Toronado.And it ʼs easy to see why, with the R16 having effectively established andpopularised thehatchbackcar as we know it today–inthis case, packagedintoa salubrious andrefined range-topper that proved successfulenough fora15-year production run. Designer Gaston Juchet ʼs distinctive body profile,with its highroofline andthree side windows, wasarchetypicallyFrench. Itsremit wasalso France-specific, recognisingthe growing appetite in the nation forcarsthat could reliably consume long distances,often on poorly surfacedroads,but could double as recreational mobility forfamilies. R16buyersweregivenachoice of smooth andtorquey 1.5-or1.6-litreoverhead-cam ʻfours ʼ, each equipped with thermostatically controlled fans andsealed cooling systems. Drive went to the frontwheels through either afour-speed manual or three-speed automatic gearboxand suspension wasindependentall round,sprung by torsion bars frontand rea r. This provided generouscomfortlevels, butalso comedic levels of bodyroll in extremis.And inside,the hatchʼspracticality wasenhanced further byamulti-configurable rearseat– commonplace today,but quite revolutionary nearly sixdecades ago. Richard Allenʼs 1970 exampleisnʼt quite representative of what the original CotY judges would have assessed, since it benefits from alater engine,afive-speed ʼboxand electric powersteering.But that doesnʼt distractour judgesfromthe R16ʼscoreattributes,with Ray noting the cabinʼs full-width air ventsand “big, comfyseats thatgowithits floatyride .” Matt warms to the R16ʼs“lovely lope”,referring to the caras“characterfullyodd ”, butalso has his February2024 Classic&Sports Car 79

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YEARCARCAR

1960s CAROFTHE

All three finalists were forward-thinkingintheir design; both Renault (left) and NSU (right)boasted modern front-wheel drive

The 1963 Rover2000 embodied the Carofthe Year ʼs guiding criteria fora winner toatee. David BacheʼsP6designwas aerodynamicallyefficient, compact, andwith just the right blendofmodernity andtraditional Rovercuesto broadenits buyerappeal, without offending branddie-hards. Technologicall y, it left many so-calledsports cars in the shade with its trick de Dion rearsuspension, whichditched the need forsliding-spline driveshafts,keeping the rearwheelsinaparallel/vertical plane,and imbuing the 2000 with realdynamic flair.

Thelong-overdue P4 replacementʼscleansheet design also made bold ticks in thejudgesʼ safety box, with disc brakes as standardall round, pluscabin ergonomics that were not onlypleasing to the eye, butfunctionallystateof-the-art comparedwith its rivals.

No surprise,then, that theRover wasthe first cartowin over the CotY judges. With 76 points, it madearunner up of the über-advanced Mercedes-Benz600, andrelegated the new HillmanImp to thirdspot. Judgespraised the 2000ʼsride andhandling, value (it wascheaper thanthe outgoing P4) andoverall quality.Only Roverʼsnew 1978cc single-overhead-camʻfourʼ –the default engine,initially–blotted its copybooksomewhat: the economical 89bhp unit made light work of cruising on the newly emerging motorways,but CotY ʼs judgesclearly thoughtthat it wasnofirecracke r.

Hasthat viewchanged among ourex-CotY cohorttoday?The fact thatretiredautomotive

78 Classic&Sports Car February2024

From top: early P6 wears its CotY win with pride; sohc ‘four’lackspunch; rational interior wasa revelation

From top: period deflectors cut buffeting; R16’s neatly packagedengine; column change takes familiarisation

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