I have one of these lovely old cars, stunning to drive, elegant and stately. You really do have a sense of occasion everytime you get behind the wheel. I also own a P6B thats done 19,000 miles...and they are as different as chalk and cheese...the P5B has the grace and elegance, the P6B still has that syle and grace but combines it with slightly more sportier characteristics.
As a Canadian that was very interesting, growing up I always wondered why the PM did not ride in a Bentley or Rolls, but I guess they would have seemed too elite.
Actually it could do 125 mph as I did exactly that (legally I might add) on the M1 in October 1965 before the speed limit came. What a car to drive as a 17 year old.
Talking rubbish I owned a ex doctors coupe for 3 years down it showed 115 let me tell u after I had 3ooos capri flat out 129mph then to a opel monza gse top range 3 litre again top end 135 the coupe was a lovely car it took years to hit a ton wasn't built for that tried to track it down reg was omo 132 l sadly I think used for parts
@@rohanjones7238 Yes, you are right. It was my father's 3 litre that I drove in 1965 - he subsequently bought the 3.5 V8 as you say in 1967. If the old one could do 125 mph, I never had a chance to try beating that as there were speed limits by then.
my p5b coupe will sit all night at 130mph no worries and its quick overtaking gtc 555b .its white with a black roof top and it smells so nice i would sleep in it .
always wanted one of these Rovers...(Sallon ir coupe versions)i was once driven in one back in the 1970's and the car's engine was so quite i could hardly hear it ticking over. thanks to BUICK as well for turning out such a fantastic little(for them) engine in the first place!
Only one car had more understated class than the Rover P5B and that was The Alvis TF. They were so expensive though. £2K in 67/68 would get you the XJ6 2.9 litre with cloth! (Ouch) or half an Alvis. Those P5Bs were just right, then.
I love the Rovers dignity.... Don't forget though Prime Ministers and Diplomats used Humbers from Winston Churchill's early days right through with each Prime Minister including Douglas-Home and Harold Wilson.It was only in 1965 Humbers Super Snipe and Imperials were no longer manufactured that Rover replaced them. Quentin was wrong in forgetting Humber was Prime Minister's cars for decades, Rovers being dignified and beautiful as well. Cheers, John (Australia)
I've had 3 different Rovers in my life so far. They look nice, but after 100k miles they always start falling apart. Grear cars if you know how to take a car apart and put it back together.
If I had the dosh and wanted to hipster 're-imagine' an old British car, it would be this one. The Rover P5B. I'd sell it, though, the minute somebody came up to me and told me it was "iconic."
The unoins a much needed load of parts that the night shift needed to work turned up at 20 to 5 they were refused to unload no one would work after 5 pm
How can we have got to a stage where a BMW 7 series or a Indian Jag is classed as top quality and we produced oppulance such as the Rover and let it all go .
Q Wilson lost all credibility when he got involved with adverts for Park First investments which he professed as being “better than gold” but it turned out to be very toxic :-(
There isn't much that is British about the design. It has a Buick V8 and looks like a 1956 Chrysler minus the tailfins. I suppose Rover made it British by adding a wood dashboard, leather seats, oil leaks, and an unreliable electrical system.
Made in 1968 solihull. Lode Lane. I started there same year on the P6 line
Still my favourite incarnation of Top Gear. Wilson, Needell & Clatkson. Great team.
I have one of these lovely old cars, stunning to drive, elegant and stately. You really do have a sense of occasion everytime you get behind the wheel. I also own a P6B thats done 19,000 miles...and they are as different as chalk and cheese...the P5B has the grace and elegance, the P6B still has that syle and grace but combines it with slightly more sportier characteristics.
The P5 and P6 were the last true Rovers.
Why?
My SD1 no ?
Last of the "real" Rovers. Fabulous car. The B stands for Buick, founder of the Buick motor company was from Arbroath in Angus.
The B was for Buick, because the engine in the P5B was a 215 CID V8 all-aluminum engine bought from General Motors.
One of the best looking Rovers they ever built, tho the 90 and the 100 we're also v.nice.
The good of days of Top Gear celebrating classic cars rather than banger racing them in 'challenges' for cheap laughs.
@Kristian Ian No one gives a fuck you simp!
@@markstella8723 You said it!
As a Canadian that was very interesting, growing up I always wondered why the PM did not ride in a Bentley or Rolls, but I guess they would have seemed too elite.
Beautiful piece ,graciously delivered
Actually it could do 125 mph as I did exactly that (legally I might add) on the M1 in October 1965 before the speed limit came. What a car to drive as a 17 year old.
Talking rubbish I owned a ex doctors coupe for 3 years down it showed 115 let me tell u after I had 3ooos capri flat out 129mph then to a opel monza gse top range 3 litre again top end 135 the coupe was a lovely car it took years to hit a ton wasn't built for that tried to track it down reg was omo 132 l sadly I think used for parts
Said they didn’t come out till 67
@@rohanjones7238 Yes, you are right. It was my father's 3 litre that I drove in 1965 - he subsequently bought the 3.5 V8 as you say in 1967. If the old one could do 125 mph, I never had a chance to try beating that as there were speed limits by then.
They’re a beautiful old English car would love to own one
Rover bought the rights to the engine from Buick and modified it extensively, so it an American engine at heart.
Buick bought the design from BMW who discarded the engine because BMW moved to overhead cam engines in the late 1950s.
@@dreamdiction interestingly enough, BMW had an equivalent car (to the Rover P5) at the time for that engine-the Baroque Angels (501 and 502 models).
Nice, the coupe especailly. I met an old gent years ago he claimed to be driving the last one, a coupe with blue body and cream roof. Nice.
my p5b coupe will sit all night at 130mph no worries and its quick overtaking gtc 555b .its white with a black roof top and it smells so nice i would sleep in it .
Lovely
20 years on and the price has barely gone up. Got that one wrong, Q.
Got mine at 7k in 2015. Now worth 20k
Ha, the days when the Queen would give Top gear access to her Rover. Once Jezza was in charge they'd probably drop a piano on it
nice car, love the classics! especially the interiors!
The man who founded the Company came from Arbroath. His name was Buick.
always wanted one of these Rovers...(Sallon ir coupe versions)i was once driven in one back in the 1970's and the car's engine was so quite i could hardly hear it ticking over.
thanks to BUICK as well for turning out such a fantastic little(for them) engine in the first place!
Absolutely stunning! 👍❤️
My ex-partner bought one for us to do shows etc. We split up earlier this year and she sold it, I miss the car more than her!
Only one car had more understated class than the Rover P5B and that was The Alvis TF. They were so expensive though. £2K in 67/68 would get you the XJ6 2.9 litre with cloth! (Ouch) or half an Alvis. Those P5Bs were just right, then.
2.8 litre
I love the Rovers dignity.... Don't forget though Prime Ministers and Diplomats used Humbers from Winston Churchill's early days right through with each Prime Minister including Douglas-Home and Harold Wilson.It was only in 1965 Humbers Super Snipe and Imperials were no longer manufactured that Rover replaced them. Quentin was wrong in forgetting Humber was Prime Minister's cars for decades, Rovers being dignified and beautiful as well. Cheers, John (Australia)
Here's a short video I made about the Rover P5B th-cam.com/video/4SG3QEGGfi0/w-d-xo.html
BJT 133B
3 litre straight 6 manual coupe.
A lovely car. Imposing at low speeds, but it'd do the ton.
Absolutely. The only car of British standards to prove it's worth worth. Luxurious car.
I've had 3 different Rovers in my life so far.
They look nice, but after 100k miles they always start falling apart.
Grear cars if you know how to take a car apart and put it back together.
rusty old barge
I'd leave some of that trail raw. But I love it. Well done Bruce.
1:40 Still alive
2:41 Still alive
3:31 Still alive
4:06 Still alive (of course)
Yes a Wonderful Motor.
Stephen sowden favourite car
My left ear loved this
The boot was big enough for carrying kids from the children's home.
Alive then dead.
If I had the dosh and wanted to hipster 're-imagine' an old British car, it would be this one. The Rover P5B.
I'd sell it, though, the minute somebody came up to me and told me it was "iconic."
The 3.5l V8's biggest issues were the rocker shafts, rockers and hydraulic lifters.
don't say small for Buick, it was a small V8 in its own right, it was lighter and more compact than most 4 cylinders of the day
The unoins a much needed load of parts that the night shift needed to work turned up at 20 to 5 they were refused to unload no one would work after 5 pm
How can we have got to a stage where a BMW 7 series or a Indian Jag is classed as top quality and we produced oppulance such as the Rover and let it all go .
rose tinted specs. the only half decent rover was the 3.5l v8 p6
cool cars!Who needs all the modern bullshit in modern cars!
No one does pompous better then the Brits, no body.
We paid for it .....
You sound like an expert.
Aliteration-tastic
This is the guy who said that Store Pods were a good investment!!!
Molto bella. Potessi averne una.
Only Quentin Wilson can have the same sort of class, as a P5B!
I wonder if he clocked the car?
Wilson and class do not belong in the same sentence.
What ep was this please?
Q Wilson lost all credibility when he got involved with adverts for Park First investments which he professed as being “better than gold” but it turned out to be very toxic :-(
En rigtig smuk og elegant bil......
no, Buick was founded in Detroit
You're the xpert.
Sorry I part exchanged being still only 29 I wanted fast cars
@Coldwarmotors
@quirpco the Rover cost about as much as the Mercedes and with the Benz, there's confidence that the doors will stay on
Was Rover comparable to Mercedes or VW?
Well rover was extremely reliable like the mercadies and possibly Evan better built than one
Back then, a Mercedes. Later a BMW, and eventually their final car was as downmarket as a GEO.
A Rover was a step above a Mercedes. As stated in this video its closest competitor was the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow.
Doubt he has one
0:18 or a Bentley
Back then, apart from the Continental T, they were essentially just rebadged Rolls-Royces.
It's no Allegro Vanden Plas, but it's alright.
i liked the p6 better thogh
There isn't much that is British about the design. It has a Buick V8 and looks like a 1956 Chrysler minus the tailfins. I suppose Rover made it British by adding a wood dashboard, leather seats, oil leaks, and an unreliable electrical system.
I take it those would be American oil leaks then.
7 non capiscono la bellezza della Rover p5
Anachronisms both, man and car.
Wilson is quite possibly the biggest nonce......... in the world
Disgustingly, he looks a little bit like Nigel Farage.
Dickhead
Good God, how did this Top Gear ever get on tv? Oh wait, it's back when British tv sucked.