I drove one of these about 18 months ago. It was a revelation. I'd always remembered these as an older person's car, but bloody hell, it was terrific to drive . What the presenter doesn't mention is they have a close ratio gearbox, which, when wedded to that revvy VVC engine makes for great driving on twisty B roads. There's a real sweat spot, as mentioned in the video, around 4000 rpm where the engine really sings and works. A decade ago when you could pick them up for peanuts , guys with Lotus's would drop a 200 BRM gearbox into their Elise to upgrade their car. That's one of the reason they're so rare now. The MG ZR 160 , a close cousin to the BRM never got the gearbox either but I've seen quite a number that have had red leather interior fitted due to the very high quality leather used in the BRM which has proved to be very long lasting and durable. Another reason so many were sadly broke for spares. I get it, it's not to everyone's taste, bur for me it's a rare little gem of a modern classic car.
As the very proud owner of one of the 77 original Dutch supplied BRM’s (out of 350 LHD cars) I have loved this video, Jack. It is my car for pottering around the area and going in to the city. It is less a nightmare to park as is the Jaguar S-Type. And it is hugely fun to drive. Just floor it in tight bends and the LSD pulls it tight. And quite comfortable on longer distances as well. Good seats, fantastic quality leather (dare I say even better as in my Jag?). As you said, it loves to rev. And it sounds glorious. I love it!
I think it's probably one of those models that is a great machine, but a lousy market proposition. It was hard to make at a Market-Appropriate price. All those hand-machined parts, stitched leather and whatnot really put the cost up compared to off-the-shelf/bin parts. I'm sure it is lovely, but it's also just a family hatch.
Great cars! My granddad was once a BL dealer and two of the mechanics later had a 200 BRM. They looked so much more exciting than a GTI, especially the interior. I can agree on parking a Jag, I have a Twingo to avoid parking (and fuel consumption in busy traffic) of the x350.
@@HJ-vs7lf Ah, well… the BRM does only about 30 miles per gallon. Not too economical as well. My S-Type diesel does 37. But that doesn’t rev happily to 7000 either.
The touch screens are accidents waiting to happen - eyes HSVE to be attracted(distracted) towards them to do all those things that touch alone used to deal with :-(
I have a short story about this model of car. My dad's old boss had one of these. He worked at a blockbusters, was a very tight knit group of people working there - it was essentially my second home, would be there straight from school until my dad's shift finished talking about cars and racing games with my dad and the people working there. He used to drive us home in his one which had some absurd loud exhaust on it, as a teen I thought it was the coolest car in the world. Eventually he had some kind of curb accident and split the chassis on it, as we had a driveway with no family car, my dad said he could store it there until he sold/scrapped it, leaving the keys with my dad which I used to sneak just to sit in the car, probably spent hundreds of hours as a teen just drawing or doing homework in that car. Thanks for covering the car, brought back a lot of fond memories for me.
I had a BRM and adored it. The interior was definitely an acquired taste, but I thought it was great with all those machined aluminium parts and red leather. The sunroof leaked, the head gasket blew and I replaced that on the driveway with the uprated Land Rover one. It always made me smile though. Full of character and I miss it a lot. If I had the space I'd have another for sure. Great trip down memory lane. 😊
I can’t comment on these cars but I can vouch for the seats. I bought a set for a classic car project and I have never sat in seats so comfortable. I loved the look of them. They reminded me of the cockpit of Gerry Anderson’s Stingray!
I was a big Rover fan back in the day. Had a Metro GTi with a 1.8 from an MGF dropped into it when these were released and remember going to my Rover dealer for a few parts. They had a 200 BRM just delivered for the showroom and I was sold. Went home and considered it and arrived back a few days later and bought it. Fantastic cars and the red interior was lovely. A few minor tweaks and they absolutely flew too.
I went vauxhall nova with a tomcat dropped in I say dropped squeezed 6 speed ridiculously fast for the day and no uprated brakes shox nothing just silly quick in a straight line. I sold it, which probably saved my life. Lifelong adrenaline junkie.
I used to work with a young lad that bought one of these new i forget the number but it was a really low number one of the first, he used to change the oil ever 3k miles he pampered that car but did drive it hard, i was so impressed with it i came close to buying one myself, but it was a little small for me so ended up getting a 620Ti we had a lot of fun chasing each other he always had me on the twisty bits but on straights id have the advantage, both alot of fun to drive, i've had several rovers and honestly dont think they deserved the rep they seemed to have.
That 200 series Rover is still may favourite. Even now I think it is a great looking car. Add the BRM upgrade and you had a unique agile hot hatch. Shame it never sold.
They needed more power. The Previous Rover 200 , the midrange one was 138hp. The top of the range was 197hp with an LSD. So with this era of 200 everyone was waiting for the replacement 150mph hot hatch, as we'd had since 1992. Eventually they came out with the BRM, and it was still 143hp. Which is why it was so popular to drop the T16 into them.
Hello as a Brit that loves big American cars and trucks im curious to know if Americans have a love for tiny hatchbacks in general? Id love to own a stroked 9.0l Viper. Even a Ford F450. I'm a huge fan of the vast hemi engines. Sadly most American cars are to big for tiny British roads. Are small European hatchbacks practical on vast American roads?
I had two of these concurrently and loved them. Great to drive and I found them very comfortable and practical. I modified mine, 160 modded head and throttle body, Janspeed exhaust manifold, exhaust cam, 160 brakes. They became niche enthusiasts cars and I was one such.
The problem was the sunroof. It leaked and new rubbers were of unobtaineum. I got a sunroofless roof pan in a scrappy but never got around to do the conversion - a big job.
I remember seeing a couple of these about back in the day, but I've never seen the interior of one until now and I have to say I'd be glad to never see it again. It doesn't know what it wants to be and it just looks so wrong having 60's interior styling with a 90's cheap plastic interior. Complete carnage.
Same here te seeing some aboht 20 years ago But I was looking at that interior and was pleasantly surprised. compared to other 90s sports cars of the era Evos cossies etc to me it stands up way better today compared to them, those machined pieces for fan speed etc way nicer than cheap plastic, amd even today a premium German manufacturers RS or M department product with quilted leather we would say looks real quality. I even think a wooden steering wheel would look really dated I’ve always though wooden trim in cars looks so grandad era Each to their own I guess 😂
I loved my 90’s rovers, I had a couple of coupes but also had TWO (of 500) rover 220 gsi turbo, a racing green and a blue one. also a vitesse turbo… I did have some non turbo rover group cars that I liked, a few metro GTI (one mpi) , and a 216 GTI and a 420 gsi.
@@Yumbutteredsausage second car was a 216 vanden plas with grey leather. At the age of 19. Then MG maestros about 10. Then a new 220 sli. Then a mark 1 black 220 turbo. Then about 9 other turbos. So Yes I was ready for Rover at the age of 19.
I used to have an old 216 gti with a Honda engine. Awesome little engine, it used to have a power band at 4500revs. Loved it and it was incredibly reliable too ❤
Never drove a BRM but of all the cars I ever owned my 97 216si is the one I remember most fondly. It had problems for sure but I have so many great memories with that car.
As a former Rover 200 Vi owner, I can relate to your bouncing up and down in parts of this video. Those are seats you sit on, rather than in. Wonderful little cars though.
I had a 200vi which was the same but lighter and a slightly different gearbox. I put a brm gearbox on it with the lsd and light flywheel, full exhaust, manifold, decat, induction kit, larger throttle body, induction kit, piper cam, sabre head and an icon chip. It was Dyno tested as 190 bhp at the flywheel on Aldon automotives dyno. I miss that car.
In 1999 I worked in Brentwood and for a short time I had a company car which was an experimental Rover 200 hatchback with a 2.0 turbo diesel and the hydragas suspension from the Rover MGF sports car. I loved the car and especially the suspension which gave the car a unique feeling to drive.
I had the difficult job of trying to sell these in the 90s. BMW just priced everything too high, and the 200 wasn't quite as big as Golf/Astra/Escort but cost more. We only ever sold the 214 models with a large discount.
If they'd gone all out with the wood and leather like the concept maybe it would have worked. I think people just didn't see Rover as that high-end after the name had been slapped on many mid and low end cars.
I worked at a Rover dealer at the same time. Next door Citroen offered the little Saxo VTR and VTS models. They flew off the forecourt. Cheaper, appealed to the under 30s and just hit the hot hatch sweet spot. The VTS was properly fast in a way the BRM was not. The VTR was much cheaper to buy and insure. The BRM was a project car, interesting concept but no one bought it.
I would add that the 3rd generation of Rover 200, was actually meant to be the new Rover 100. Rover's problem was that the previous 100 was still selling well and they couldn't afford to stop production of it, so they moved the bubble up to the 200. The 400 hatch was supposed to be the 200 and that got merged into the 400 range instead. It would have made sense if the range was the way it was envisaged with the bubble 200 being marketed and priced as an upmarket supermini. What would have been the 200 Hatch (which became the 400 hatch) would have competed with the Escort/Astra/Golf etc. while the 400 saloon was moved upmarket more.
The ‘98 show car did look better than the production version. But the production car is a brilliant little thing and great fun. Eminently chuckable, surefooted and loves to rev. If I remember correctly the showcar steering wheel was a traditional Moro Lita item or similar, so would have been prohibitively costly, plus wouldn’t have passed safety regs for new cars.
When I was working for a leasing firm I collected one of these from The Borders and drove it all the way back to London. I really enjoyed it initially but there was one big problem that afflicted all 200’s vs the more modern competition: they had no steering wheel reach adjustment so I (and presumably many others as I’m only average build) just couldn’t get properly comfortable. Makes more sense now as a “fun classic” since you’re not going to be putting many miles on it and comfort’s less of an issue.
My late mother had a fast diesel version of this car in bright blue, it was an absolute hoot on wee Scottish b roads similar to the ones you film on. A great car
I came upon my Rover by accident , literally. My car was written off just as an elderly neighbour decided to give up driving. He had an immaculate Rover 220 SDi . a deal was struck and off I went. The car was comfortable , very economical but so slow. Anyway It got me around and was surprisingly cheap to run. I mentioned to a Rover mechanic I knew what I had bought and that it was slow and he said Old Persons Car ??? Yes I replied. Drive it in third for a month and see what happens. It gradually got faster and a bit more willing until on fairly fast dual carriageway there was a surge a cloud of soot and off it went. From that day onwards I never looked back 60 mpg phenomenal mid range acceleration and warp drive. Obviously they were not bought to be sporty but if used correctly they could leave so many superior cars In their wake. Great fun for several years , looked at a Gti version and the BRM, but pennies were being saved for a house. I do miss it now ,boringly reliable 60 mpg and hooligan hidden tenancies.
I'm not sure how resistant to rust a Clio Williams is, but I recall a late night TV programme many years ago, showing the production of 600 series Rovers and was very impressed by the pre painting dipping processes. A gent I know had a 620 for years, which he sold in order to get a tax exempt small hatch but the Rover had no rust on it at all, and I expect 200 and 400 series cars are just as good, with consideration for sensible wheel arch touch ups etc.
I think I saw the same program, an Open University programme I think. It was late at night and I'd come home from a night out and thought the same myself. There were pretty decent based on the cars I've seen about.
Lovely interior, a cracking chassis and lump (if looked after), but £18,000, no wonder they didn't sell. Should have gone for something like the "Tomcat" style. I'm a BRM fan, as their base was only 14 miles up the road from me, in Bourne Lincolnshire, but it's so niche that hardly anyone had heard of them then. Shame it fell flat on its face.
Love watching these obscure british cars I've never heard of. They are interesting not always the most hp but old GTI's were fun and they had no power.
I find it funny how no one said why don't we have the two different size wheels with the larger going on the British model & the smaller rims for the rest of Europe. That's exactly what happens now different countires receive different trim options and standard configurations. No wonder why Rover was never a success but had VW bought it, it would still be going strong & under the VW umbrella today. I always had a soft spot for the 200 & owned the generation before this model for around year & remember really liking this model when it launched.
I can tell you now, I was employed by one of Rovers suppliers. Not only was there some confusion over where to angle Rover to what market etc, but the management structures from BMW and Rover were like chalk and cheese. It didn’t blend too well. Whilst BMW was about ultimate leadership , Rover hovered around very much a committee style approach . This did not wash with BMW at times , I personally thought the writing was on the wall , not if , but when they were going to pull the plug. Shame really, it wasn’t just the jobs at Longbridge but the knock on effect it would have. When the Blair government picked the Towers management to keep it going they looked at the immediate job loss situation, particularly as an election was looming. It was inevitable it wouldn’t last , unfortunately. The alternative management team had a better long term plan, I felt at the time. However, the new Chinese owners have now gained momentum, you see a lot of Longbridge products under the MG brand name on our roads, so at least a plus side. Pity the Rover brand has diminished though. A product which once stood for quality in the days of the P4/5/6 cars.
Seems to me that, though defunct, the Rover brand is now wearing rather better than BMW, what with BMW engine bays being filled with crumbly plastic bits, bombscare engines, and owners constantly wondering when the next warning light will light up on the dash. And hardly to mention the bio-degradable wiring looms.
@ quite agree. Some manufacturers go down the road of cheaper materials and manufacturing methods, forgetting why customers bought the product / brand in the first place.
@@andrewp4172Dont fully agree, thats mostly overblown, certainly compared to the "new" Rover which hasnt got much market pemetration and exposure yet in comparison.
@@jimmys6566 Presumably the person I tagged meant MG, since they are in production right now? Or if he didnt, I dont see how a brand thats been out of business over 15 years, is any comparison to new cars. Or if he meant cars of the same era, I would say BMW still wins in the "quality" department.
If the BRM is too flamboyant and expensive, look at a 25 GTi. A bit rare, they didn't make many, but are anonymous with some nice extras. Tuck a nice Streetwise away, I think they will come good in the near future. .
The wood and leather steering wheel on our Lexus SC430 feels wonderful. Rover/ BMW should have stepped up on that.One of the best feeling steering wheels ever. As for the orange nose- works better on the race car. The interior still looks good overall.
I never really took to that version of the 200. I drove my dad's 216 L reg from the version prior and when it was redesigned thought it looked soft like a pensioners runaround. I much preferred the earlier models. That 216 was still going strong with 130k on it, only the bodywork suffered with age, the engine just kept on going. A fun car to drive and comfortable.
My wife had a silver 200 at the time of the fuel strikes in 2000. It was a great car but the issue was its size which was in between a Fiesta and a Focus. In 2005 we part exchanged it for a new Focus, the bigger boot could fit a pushchair.
Yes that’s what always struck me too, though I never heard anyone else mention it. Neither a mini nor a medium size car, more like a “midi”😂 what were its competitors?
loved our Rover 200 in the early 2000s. ours was a S reg and had the fake wood inside but it made the interiour feel special. for me back then as one of my first cars it was like i had a nice expensive car and would love to have a drive in one again
I wouldn't say Rover was clutching at straws but many younger people would not have a clue who BRM were. As you say though Rover had a connection. It is a shame they didn't put the bigger wheels on the production car as that would have improved the looks though these are alright but not 'stand out'.The same with the interior those eyelets would have made it look better but again it looks fine. Interesting review Jack thank you.
I was looking into these many years ago, but ended up buying a Fiat Punto Gt instead. Always thought the BRM was pretty cool, haven't seen one on the road for years
Glad you didn’t knock the K-series. I had a couple as company cars, did mega miles in them. Always warmed them up before driving them flat out everywhere as a 23 year old rep would do. Absolutely faultless. Brilliant engine.
I'm not surprised these didn't sell. I had a white & grey 1990 216 GTI 5 door back in the day. Loved that car although I always wished I could have afforded a 220 GTI or Coupe.
Ahhh happy memories.. I had a red 416GTi. Proper old man machine with fake walnut and leather... And a 7k redline, unsubtle pre-vtec PFM-FI and a close ratio box 😂 great cars
I believe quite a few of them had their snouts painted silver by dealers, as some people didn't like the orange. Those people didn't get WHY it was orange.
I had one and it had a silver snout, until I had a slight disagreement with another car and cracked it. I found another brand new bumper about 60 miles from me via fleabay and rushed across to get it. Proud to say it bore it's new correct orange snout until I sold it about a year later.
I have seen these about on occasions and thought "strange colour scheme" and thought no more about them. I never ever knew that these were a special by Rover BRM. Good video.
my first car was my mums Rover 400 and i always aspired to get an "old mans" rover 75 v8. never got the v8 but remember the old silver 400 fondly, even kitted it out with alloy wheels. Rover dropped the ball but were then never allowed to pick it up, shame.
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I remember seeing these at work carpark about 20 years ago alongside yellow jordan civics.
I have been running K-series engined Rovers for 23 years. Never had a head gasket issue. Why? Because I look after it correctly. The quality of my 25 beats any Ford or Vauxhall easily.
I loved my BRM was such a good car to drive, made a mockery of a lot of other popular makes down B roads, especially when they tried to talk down on the car before hand
I had the chance of buying one of these for £800 when I was 19 but at the time, back in 2006 but ended up with a 306 instead as the insurance on this was about £2500 a year. Such great cars. As for why it failed, here's my thoughts.. The BRM brand and the colours would have probably been more widely known by the older buyer who, would have in my opinion been likely to go for a 400 at a minimum, a 600, or maybe even a 75 which was launched around the same time. MG on the other hand, whilst known for the Metro, Maestro and Montego in recent years, would have been a brand more familiar with those born in the late 70s or early 80s who would have been coming of age and likely to have bought something like this.
I remember when Tanya batteries had just started and were working in a small garage at the back of their house. The owner, Sam, is a relative of Mike Pemberton who used to own Manbat (Manchester Batteries). Manbat used to be known as Snowdon Batteries and they started out a town called Abergele in north Wales. The original name of the company was actually Glassclad batteries i think. They were the first batteries used in vehicles to have been divided into cells using sheets of fibreglass, hence the name Glassclad. When they were known as Snowdonia Batteries, they decided to change their name to Manchester Batteries as they had set up business there and that is where they had the most sales, later being abbreviated to Manbat. After Manbat needed more space and moved to nearby Bodelwyddan, Sam Taylor and Joe Fennah of Tayna Batteries (Tayna being an anagram of Taylor and Fennah) moved to the old Snowdon batteries premises in Abergele. They have since moved again to Bodelwyddan on a different industrial estate to Manbat. They are obviously doing very well and I'm glad. I liked both Sam and Joe who own Tayna batteries and i was surprised to see a sponsorship on this video. Manbat has a very important history with car battery technology. Also, i used to work for MG Rover as a young lad and I also worked for Manbat and would deliver to Tayna multiple times a day. Edit: Manbat ltd is now called Ecobat.
I used to see one of these driving around town. Always assumed the orange with red seats were mods as they clashed with the BRG. Often they were boring, but I miss Rover as occasionally they'd make things like this, the 6R4, Metro Gti, MG SV, ZT 260 ...
Now and again i still thing about the 2 rovers we had... 1st was a 95 414. Realy like it. But the later one the 01 45 1.4 i just loved it. Now and again still look at the classifieds to see what 75 estates are going for. Maybe one day.
Always wanted one of these but ended up with a Honda civic 5 door 1.8 vti with the vtec engine, platform shared with the rover 400. That was a magic car, revved to about 8500 rpm and quick.
The interior has a particular theme, & that theme is 'GIMP'. No one in the 1990s would have had a clue about BRM, all they would see is the 'lipstick' in an odd colour. Great review again Jack! 🙏🙏
We were gifted an as new 200 with a blown gasket, once fixed it was awesome. It sat on line between a family daily and a raggable funbucket. You just had to get past the blue rinse stigma of rover at the time.
Remember doing a head gasket on one of these when they were relatively new sure it was about 30k miles used to find fwd the norm being gasket required 30-50k miles and the MGF and elise 20-40k miles obviously the main factors of how soon being how they were driven absolutely fantastic light revvy engine the head gaskets (due to the arrow bolts and the engine with that flexing about too much) were pretty much the only flaw not a bad job either done dozens if not hundreds of them over the yrs in various models sure \i recall smashing them out the park 2-3hrs as the norm even did one (basically an experiment) by not even removing the head just removed the timing belt and various other bits required lifted the head a bit and slid out/in old/new gaskets without cleaning anything while at a dealership in the 90s at a weekend BONUS TIME! :) anyway defo at least initially worked and had no word of it coming back :) still always wondered how long it lasted and iof it made the 30-50k norm before needing done again :)
I owned one of these , I bought it 1 year old for 8k a fraction of the new cost , I can’t remember what the list was but no one believed how much I got it for. It was a very eye catching car at the time. If I recall it correctly it was actually a Rover 200 BRM LE
I remember nearly buying one....but can't quite remember why.....wished I had now.....I quite like it
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I very nearly bought one of these. The initial £18k put me off but after a couple of years the dealership had a brand new one at £13k. It was between this and a Seat Ibiza Cupra Sport. I think I made the right choice. I remember It handled extremely well.
Always liked these, and still cheap for such a rare car. I wasn't a fan of the grill surround colour, but I guess they had to do something to highlight it's special qualities. Very under rated car.
In the last 90s I used to visit one of the original car supermarkets Fords of Winsford with my dad every couple of weeks. They had at least 3 of these BRMs for ages (like years) - which was strange as the stock normally turned over quickly. Parked between the normal rovers and the vans, the orange front really was eye catching, and I looked at them many times with intrigue. I'm sure the price was the issue.
Pretty unique hot hatch, I wouldn’t mind one. You’re right about some of the unfortunate compromises though. They should’ve been a bit more restrained with the orange grill, a simple outline stripe would have worked better
There used to be in south Oxon I used to see around a lot. Silly me, I assumed he'd broken the grill and replaced it with an unpainted one. Usual story with Rover. Engineers make something good, and then bean counters ruin it by making cuts to the design that they don't think are important. Because they're not engineers.
I drove one of these about 18 months ago. It was a revelation. I'd always remembered these as an older person's car, but bloody hell, it was terrific to drive . What the presenter doesn't mention is they have a close ratio gearbox, which, when wedded to that revvy VVC engine makes for great driving on twisty B roads. There's a real sweat spot, as mentioned in the video, around 4000 rpm where the engine really sings and works. A decade ago when you could pick them up for peanuts , guys with Lotus's would drop a 200 BRM gearbox into their Elise to upgrade their car. That's one of the reason they're so rare now. The MG ZR 160 , a close cousin to the BRM never got the gearbox either but I've seen quite a number that have had red leather interior fitted due to the very high quality leather used in the BRM which has proved to be very long lasting and durable. Another reason so many were sadly broke for spares.
I get it, it's not to everyone's taste, bur for me it's a rare little gem of a modern classic car.
I drove a humdrum 214Si about 9 months ago on some good b-roads and even that surprised me steering was phenomenal
which shop do you work for who's bringing in these type of cars haha
As the very proud owner of one of the 77 original Dutch supplied BRM’s (out of 350 LHD cars) I have loved this video, Jack.
It is my car for pottering around the area and going in to the city. It is less a nightmare to park as is the Jaguar S-Type.
And it is hugely fun to drive. Just floor it in tight bends and the LSD pulls it tight. And quite comfortable on longer distances as well. Good seats, fantastic quality leather (dare I say even better as in my Jag?). As you said, it loves to rev. And it sounds glorious.
I love it!
There were just 77 Dutch cars? I saw them all the time, 20 years ago.
@@jochem1986 yes, only 77. Mine is the 41st built for the Dutch market.
I think it's probably one of those models that is a great machine, but a lousy market proposition. It was hard to make at a Market-Appropriate price. All those hand-machined parts, stitched leather and whatnot really put the cost up compared to off-the-shelf/bin parts. I'm sure it is lovely, but it's also just a family hatch.
Great cars! My granddad was once a BL dealer and two of the mechanics later had a 200 BRM. They looked so much more exciting than a GTI, especially the interior.
I can agree on parking a Jag, I have a Twingo to avoid parking (and fuel consumption in busy traffic) of the x350.
@@HJ-vs7lf Ah, well… the BRM does only about 30 miles per gallon. Not too economical as well. My S-Type diesel does 37. But that doesn’t rev happily to 7000 either.
The a/c knobs is easier to use than modern touch screen
The touch screens are accidents waiting to happen - eyes HSVE to be attracted(distracted) towards them to do all those things that touch alone used to deal with :-(
@@keithalderson100 touching your phone is illegal yet scrolling through menus and sub-menus on a touch screen is fine it seems. Insanity.
I have a short story about this model of car. My dad's old boss had one of these. He worked at a blockbusters, was a very tight knit group of people working there - it was essentially my second home, would be there straight from school until my dad's shift finished talking about cars and racing games with my dad and the people working there. He used to drive us home in his one which had some absurd loud exhaust on it, as a teen I thought it was the coolest car in the world. Eventually he had some kind of curb accident and split the chassis on it, as we had a driveway with no family car, my dad said he could store it there until he sold/scrapped it, leaving the keys with my dad which I used to sneak just to sit in the car, probably spent hundreds of hours as a teen just drawing or doing homework in that car. Thanks for covering the car, brought back a lot of fond memories for me.
I had a BRM and adored it. The interior was definitely an acquired taste, but I thought it was great with all those machined aluminium parts and red leather. The sunroof leaked, the head gasket blew and I replaced that on the driveway with the uprated Land Rover one. It always made me smile though. Full of character and I miss it a lot. If I had the space I'd have another for sure. Great trip down memory lane. 😊
I can’t comment on these cars but I can vouch for the seats. I bought a set for a classic car project and I have never sat in seats so comfortable. I loved the look of them. They reminded me of the cockpit of Gerry Anderson’s Stingray!
The seats look very nice. Kudos to Rover for making an effort.
@@Kulumuli it wasn’t rover. The first commentator is right Gerry Anderson designed and patented the seats for this car.
@@malcolmwhite6588 Actually it was a comparison. I can’t vouch for it being a fact.
Soundsike the seats from the Opel Kadet fastback. Richaro?
🎉
I was a big Rover fan back in the day. Had a Metro GTi with a 1.8 from an MGF dropped into it when these were released and remember going to my Rover dealer for a few parts. They had a 200 BRM just delivered for the showroom and I was sold. Went home and considered it and arrived back a few days later and bought it.
Fantastic cars and the red interior was lovely. A few minor tweaks and they absolutely flew too.
I went vauxhall nova with a tomcat dropped in I say dropped squeezed 6 speed ridiculously fast for the day and no uprated brakes shox nothing just silly quick in a straight line. I sold it, which probably saved my life. Lifelong adrenaline junkie.
I used to work with a young lad that bought one of these new i forget the number but it was a really low number one of the first, he used to change the oil ever 3k miles he pampered that car but did drive it hard, i was so impressed with it i came close to buying one myself, but it was a little small for me so ended up getting a 620Ti we had a lot of fun chasing each other he always had me on the twisty bits but on straights id have the advantage, both alot of fun to drive, i've had several rovers and honestly dont think they deserved the rep they seemed to have.
That 200 series Rover is still may favourite. Even now I think it is a great looking car. Add the BRM upgrade and you had a unique agile hot hatch. Shame it never sold.
The ZR was such a good looking cars.
They needed more power. The Previous Rover 200 , the midrange one was 138hp. The top of the range was 197hp with an LSD.
So with this era of 200 everyone was waiting for the replacement 150mph hot hatch, as we'd had since 1992. Eventually they came out with the BRM, and it was still 143hp.
Which is why it was so popular to drop the T16 into them.
You sir have become an excellent TH-cam motoring journalist, I salute you.
American fan here. So cool. Had no idea about these and when u open the door i love it.
Hello as a Brit that loves big American cars and trucks im curious to know if Americans have a love for tiny hatchbacks in general?
Id love to own a stroked 9.0l Viper. Even a Ford F450. I'm a huge fan of the vast hemi engines. Sadly most American cars are to big for tiny British roads. Are small European hatchbacks practical on vast American roads?
I had two of these concurrently and loved them. Great to drive and I found them very comfortable and practical. I modified mine, 160 modded head and throttle body, Janspeed exhaust manifold, exhaust cam, 160 brakes.
They became niche enthusiasts cars and I was one such.
The problem was the sunroof. It leaked and new rubbers were of unobtaineum. I got a sunroofless roof pan in a scrappy but never got around to do the conversion - a big job.
Talking to oneself on the internet type of cars.
I remember seeing a couple of these about back in the day, but I've never seen the interior of one until now and I have to say I'd be glad to never see it again.
It doesn't know what it wants to be and it just looks so wrong having 60's interior styling with a 90's cheap plastic interior. Complete carnage.
Same here te seeing some aboht 20 years ago
But I was looking at that interior and was pleasantly surprised. compared to other 90s sports cars of the era Evos cossies etc to me it stands up way better today compared to them, those machined pieces for fan speed etc way nicer than cheap plastic, amd even today a premium German manufacturers RS or M department product with quilted leather we would say looks real quality.
I even think a wooden steering wheel would look really dated I’ve always though wooden trim in cars looks so grandad era
Each to their own I guess 😂
Agreed.
Looks like the quilted leather has been draped over a nasty plastic interior
220 coupe turbo all day. I had nine back in the day. Wish I still had one now.
You're probably the right age for a Rover now 😂
I loved my 90’s rovers, I had a couple of coupes but also had TWO (of 500) rover 220 gsi turbo, a racing green and a blue one. also a vitesse turbo… I did have some non turbo rover group cars that I liked, a few metro GTI (one mpi) , and a 216 GTI and a 420 gsi.
@@Yumbutteredsausage second car was a 216 vanden plas with grey leather. At the age of 19. Then MG maestros about 10. Then a new 220 sli. Then a mark 1 black 220 turbo. Then about 9 other turbos. So Yes I was ready for Rover at the age of 19.
Council estate cool.
Very insightful video Jack; never knew many of those facts, the orange nose for example! Loved that shot from low down on the front bumper as well!
The Rover that I really like is the 220 Tomcat, in white. Saw one at a dealer and loved it.
My friend had one it was modded and rapid, unfortunately I was also in it when he binned it and wrote it off
I had one the taking off the roof panels in the summer was quite nice but the amount of rust attacking it from all areas wasn’t 😂
I used to have an old 216 gti with a Honda engine. Awesome little engine, it used to have a power band at 4500revs. Loved it and it was incredibly reliable too ❤
What a beautiful looking car.
I didn't know this existed.
Never drove a BRM but of all the cars I ever owned my 97 216si is the one I remember most fondly. It had problems for sure but I have so many great memories with that car.
R666ver was my fave owned reg in a coupe vvc which is an amazing engine.
As a former Rover 200 Vi owner, I can relate to your bouncing up and down in parts of this video. Those are seats you sit on, rather than in. Wonderful little cars though.
I had a 200vi which was the same but lighter and a slightly different gearbox. I put a brm gearbox on it with the lsd and light flywheel, full exhaust, manifold, decat, induction kit, larger throttle body, induction kit, piper cam, sabre head and an icon chip. It was Dyno tested as 190 bhp at the flywheel on Aldon automotives dyno. I miss that car.
My dad had a rover 200, many fond memories of going around the country in that car
In 1999 I worked in Brentwood and for a short time I had a company car which was an experimental Rover 200 hatchback with a 2.0 turbo diesel and the hydragas suspension from the Rover MGF sports car. I loved the car and especially the suspension which gave the car a unique feeling to drive.
I owned one for several years in the mid 2000's, great little car, would happily have another to tuck away.
I remember not long oassing my test and looking at this car and loving it. Looking ar that interior, im not sure why.
I had the difficult job of trying to sell these in the 90s. BMW just priced everything too high, and the 200 wasn't quite as big as Golf/Astra/Escort but cost more. We only ever sold the 214 models with a large discount.
If they'd gone all out with the wood and leather like the concept maybe it would have worked. I think people just didn't see Rover as that high-end after the name had been slapped on many mid and low end cars.
I worked at a Rover dealer at the same time. Next door Citroen offered the little Saxo VTR and VTS models. They flew off the forecourt. Cheaper, appealed to the under 30s and just hit the hot hatch sweet spot. The VTS was properly fast in a way the BRM was not. The VTR was much cheaper to buy and insure. The BRM was a project car, interesting concept but no one bought it.
I would add that the 3rd generation of Rover 200, was actually meant to be the new Rover 100. Rover's problem was that the previous 100 was still selling well and they couldn't afford to stop production of it, so they moved the bubble up to the 200. The 400 hatch was supposed to be the 200 and that got merged into the 400 range instead.
It would have made sense if the range was the way it was envisaged with the bubble 200 being marketed and priced as an upmarket supermini. What would have been the 200 Hatch (which became the 400 hatch) would have competed with the Escort/Astra/Golf etc. while the 400 saloon was moved upmarket more.
Love the colour scheme! Thank you for sharing the story.
I think that's a great looking hot hatch! I love it! Cracking stuff as always Jack buddy 👍
The ‘98 show car did look better than the production version.
But the production car is a brilliant little thing and great fun.
Eminently chuckable, surefooted and loves to rev.
If I remember correctly the showcar steering wheel was a traditional Moro Lita item or similar, so would have been prohibitively costly, plus wouldn’t have passed safety regs for new cars.
( Moto Lita ) 🤦🏻♂️
I used to have one. Loved the car too. But it suffered from the finest Midlands tin worm in the roof gutter. I miss it. What a car.
When I was working for a leasing firm I collected one of these from The Borders and drove it all the way back to London. I really enjoyed it initially but there was one big problem that afflicted all 200’s vs the more modern competition: they had no steering wheel reach adjustment so I (and presumably many others as I’m only average build) just couldn’t get properly comfortable.
Makes more sense now as a “fun classic” since you’re not going to be putting many miles on it and comfort’s less of an issue.
I used to see one of these in the early 2000s in the town where I went to school. They were cool then. They certainly haven't lost any of that.
That’s such a coincidence! I was looking for one of these as a winter daily last week!
awesome video, shame the 200 BRM did not succeed
I had one - V640 GCU. Absolutely loved it. Pranged it on the Catford gyratory - was devastated.
I really liked these on release. A rare sight these days, last one I saw was an absolutely mint example at a classic car show a couple of years back.
Man I remember these coming out. They were just so cool.
My late mother had a fast diesel version of this car in bright blue, it was an absolute hoot on wee Scottish b roads similar to the ones you film on. A great car
Amazing car well done Tony
I came upon my Rover by accident , literally. My car was written off just as an elderly neighbour decided to give up driving. He had an immaculate Rover 220 SDi . a deal was struck and off I went. The car was comfortable , very economical but so slow. Anyway It got me around and was surprisingly cheap to run. I mentioned to a Rover mechanic I knew what I had bought and that it was slow and he said Old Persons Car ??? Yes I replied. Drive it in third for a month and see what happens. It gradually got faster and a bit more willing until on fairly fast dual carriageway there was a surge a cloud of soot and off it went. From that day onwards I never looked back 60 mpg phenomenal mid range acceleration and warp drive. Obviously they were not bought to be sporty but if used correctly they could leave so many superior cars In their wake. Great fun for several years , looked at a Gti version and the BRM, but pennies were being saved for a house. I do miss it now ,boringly reliable 60 mpg and hooligan hidden tenancies.
I'm not sure how resistant to rust a Clio Williams is, but I recall a late night TV programme many years ago, showing the production of 600 series Rovers and was very impressed by the pre painting dipping processes. A gent I know had a 620 for years, which he sold in order to get a tax exempt small hatch but the Rover had no rust on it at all, and I expect 200 and 400 series cars are just as good, with consideration for sensible wheel arch touch ups etc.
I think I saw the same program, an Open University programme I think. It was late at night and I'd come home from a night out and thought the same myself. There were pretty decent based on the cars I've seen about.
Lovely interior, a cracking chassis and lump (if looked after), but £18,000, no wonder they didn't sell. Should have gone for something like the "Tomcat" style. I'm a BRM fan, as their base was only 14 miles up the road from me, in Bourne Lincolnshire, but it's so niche that hardly anyone had heard of them then. Shame it fell flat on its face.
Furious driving would love one of these!
Love watching these obscure british cars I've never heard of. They are interesting not always the most hp but old GTI's were fun and they had no power.
Thanks Tony
I find it funny how no one said why don't we have the two different size wheels with the larger going on the British model & the smaller rims for the rest of Europe. That's exactly what happens now different countires receive different trim options and standard configurations. No wonder why Rover was never a success but had VW bought it, it would still be going strong & under the VW umbrella today. I always had a soft spot for the 200 & owned the generation before this model for around year & remember really liking this model when it launched.
I can tell you now, I was employed by one of Rovers suppliers. Not only was there some confusion over where to angle Rover to what market etc, but the management structures from BMW and Rover were like chalk and cheese. It didn’t blend too well. Whilst BMW was about ultimate leadership , Rover hovered around very much a committee style approach . This did not wash with BMW at times , I personally thought the writing was on the wall , not if , but when they were going to pull the plug. Shame really, it wasn’t just the jobs at Longbridge but the knock on effect it would have. When the Blair government picked the Towers management to keep it going they looked at the immediate job loss situation, particularly as an election was looming. It was inevitable it wouldn’t last , unfortunately. The alternative management team had a better long term plan, I felt at the time. However, the new Chinese owners have now gained momentum, you see a lot of Longbridge products under the MG brand name on our roads, so at least a plus side. Pity the Rover brand has diminished though. A product which once stood for quality in the days of the P4/5/6 cars.
Seems to me that, though defunct, the Rover brand is now wearing rather better than BMW, what with BMW engine bays being filled with crumbly plastic bits, bombscare engines, and owners constantly wondering when the next warning light will light up on the dash. And hardly to mention the bio-degradable wiring looms.
@ quite agree. Some manufacturers go down the road of cheaper materials and manufacturing methods, forgetting why customers bought the product / brand in the first place.
@@andrewp4172Dont fully agree, thats mostly overblown, certainly compared to the "new" Rover which hasnt got much market pemetration and exposure yet in comparison.
@@GoldenCroc "new Rover" Please explain. There is no "new Rover"
@@jimmys6566 Presumably the person I tagged meant MG, since they are in production right now? Or if he didnt, I dont see how a brand thats been out of business over 15 years, is any comparison to new cars. Or if he meant cars of the same era, I would say BMW still wins in the "quality" department.
Glad to see the VVT 4/3 valve which I helped source is still working !!!
Intriguing 🤔
Could you divulge a little more information about the valve ?
If the BRM is too flamboyant and expensive, look at a 25 GTi. A bit rare, they didn't make many, but are anonymous with some nice extras. Tuck a nice Streetwise away, I think they will come good in the near future.
.
The wood and leather steering wheel on our Lexus SC430 feels wonderful. Rover/ BMW should have stepped up on that.One of the best feeling steering wheels ever.
As for the orange nose- works better on the race car.
The interior still looks good overall.
I never really took to that version of the 200. I drove my dad's 216 L reg from the version prior and when it was redesigned thought it looked soft like a pensioners runaround. I much preferred the earlier models. That 216 was still going strong with 130k on it, only the bodywork suffered with age, the engine just kept on going. A fun car to drive and comfortable.
My wife had a silver 200 at the time of the fuel strikes in 2000. It was a great car but the issue was its size which was in between a Fiesta and a Focus. In 2005 we part exchanged it for a new Focus, the bigger boot could fit a pushchair.
Yes that’s what always struck me too, though I never heard anyone else mention it. Neither a mini nor a medium size car, more like a “midi”😂 what were its competitors?
I had to chance to buy a rust free, mot failure BRM for £500 about ten years ago.
One on my “should have bought/kept that one” list.
These Rover cars have pricked my interest.
It's Piqued not pricked
had the Vi lowered springs head gas flowed and a 160 throttle body great fun and quick
loved our Rover 200 in the early 2000s. ours was a S reg and had the fake wood inside but it made the interiour feel special. for me back then as one of my first cars it was like i had a nice expensive car and would love to have a drive in one again
Thanks for this video! When Rover tried to make a Type R! Strange how the Rover BRM failed when the Mini Cooper and Lotus Proton Satria succeeded.
The MG ZR ZS ZT range was a success though
Interior details are right off the TVR build sheet
Yeah looks very T350...or a Cerbera 🤔 😂😂😂
I wouldn't say Rover was clutching at straws but many younger people would not have a clue who BRM were. As you say though Rover had a connection. It is a shame they didn't put the bigger wheels on the production car as that would have improved the looks though these are alright but not 'stand out'.The same with the interior those eyelets would have made it look better but again it looks fine. Interesting review Jack thank you.
I think you're so right and I remember seeing it when it was launched and thinking oh dear; it was basically screaming "I'm an old bloke's car".
Not that a BRM Marina, Allegro, Maxi, Landcrab or Austiin 1100 would have done much better decades earlier.
They were 18 grand that's why they weren't popular, even as a ltd edition that's a fair chunk for a Rover hatch.
I still wanted one though haha
I was looking into these many years ago, but ended up buying a Fiat Punto Gt instead. Always thought the BRM was pretty cool, haven't seen one on the road for years
Glad you didn’t knock the K-series. I had a couple as company cars, did mega miles in them. Always warmed them up before driving them flat out everywhere as a 23 year old rep would do. Absolutely faultless. Brilliant engine.
I'm not surprised these didn't sell. I had a white & grey 1990 216 GTI 5 door back in the day. Loved that car although I always wished I could have afforded a 220 GTI or Coupe.
Ahhh happy memories.. I had a red 416GTi. Proper old man machine with fake walnut and leather... And a 7k redline, unsubtle pre-vtec PFM-FI and a close ratio box 😂 great cars
Even though you’ve never replied, your videos are spot on. Just the right length 👍
I believe quite a few of them had their snouts painted silver by dealers, as some people didn't like the orange. Those people didn't get WHY it was orange.
I had one and it had a silver snout, until I had a slight disagreement with another car and cracked it. I found another brand new bumper about 60 miles from me via fleabay and rushed across to get it. Proud to say it bore it's new correct orange snout until I sold it about a year later.
I have seen these about on occasions and thought "strange colour scheme" and thought no more about them.
I never ever knew that these were a special by Rover BRM.
Good video.
So cool. I never knew why the grill was orange, so that was interesting to learn.
my first car was my mums Rover 400 and i always aspired to get an "old mans" rover 75 v8. never got the v8 but remember the old silver 400 fondly, even kitted it out with alloy wheels. Rover dropped the ball but were then never allowed to pick it up, shame.
I remember seeing these at work carpark about 20 years ago alongside yellow jordan civics.
I was surprised to see mg zr with 160bhp not get a mention in this video.
Rover acquired the reputation of engines blowing up headgaskets for a reason.
I climbed inside a 200 once, build quality felt shocking.
I have been running K-series engined Rovers for 23 years. Never had a head gasket issue. Why? Because I look after it correctly. The quality of my 25 beats any Ford or Vauxhall easily.
I loved my BRM was such a good car to drive, made a mockery of a lot of other popular makes down B roads, especially when they tried to talk down on the car before hand
I had the chance of buying one of these for £800 when I was 19 but at the time, back in 2006 but ended up with a 306 instead as the insurance on this was about £2500 a year. Such great cars.
As for why it failed, here's my thoughts.. The BRM brand and the colours would have probably been more widely known by the older buyer who, would have in my opinion been likely to go for a 400 at a minimum, a 600, or maybe even a 75 which was launched around the same time. MG on the other hand, whilst known for the Metro, Maestro and Montego in recent years, would have been a brand more familiar with those born in the late 70s or early 80s who would have been coming of age and likely to have bought something like this.
I remember when Tanya batteries had just started and were working in a small garage at the back of their house. The owner, Sam, is a relative of Mike Pemberton who used to own Manbat (Manchester Batteries). Manbat used to be known as Snowdon Batteries and they started out a town called Abergele in north Wales. The original name of the company was actually Glassclad batteries i think. They were the first batteries used in vehicles to have been divided into cells using sheets of fibreglass, hence the name Glassclad. When they were known as Snowdonia Batteries, they decided to change their name to Manchester Batteries as they had set up business there and that is where they had the most sales, later being abbreviated to Manbat. After Manbat needed more space and moved to nearby Bodelwyddan, Sam Taylor and Joe Fennah of Tayna Batteries (Tayna being an anagram of Taylor and Fennah) moved to the old Snowdon batteries premises in Abergele. They have since moved again to Bodelwyddan on a different industrial estate to Manbat. They are obviously doing very well and I'm glad. I liked both Sam and Joe who own Tayna batteries and i was surprised to see a sponsorship on this video. Manbat has a very important history with car battery technology.
Also, i used to work for MG Rover as a young lad and I also worked for Manbat and would deliver to Tayna multiple times a day.
Edit: Manbat ltd is now called Ecobat.
I used to see one of these driving around town. Always assumed the orange with red seats were mods as they clashed with the BRG. Often they were boring, but I miss Rover as occasionally they'd make things like this, the 6R4, Metro Gti, MG SV, ZT 260 ...
Now and again i still thing about the 2 rovers we had... 1st was a 95 414. Realy like it. But the later one the 01 45 1.4 i just loved it. Now and again still look at the classifieds to see what 75 estates are going for.
Maybe one day.
Bravo Giacomo! It’s a nice road going BRM🚀🚀
Had the opportunity to buy one in 2013 for £600.
Crazy how much car prices have gone up.
Always wanted one of these but ended up with a Honda civic 5 door 1.8 vti with the vtec engine, platform shared with the rover 400. That was a magic car, revved to about 8500 rpm and quick.
Omg a man down the road from me has two of them. I didn't realise how nice they are
These little rockets would snarl from 0-60 in just 7.1 seconds, which was flying back in the day. I only ever saw two of these on the road sadly.
The interior has a particular theme, & that theme is 'GIMP'.
No one in the 1990s would have had a clue about BRM, all they would see is the 'lipstick' in an odd colour. Great review again Jack! 🙏🙏
The woman responsible for designing the interior , now Jaguar Land Rover was quoted as taking inspiration from Aston Martin cars.
I loved my 200 and I loved my MG/F.
A BRM MG/F was what I wanted.
I remember going to "The Bristol Cruise 3" and there being one of these there, must have been about 1999!
We were gifted an as new 200 with a blown gasket, once fixed it was awesome. It sat on line between a family daily and a raggable funbucket. You just had to get past the blue rinse stigma of rover at the time.
Remember doing a head gasket on one of these when they were relatively new sure it was about 30k miles used to find fwd the norm being gasket required 30-50k miles and the MGF and elise 20-40k miles obviously the main factors of how soon being how they were driven absolutely fantastic light revvy engine the head gaskets (due to the arrow bolts and the engine with that flexing about too much) were pretty much the only flaw not a bad job either done dozens if not hundreds of them over the yrs in various models sure \i recall smashing them out the park 2-3hrs as the norm even did one (basically an experiment) by not even removing the head just removed the timing belt and various other bits required lifted the head a bit and slid out/in old/new gaskets without cleaning anything while at a dealership in the 90s at a weekend BONUS TIME! :) anyway defo at least initially worked and had no word of it coming back :) still always wondered how long it lasted and iof it made the 30-50k norm before needing done again :)
I owned one of these , I bought it 1 year old for 8k a fraction of the new cost , I can’t remember what the list was but no one believed how much I got it for. It was a very eye catching car at the time. If I recall it correctly it was actually a Rover 200 BRM LE
Also the seats, aethetically - in my opinion - should have been light tan, bordering on pale otange to fully harmonise with that nice dark green.
My 2002 Elise has the k series. I may be tempting fate but it hasn’t failed yet.
I remember nearly buying one....but can't quite remember why.....wished I had now.....I quite like it
I very nearly bought one of these. The initial £18k put me off but after a couple of years the dealership had a brand new one at £13k. It was between this and a Seat Ibiza Cupra Sport. I think I made the right choice. I remember It handled extremely well.
Stemcleeds I agree jack is an excellent you tube vehicle reviewer. Most are in my opinion are getting a little stale while jack continually excels!!!
Always liked these, and still cheap for such a rare car.
I wasn't a fan of the grill surround colour, but I guess they had to do something to highlight it's special qualities.
Very under rated car.
I have so much want for this car
In the last 90s I used to visit one of the original car supermarkets Fords of Winsford with my dad every couple of weeks. They had at least 3 of these BRMs for ages (like years) - which was strange as the stock normally turned over quickly. Parked between the normal rovers and the vans, the orange front really was eye catching, and I looked at them many times with intrigue. I'm sure the price was the issue.
Pretty unique hot hatch, I wouldn’t mind one. You’re right about some of the unfortunate compromises though.
They should’ve been a bit more restrained with the orange grill, a simple outline stripe would have worked better
There used to be in south Oxon I used to see around a lot. Silly me, I assumed he'd broken the grill and replaced it with an unpainted one.
Usual story with Rover. Engineers make something good, and then bean counters ruin it by making cuts to the design that they don't think are important. Because they're not engineers.
Perhaps it looking like a character from a Walace&Grommet film attracted neither the youths nor the traditional elderly customer?