1906 Rover 6hp Model R Two-Seater Tourer

• Landmark Edwardian Rover
• Restored in the USA in the 1970s
• Present ownership in the UK since 1981
• Offered from a private collection
• Eligible for VCC events

What would eventually become the Rover company began by manufacturing one of the landmark designs in the history of human transportation: John Kemp Starley's 'Safety Bicycle'. The firm's first venture into powered transportation, an electrically powered tricycle, came in 1888 but it would be another 16 years, by which time its founder had died, before the Rover Cycle Company began experimenting with the internal combustion engine. In 1903, designer Edmund Lewis was recruited from Daimler and drew up Rover's first series-production automobile, an 8hp single-cylinder car with aluminium backbone frame, an adventurous design that despite its shortcomings remained in production until 1912. Lewis followed up with a more conventional 6hp single-cylinder model with steel-reinforced wooden chassis, which earned itself the distinction of being Rover's first entered in any competition, in this case the Bexhill Speed Trials of August 1904. The Rover 6hp remained in production for seven years; today, a survivor may be found in the British Motor Museum.

Little is known of this 6hp Rover's early history prior to its repatriation from the USA over 40 years ago. The car was restored in the United States during the 1970s, which included correctly repainting it by hand in the original green livery and refurbishing the leather upholstery; it is understood that the additional brass lamps (six in number) would have been added while the car was there. The only paperwork dating from this period is a Certificate of Title relating to the car's purchase in 1976 in Hopkinton, Massachusetts and its sale in 1979 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

Our vendor purchased the Rover from a showroom in Fulham, London SW6 in 1981, and has preserved and cherished it ever since as part of their collection of vintage cars. (The previous registration 'AGJ 785W' dates from when the car was purchased by the vendor in 1981.) Substantially unaltered while in the vendor's custodianship, the Rover was inspected in 2019 by the Veteran Car Club, who stated that it 'appears to be an original and complete entity'. There is a video available of the car being driven in June 2025.

Seemingly highly original and unmolested, this charming Edwardian Rover is ideal for Veteran Car Club events, the popular 'Creepy Crawly' in particular. A rare opportunity to own a landmark of British motoring history.