Leading online classic and niche car auction site Car & Classic starts the Platinum Jubilee 2022 celebrations in style, with a Rover 800 Mk2 with unshakable royal connections. www.carandclassic.co.uk/auctions
Supplied new to Buckingham Palace, and with paperwork noticeably reticent about its recipient (other vehicles sold to the Royal estate mention the details of the intended user, but those destined for the Queen usually did not), the Sterling was then sold on to its second owner as a “one previous lady owner” car.
History, always important when it comes to classic vehicles, is even more poignant in the case of this 827, supplied new by Royally-approved dealer Thomas Day Motors of Fleet.
Extensive paperwork, handbooks, manuals, magazine features and invoices help build the fabric of the car’s background.
Original, virtually undamaged leather and wood triumph in the Rover’s interior, which still has the factory mats further protected by another set; a boot liner, spare wheel and original factory tools, as well as the factory CD multichanger, all feature proudly.
Of course, the Rover shines in its British Racing Green colour, and glasswork, door surrounds and rubbers, alloy wheels and fittings are all in ‘regal’ condition. The 2.7 V6 Rover engine, transmission and brakes have received due care and attention over the years, and the car has been in temperature-controlled storage.
As it is deserving of such a car, it starred in the ‘100 Years of Cowley’ parade.
“Even if there was no Royal connection at all, the original, excellent overall condition of this Rover would be of interest to the classic car connoisseur,” says Car & Classic Head of Editorial Chris Pollitt. “British modern classics of the ‘90s are, in general, enjoying a deserved renaissance, but this particular 1993 Rover Sterling strikes a special note within the current Jubilee celebrations, and would be the ultimate anniversary gift to one’s collection.”
Car & Classic is supporting Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations with a unique exhibition showing the best of British innovation, by supplying some of the vehicles representing each year of the Queen’s reign from 1952 to 2022: seven decades of motoring history.
Donations from this event will support the Prince Philip Trust Fund which makes a real difference to the quality of life of people from communities across the extensive area of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, focusing particularly on giving support towards disability, health, the elderly, families, children and young people, those in social need and the arts.