History of the Rover 8
Origins
The Rover 8 was a name given to two early models produced by the British Rover company. The original Rover 8, built between 1904 and 1912, was Rover’s first production car. From 1911 to 1912 a Knight sleeve-valve engine was also available.
The name Rover 8 was used again for a twin-cylinder light car produced between 1919 and 1925.
1904–1912
Design
The car, designed by Edmund W. Lewis (who had joined Rover from Daimler), had an unusual construction. Instead of a conventional chassis, it used a backbone formed by the engine crankcase, gearbox housing, propshaft housing and rear axle.
This backbone frame had no rear suspension apart from the tyres, but the body was mounted onto the rear axle using semi-elliptic springs.
The front axle was suspended from the frame by a transverse leaf spring.
By 1907 Rover had discontinued the backbone frame and adopted an ash chassis with steel flitch plates.
Engine
The single-cylinder engine displaced 1327 cc, with a bore of 114 mm (4.5 in) and a stroke of 130 mm (5.1 in). It featured an unusual pedal control that changed the valve-operating cams to provide additional engine braking.
Bodies
Most cars of this series had a very basic open two-seat body with no windscreen or weather protection.
Historical note
Robert Jefferson and Robert Weallas drove a Rover 8 from Coventry to Istanbul, becoming the first people to cross Europe in an automobile.
At launch, the Rover 8 cost £200 on the home market.
Sleeve-valve engine (1911–1912)
Engine
In 1911 the Rover 8 became available with a 1052 cc sleeve-valve unit. Daimler held the licence to produce the Knight sleeve-valve engine, and as the dimensions of Rover’s engine were identical it is likely this was the source.
Whether Rover purchased components or complete engines is not known, but Daimler never sold a single-cylinder sleeve-valve car. Very few Rover 8 sleeve-valve models were produced.
1919-1925
Design
The 1919 Rover 8 light car was designed by Jack Sangster largely before he joined Rover. It was built in a new factory in Tyseley, Birmingham, and then driven to Coventry to have its body fitted. It proved to be a great sales success for the company.
The car used a simple perimeter frame with quarter-elliptic leaf springs all round. Unusually for the time, rack-and-pinion steering was fitted. Brakes operated on the rear wheels only, with a separate set of shoes for the handbrake.
In 1924 the wheelbase was extended from 88 inches (2,200 mm) to 94 inches (2,400 mm), allowing true four-seat bodies to be offered.