Rover V8

The Rover V8 is an engine design featuring a ‘V’ shaped internal combustion engine with 8 cylinders. The Rover V8 is an engine featuring aluminium cylinder heads and cylinder block. The Rover V8 engine was originally designed by General Motors for their 1961 Buick car model, which was known as the Buick 215. The engine was capable of providing high power outputs and was lightweight, weighing around 144 kg. Rover, a United Kingdom based car manufacturer, bought the rights for the Buick V8 engine from GM and later redesigned it.

The Rover SD1 Vitesse was the last Rover model to feature a real Rover V8 engine. It was replaced by the Rover 827 Vitesse which was powered by a 2.7 Honda V6 engine unit. Rover sold the engine to various small car builders which resulted in the engine appearing in a wide variety of vehicles. Rover V8 engine featured in models from different car makers like the Morgan, TVR, Triumph, Land Rover, MG, among many others. Land Rover Discovery V8 was the last mass-produced car that used the Rover V8 engine.

The Rover/Buick V8 has long been the standard engine for car racing due to its light weight. The original engine design has undergone minor changes, tuning and modifications from time to time. It is widely used in competitions like the NASCAR and the Formula One.