How would you like your mid-1990s Honda Accord, sir? As an American-built car from Ohio? Or perhaps a Japanese one? Or as a re-dressed, widened version of the very JDM Honda Ascot Innova, which the European Accord essentially was?
Nope, for true class you would want it decorated with a Viking ship. No matter how beateresque the car would be in 2015, it would still carry the Rover 600 badging with pride. This one shot tonight on a Helsinki street shows the way.
From the rear, the Rover appears somewhat anonymous, even Hyundai Sonata -like. The “TDI” badging has been taken from a Volkswagen product and slapped on the trunklid just a little carelessly. It’s probably one of the later, post-1997 cars judging by the detailing.
The engine here is the two-litre, 103-horsepower Rover diesel, if the diesel-referring badging is to be believed. You could have the 600-series with Honda engines as well, but the L-series diesel and the 200hp 620ti turbo petrol were Rover units.
And it’s the 620ti:s that most likely will live on as somewhat treasured cars, as they were capable and fast cars that stand out enough within the now-worthless mid-1990s FWD saloons that head to scrapyards en masse. Tons of 600:s have been cubed by now, but maybe the range-toppers will stand a better chance of holding out than basic beaters such as this TD one.
[Images: Copyright 2015 Hooniverse/Antti Kautonen]
Helsinki Street Sightings – Rover 600-series
By Antti Kautonen
Apr 7, 2015
By Antti Kautonen
The resident Finn of Hooniverse. Owns old Peugeots and whatnot, writes long thinkpieces on unloved cars. These two facts might be related.
Jeff Glucker
surprisingly handsome from the front. looks a bit like a Legend banged a G20/Primera and this is what came out.
but i’ll have my accord as a ’98-’02 USDM coupe. six cylinders and three pedals, please.
oh god dammit i just googled and there was no three-pedal six-cylinde Accord back then.
there go all my dreams.
But there was a 3-pedal 200 hp Turbo 600 with 300+hp after a bit of a fiddle, (and the desire to get used to changing gearboxes.)
http://gallery.mg-rover.org/data/504/Rover_600ti_January_2007_010.jpg
well, honda had us covered in the USA for gearbox replacement. basically any honda automatic mated to a V6 before about ten years ago was doomed to an early failure.
The Rover T16, (which is in a weird way the last iteration of the famous ‘B’ series, as fitted to MGBs, and with which it shares pretty much only bore centre spacing), only came fitted to the PG1 gearbox/transaxle which is at it’s torque limit. For more info see http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/rover/600/buying-guide-rover-600/
a torsen diff, nice
I’ve just checked out how cheap these cars are here.
An Accord in a nice frock with a heart transplant looks like my next car for the collection.