Corgi VA06517 Rover 3500 V8S (P6) Paprika

It was obvious from its launch that Rover’s 2000 could easily handle more power. The company finally addressed this in April 1968 and installed their mellifluous sounding aluminium 3.5-litre V8. However, no sufficiently refined manual gearbox could be sourced so the car was only available as an automatic until October 1971, when the V8S, modelled here, was announced. The manual gearbox was a strengthened version of Rover’s own four-speed unit, with shot-peened gears, tougher layshaft bearings and an oil pump. It transformed the P6, finally turning it into the sports saloon it had always threatened to be, eight years after the original car’s launch.