Rover 827 Sterling (1990) – Enthusiast Wanted

If you think an old Rover can be a bit lived in, then you better click further. The Rover 827 Sterling that we highlight today from the used car range is by no means. With an odometer reading of roughly 157,000 kilometers, the car is not completely virgin, but everything has been replaced in recent years, the advertiser reports. In addition, the Rover was spoiled with a new coat, because it was completely repainted and then subjected to a preventive treatment against rust.

That means this 827 has been mostly apart, so you can safely assume the car has few hidden flaws – although the Rover turns 33 years old this year. With his two tonepaint and plain eighties wheels (the model was designed well before the 1990s) it makes no effort to disguise its age. It is one of the last year before the relatively major facelift in 1991.

Rover’s 800 series had to make people forget the hopelessly outdated SD1 in the course of the 1980s, and with the help of the Japanese, the British succeeded nicely. Help from the Japanese? Yes, Rover’s 800 Series was co-developed with Honda and shares its base with the Honda Legend of the era. Depending on the engine you chose, it had a Rover or Honda engine under the hood.

Top motorization

This copy has a Japanese power source and the largest you could get in the 800 series: a 2.7-liter six-cylinder with 170 hp, coupled to a four-speed automatic transmission that sends the power to the front wheels. This means that the Rover is also well served by modern standards, because a 0 to 100 sprint is – according to the manufacturer’s specification – already completed in 8.4 seconds.

Neat interior of an E-segmenter from yesteryear.

The addition ‘Sterling’ indicates that the Rover was given all the luxury that the brand had to offer at the time, in the form of an on-board computer, alloy wheels and leather upholstery. Where the Sterling was the top model of the 800 sedan, the Vitesse was that of the liftback 800. The British briefly considered a third body variant in the form of a shooting brake, but that ultimately fell through.

You definitely have a powerful offer on the advertised car. The 827 Sterling has been with its current owner since 2000 and as mentioned a lot has happened to it. After the facelift in 1991, the Rover was given an appearance that was much better suited to the new decade and the 800 series remained on the market until 1999. The XY-24-KN is a rare pre-facelift example of a car that was allowed to dry for years to come in the years following its refresh – making it a true time machine. For €7,450, the Brit can be yours!