By Classic Yorkshire contributor Tony Lofthouse
It’s a little over 20 years ago that we lost the impressive K-Series engine as the Rover Group went down the pan!
The engine, which ranged from 1.1 to 1.8 litre units, was built by Powertrain Ltd, a sister company of Rover and was known for its lightweight design and performance.
Sadly, the early K-Series was let down by blowing head gaskets, caused in part by company cost cutting and another problem were engines that overheated. They were issues that mechanically could be quickly resolved and these British engines would power a range of Rover cars including the Metro, 200, 400, 25, 45 and 75 models.
The K-Series motor also powered a host of other emerging classic cars. Here are five such examples.
Caterham Seven
In 1991, the 1.4 litre Rover engine was fitted to this British-made sports car. More powerful 1.6 and 1.8 litre engines appeared later, including a 1.8 in the Caterham Seven Superlight R500 (later upgraded to a 2 litre Ford Duratec engine).
Lotus Elise
The original Elise, launched in 1996, used a mid-mounted 1.8 litre Rover engine and its modest 725kg weight enabled the car to record 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds.
Land Rover Freelander
In the mid-nineties the Mk1 Freelander was an instant hit, complete with a 1.8 litre K-Series engine. Its light handling and performance helped the Freelander become the biggest selling four-wheel-drive in Europe over five consecutive years.
Reliant Scimitar Sabre
In 1993, the 1.4 litre K-Series was added to a restyled Reliant Sabre and delivered a top speed of 113mph. Unfortunately, two years on production ended as Reliant faced collapse.
MGF
The first all new MG sports car in years came out in 1995 to critical acclaim and 1.6 and 1.8 K-Series engines powered the much anticipated new car. The redesigned MG TF launched in 2002 and carried the 1.6 and 1.8 engines until 2005.
Despite the demise of Rover the quality of the K-Series engine was not lost on its Chinese buyers who would develop this important piece of UK engineering.
Had a Rover 214Sli for many years. Did nigh on 160,000 miles in it, never any head gasket or overheating. I believe tied in with Honda then. It was so good, I bought a newer 400 series. Big mistake. Head gasket and overheating problems. Dealers didn’t want it in ox after repair. Remember one saying; “I’ve four on the forecourt, never had doors open, I’ll just put it through the auction”. I believe Rover managements attitude was, they don’t usually fail under warranty. How short sighted. Ruined the reputation of good cars. Typical British management attitude. Had same in my defunct trade. No investment in new machinery. Instead machinery back to the 1930’s which were slow and clapped out. No cost cutting for management toys though. M Norris