The rakish Rover of New Barnet

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As we all know, the early days of motoring witnessed hundreds of small firms establish themselves, build just a small handful of cars, and then vanish without a trace. What's more, for every motor manufacturer, or would-be motor manufacturer, there were even more businesses specialising just in automotive engineering, repairs and coachwork.

Rover, of course, was by no means a small firm. Founded in 1878, it quickly rose to prominence as a cycle-maker, started building tricars in 1903 and made its first four-wheeler in 1904, ultimately surviving until its rather sad demise in 2005. As a car-maker, its success was more or less instantaneous. Its first four-wheeler was the single-cylinder 8hp, and that was joined the next year by the 6hp. Both were very popular in their day, providing a relatively cheap means of transport for people who either couldn't afford or simply didn't need a large touring car or anything more extravagant than a functional, capable and comfortable two-seater.

The 8hp was remarkably long-lived for an early car, remaining in production until 1912, by which time single-and twin-cylinder engines had generally fallen by the wayside except in cyclecars. There was no relation to the cheap and economical but notoriously sluggish flat-twin Rover Eight of the early Vintage era.

It's an 8hp or 6hp that we see in this photograph, and while that's interesting enough by itself, we're more inclined to study the bodywork. Looking at other 8s and 6s, they all seem to sport similar bodies, but we haven't seen any which are exactly identical, so we wonder if most were bodied by different local and long-forgotten coachbuilders. This one seems to have been - the photograph carries the name of Taylors (Finchley) Ltd., 'Coachwork Specialists, 21, Victoria Rd., New Barnet, BAR. 0870'.

This one has a certain something about it which appeals to us enormously. It may be similar to many others, but it's the details which make the difference. With a low windscreen, connected wings, a little rear deck and the absence of a tall hood, it looks just a little bit longer and lower than we know it really is. The elegant contours of the doors also look a cut above the rest. It may only have been an 8hp single, but it looks ever so slightly sporty and rakish.

If you know more about Taylors, or Rover coachwork generally, this is your opportunity to tell us. We'd just like to hope that there's an 8hp chassis out there somewhere in need of restoration, because we'd love to see it modelled on this.

Words: Zack Stiling; photograph: Stiling Collection
 

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