For sale by auction on Saturday 24thNovember 2012 with Historics at Brooklands, Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit, Weybridge, Surrey.

The first Rover was a tricycle manufactured by Starley & Sutton Co. of Coventry, England in 1883. The company developed and produced the Rover Imperial motorcycle in November 1902, it was a 3.5hp diamond-framed motorcycle with the engine in the centre and 'springer' front forks which was ahead of its time. Three years after Starley's death in 1901 and H. J. Lawson's subsequent takeover, the Rover company began producing cars with the two-seater Rover Eight engine to the designs of Edmund Lewis who came from Daimler. Lewis left the company to join Deasy in late 1905 and was eventually replaced by Owen Clegg who joined from Wolseley in 1910 and set about reforming the product range. The business was not very successful during the 1920s and did not pay a dividend from 1923 until the mid 1930s. After the Second World War, Solihull became the new factory for vehicles with production resuming in 1947 with the three pre-war models, the 12, 14 and 16 models. The Rover 16 saloon returned to production almost unchanged after the war although the cabriolet version was no longer listed. The car, with its mildly streamlined form, resembled the existing Rover 10 and the Rover 12 but was slightly longer and featured a more rounded back end. The six-cylinder ohv engine had a capacity of 2,147cc and a top speed of 77mph was claimed. The Rover 14 saloon combined the same body with the Rover 16 but used a 1,901cc six-cylinder engine from 1938.

This Rover 16, one of the 225 built in 1946, is in totally original condition. Finished in black with brown leather interior the car has not been used since 1999.This year the Rover has been re-commissioned with the engine fully serviced, the carburettor overhauled and the brakes all rebuilt. The vendor believes that this is a three owner from new car with the log book showing only two former keepers. This is a sound car with only minor rust to the exterior bodywork, an ideal base for a cosmetic restoration requiring repainting, re-trimming and the chrome work re-plating. This fascinating example is supplied with a V5C registration document and a current MoT test certificate and represents a very usable classic from a period which has had a revived interest in recent years due the number of events and anniversaries being celebrated.

http://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2012-11-24/car/1946-rover-16-p2.aspx