The heart of a car is its power unit, and in the case of those used by BMC, Leyland and the Rover Group, most engines have very interesting back stories. Here, we lead you through the most popular and well-used engines built between 1952 and 2005 – and beyond in a couple of cases!
Development stories and tech details
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : Rover V8
15 October 2017Keith Adams62
The Rover V8 engine might have started life in the USA, but thanks to some creative thinking at Rover, it became a British institution, powering some of the country’s most […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : K-Series
10 February 2024Keith Adams63
In taking over from the venerable A-Series, Rover’s high-tech K-Series engine had a hard act to follow. However, it went on to earn itself an unenviable reputation for fragility in […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : A-Plus Series
8 January 2024LJK Setright1
Britain’s commonest engine, the ubiquitous A-Series, has earned a place in history for its frugality, adaptability and the sheer weight of its success. LJK Setright said it deserved its new […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : Rover SD1 Six (PE166)
18 March 2023Robert Leitch104
Although the SD1 Six had something of a poor reputation in the trade thanks to its well-documented problems, it is a very capable engine. However, it could have been so […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : H and K-Series prototypes
11 November 2019Keith Adams34
The A-Series may have been almost immortal by the early 1970s, but it did not stop the company developing alternatives.Here we describe the H and K-Series prototypeswhich were designed for […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Opinion : An engine for the Rover P10
28 May 2019Chris York14
A few of you will have spotted that, while I love the Rover P6 and enjoy the P5, I am quite fascinated by the Rover that was to come after […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
History : MG Rover and Iran
28 March 2018Keith Adams16
MG Rover and Iran is an interesting might-have been. After extracting Powertrain from BMW in 2000, MG Rover set about turning the operation into a stand-alone business, supplying K-Series engines […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : Rover M and T-Series
17 March 2018Robert Leitch29
The Rover M- and T-series engines were unsung heroes of the Rover Range. Robert Leitch tells their full story. […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : A-Series
12 November 2017Keith Adams96
The BMC A-Series engine did service in a variety of cars for almost 50 years, during which time it was available in a bewildering variety of capacities and states of […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : The E-Series
28 November 2016Keith Adams134
Designed and specially built to become the Corporation’s new mid-sized engine, the E-Series had a troubled early life, but eventually matured into something very worthwhile indeed. […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : Jaguar AJ-V8
7 October 2016Keith Adams22
Taking Jaguar forward into the 21st century inevitably meant weaning it off its love affair with the straight-six, and taking the company in a whole new V8-powered direction. The AJ-V8 […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Essay : Not their finest hour – AEC-Leyland 740/800 series V8 diesel
1 June 2013Mike Humble23
Mike Humble They say thatjealousyis never the best policy for politics,apoint proven when a well known former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer was quoted as saying ‘we willtax therich until […]
Best of British
Best of British : Gardner 6LX diesel engine
17 September 2012Mike Humble78
Mike Humble Ask many a seasoned truck or bus engineer the simple question ‘who made the best large diesel engine?’ and more than likely the answer without delay would be […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Essays : The 500-Series – Leyland loses its head!
10 October 2011Mike Humble51
The 500 Series diesel cost Leyland a packet – and not just in development costs. Mike Humble tells the story of this ‘interesting’ engine Fixed head asset CONTRARY to modern […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : Powertrain 2000-2005
28 August 2011Keith Adams8
Powertrain Limited was a very busy company between 2000 and 2005 – Keith Adams explains how it was working on an exciting range of developments which would have modernised MG […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : Powertrain in the 1990s
28 August 2011Keith Adams16
During the 1990s, the sum total of new Powertrain engine launches wasn’t that great – new Land Rover diesels and the KV6-series seem to be about the sum of it… […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : S-Series
26 August 2011Keith Adams17
Another evolution of the E-Series engine, ARG’s S-Series emerged capable and strong, and proved a remarkably capable mid-range power plant after a false start with the R-Series ‘hybrid’. Mike Humble […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : O-Series Turbo, take one
26 August 2011Keith Adams8
Whatever your opinions are of the styling and overall packaging of the MG Maestro and Montego Turbo, there’s no denying that they remain revered to this day for their scintillating […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : O-Series
26 August 2011Keith Adams18
The O-Series was designed to act as the company’s mid-range engine mainstay for the late 1970s and beyond. If at first you don’t succeed… The formation of Austin-Morris from the […]
Austin 3 Litre (ADO61)
Engines : C-Series
26 August 2011Keith Adams33
The C-Series engine was the shortest lived out of the triumvirate of BMC engines, and has since gained infamy for being the motive power behind of the MGC and Austin […]
BMC, Leyland and Rover engines
Engines : B-Series
26 August 2011Keith Adams18
The B-Series engine started out as a humble 1.2-litre unit that powered the Austin A40 Devon. Over time, it was developed – and developed – and developed. Middle-market mainstay After […]
