1932 Rover 12 P1 Tourer Classic Cars for sale

1932 Rover 12 P1 Tourer United Kingdom

Auction : £Auction

20 Photos

1932 Rover 12 P1 Tourer

In single family ownership for over 60 years; for restoration following many years in storage; rare, handsome and beautifully built; fabulous winter project with great potential The Rover 12 was one of the first cars with which the Wilks brothers established 'The Rover Tradition', transforming the firm from a humble maker of cyclecars into the brand of choice for the aspirational middle classes in the post-Depression era. Introduced in 1934, the Rover 12 (P1) was a top quality car, semi-handbuilt, that was good for an easy 70mph from its 1,496cc 4-cylinder OHV engine. An updated P2 version arrived in 1937 with a longer wheelbase and Girling brakes, this model going back into production once the War was over. Saloon and open versions were available, the Tourers having excellent weather equipment and a neat folding aluminium hood cover which accentuated the sleek lines of the car when the hood was down. The Rover 12 continued until the end of 1948 by which time 17,561 had left the factory, only 5,775 in P1 form and only a few of these being open Tourers.

As a letter from the Rover Sports Register confirms, this P1 Tourer was built in the Spring of 1936 and the BPX registration number would have been first issued in West Sussex. It has been in the current family ownership for over 60 years, the vendor’s father buying it from a gentleman in Rowlands Castle, East Hampshire, in around 1957. It was then used regularly for the next few years, including several European trips, before being laid up in the late 1960s. Now ripe for restoration it appears to be basically sound and complete (including the headlamps) and the engine still turns although it appears that the block is cracked.

Supplied with a V5C, dating letter, four Rover books and a b/w photo of the car as it looked in 1959, it is on offer here at no reserve and will keep someone gainfully employed over the coming winter months. This is only the fifth Rover 12 Tourer that we have offered in 14 years of hosting these sales, and only the second P1, so they don’t come up very often. Nice ones fetch over £25k which leaves plenty of scope for the remedial works now required to get this quality car back on the road where it belongs.

LOT NO.182

REGISTRATION DATE1936

MAKE & MODELRover 12 P1 Tourer

COLOURGreen

REGISTRATION NUMBERBPX 346

CHASSIS NO.641673

ENGINE SIZE1,496 cc

ENGINE NO.641673

DOCUMENTSV5C; Rover Register dating letter; Rover books x 4; 1959 photo