This article summarizes the history and capabilities of a Rover SD1 police car from Grampian Transport Police. The SD1 is now on display at the Grampian Transport Museum after being restored. It was originally ordered in 1985 and used to pursue high-speed criminals on the A90 highway in Aberdeenshire. The car has a 3.5L V8 engine and 190 horsepower, enabling it to easily catch lawbreakers. It can corner well for a large sedan and the engine provides smooth power. The article describes taking the restored car for a test drive and experiencing why it was such an effective police vehicle during pursuits, with its powerful engine, handling, and intimidating siren.

1. Wednesday 22 April 2015 | Classic Car Weekly | 3736 | Classic Car Weekly | Wednesday 22 April 2015
Castrol Classic Oils
DRIVEN
FREEDelivery
Offersn T: 01954 231668 Sales - Quote Classic Car Weekly n 1L, 1Gallon and 20L
HOME WORKSHOP DRUMS Gear & Engine Oil XL30, XXL40, GP50, XL20w/50Rover SD1 Vitesse
WORDSDavidSimisterPHOTOGRAPHYRichardGunn See this SD1 on show
Grampian Transport Museum, Alford, Aberdeenshire
n 01975 562292
n www.gtm.org.uk
Watch this SD1 on TV this weekend
For the Love of Cars, Episode 2
n Sunday, 26 April, Channel 4, 8pm
An Arresting SightAfter setting an auction world record for the model last January, this Rover SD1 is
back to doing what it does best: screeching around with its sirens screaming
Y
ou’re an up-to-no-good sort making a
quick getaway from the oil-rich world
of 1980s Aberdeen. The Ferrari you’re
driving is ideal if you’re on the A90
and on the run from the law. But the law is easily
capable of pulling three-figure speeds on eastern
Scotland’s expressway, too. You see it before you
hear it: a fuzzy blue flicker just visible at the edge
of the horizon in your rear-view mirror. And every
time you steal another glance, it looms ever larger.
Within seconds, the V8 boom of a jam-sandwich
liveried Rover SD1 Vitesse is slicing through the
dual-carriageway traffic alongside you, and the
two fluorescent-clad custodians of the law inside
beckon you to pull over. You ignore them.
Suddenly, a rolling road block hoves up ahead,
and forces you to slow in a rather controlled and
undramatic fashion. You could continue to run, but
deep down, you know you’re caught. The game’s
up and the Grampian Police SD1 chalks up another
victory. Sorry, sunshine, you’re nicked!
A quarter-of-a-century later and it’s clear that
C356 YST is still a police-liveried car that would
give ramraiders and joyriders plenty to think
about. After being treated to a restoration by SD1
specialist RobSport International – as detailed on
26 April in the TV series For the Love of Cars – it’s
now more than up for a game of cops and robbers.
Plant your posterior into the brown velour of the
driver’s seat and you immediately learn it’s going
to be a comfy office to work in. The speedo, rev
counter and switches for the hazard warning lights
and heated rear window are all neatly contained
within a single rectangle. You get a good view of
it through a steering wheel with just two spokes,
both mounted low to minimise obstructing your
line of sight. The sharply-raked windscreen and
thin pillars give the cabin a light, airy feel. It’s pure
SD1 in all its cleverly-designed glory – right down
to the passenger air vent that hid the steering
wheel mount in left-hand drive models – but it’s
also more ordinary than you might expect.
The police toys all live on the passenger side,
including the five-setting siren and intercom
system. Your fellow officer might be the one
sounding the siren, but as driver you do get to
operate the car’s crown jewel: the Lucas fuel
injected version of Rover’s 3.5-litre V8. Fire it up
and the noise is intimidating, like a mate who’d
wallop someone on your behalf in a pub brawl.
It’s happy to dawdle along in traffic, rumbling at
anything that gets in its way, but when the road in
front opens up, a gentle prod immediately reminds
you why the V8-engined versions of the SD1 were
used to such devastating effective by the police in
the 1980s. The grumble turns into an angry howl,
delivering a dollop of mid-range torque to help you
decide how quickly you’d like to catch the villains.
While it’s softly sprung ride and emphasis on
straight-line grunt was clearly intended for use
on dual carriageways and motorways, chuck a
corner or two in its way and the SD1 doesn’t mind
a bit. There’s a lot of lean as you plough towards
the apex, and a light helping of understeer and
gentle tyre squeal if you press on. Inevitably, the
combination of a Rover V8, rear-wheel drive and
relatively slim tyres mean the SD1 will treat you
to some sideways showboating if you really muck
about with it. But the supple set-up gives you
plenty of warning and encourages you to use its
wealth of speed with care.
It’s a hugely enjoyable and wonderfully effective
reminder of how to do a performance saloon
properly – and that’s before you order your
companion to flick on the sirens and notify the
control room you’re about to give chase. Suddenly,
the V8 rumble is relegated to the subs’ bench as
the wail of the two-tone takes over.
It isn’t hard to see why the boys in blue held on
to their SD1s after production came to an end in
1987 – despite the coupé profile, it offers plenty
of room for all the safety gear, and enough torque
to propel all that clobber plus two burly coppers to
three-figure speeds with ease.
specifications
Engine 3528cc/V8/OHV
Power190bhp@5280rpm
Torque 220lb ft@4000rpm
maximum speed 135mph
0-60mph7.1sec
fuel consumption18-24mpg
transmission RWD, five-speed manual
oil CAPACITY
n ENGINE 6.6 litres
n Gearbox 1.5 litres
n AXLE 0.9 litres
oil GRADE
n ENGINE Castrol Classic XL20w/50
n Gearbox Castrol Classic TQF
n AXLE Castrol Classic EP90
GET THE FACTS
THE GRAMPIAN SD1’S JOURNEY TO AN AUCTION RECORD
This particular Rover SD1 Vitesse pursuit car was
ordered in 1985 by Grampian Transport Police,
who used it to catch criminals and motoring
transgressors driving at speed along the A90,
particularly the dual-carriageway Stonehaven
Bypass which had opened the previous year.
The force ordered its only SD1 with a manual
gearbox – unusual for a police-spec vehicle –
and omitted many of the luxuries that were
fitted to civilian Vitesses in order to reduce
weight and improve reliablility. As a result, the
car has manual rather than electric windows,
and does without the air-conditioning, central
locking and electrically-operated sunroof that
Vitesse owners are accustomed to.
After being decommissioned by the police
in 1988, it passed through a series of owners,
including one who partially restored the car
but was unable to complete the project for
personal reasons. Last year, it was bought
by Love Productions, the television company
behind For the Love of Cars. It was then restored
by Ant Anstead and SD1 specialist RobSport
International, who welded in new metal where
it was needed, rebuilt the suspension and
resprayed the car in its original police livery.
The car was sold, along with six others
restored for the TV series, at Coys’ sale at the
Autosport show at the NEC on 10 January. It
changed hands for a total price of £11,213,
including commission – a record price for a
roadgoing variant of the SD1.
Grampian Transport Museum said it was
worth paying that hefty price for the SD1
because it meant being able to bring the police
car back to the part of Britain where it was
originally on patrol, and it has already been used
during the museum’s Emergency Vehicle Rides
Day, which took place on 10 April.
Grampian Transport Museum director Mike
Ward told CCW: ‘When we found out that it
was up for sale, it was always our intention to
try to bring this rare example back home. The
hammer went down at £9750. It’s sure to be a
fantastic addition to our collection.’
There’s plenty of roll through the
corners, but supple dynamics mean
it’s easy to press on if necessary.
Calling the successful transfer of a transplant
organ across London on 8 May 1987 the SD1’s
finest hour isn’t strictly accurate, because the
Metropolitan Police had a mere 35 minutes to
complete the 27-mile journey!
Two Rover SD1 3500s were used to
transfer the donor liver from Junction 7 of
the M11 motorway – where the officers had
met an Essex Police Ford Granada which had
transported the organ from Stansted Airport
– to Cromwell Hospital in Kensington. To make
matters worse, the aircraft that had ferried
the organ down from Hull had been delayed
by fog, cutting into the time the police had to
carry it across London. It was critical that the
liver arrived by 12.30pm and no later.
The SD1s immediately got up to speed
on the life-saving journey, hitting speeds of
upwards of 100mph on the drive down the
M11 towards the capital. The two cars had
been given permission to drive the wrong way
around the Victoria Memorial roundabout,
immediately in front of Buckingham Palace,
in order to shave precious minutes off the
journey, and the officers had to use all of their
advanced driving skills to get through busy
Friday lunchtime traffic safely without risking
the safety of pedestrians and other drivers.
Despite having the assistance of motorcycle
outriders on the capital’s streets, as well as
fellow officers clearing junctions for the two
cars, the run showed how a combination of
the SD1s’ performance and the officers’ driving
skills made the difference between life and
death on London’s busiest streets.
The two SD1s arrived at Cromwell Hospital
with just five minutes to spare, having
averaged 44.6mph for the entire journey. The
donor liver was delivered and the patient, Aliza
Hillel, survived the operation – thanks in no
small part to the Met officers and their SD1s
achieving a seemingly impossible task.
THE LIVER RUN: The SD1’s finest half-hour
The police radio transmitter was not standard spec.
Grampian Transport Police only ever ordered one SD1 and used it to pursue performance cars on Stonehaven Bypass.
Adjustable siren is operated from the passenger seat.
Rated at 190bhp, but police versions were tweaked.
ALTERNATIVES
n Ford Granada 2.8i
While V8 versions of the SD1 were faster, the
Granada MkII was used in greater numbers
as a motorway patrol car in the 1980s. Ford’s
police-spec cars were fitted with tougher
suspension, bigger brakes and anti-roll bars.
n Range Rover
The Range Rover’s practicality meant it was
perfect for carrying the large amounts of
equipment needed for motorway patrol
work. In the early 1990s, Greater Manchester
Police had a fleet of 30 on the road.
‘A gentle prod of the V8 engine
reminds you why the SD1s were
used to such devastating effect
by the police in the 1980s’