Novos Carros Antigos

.Rover 95.

The Rover 95 was introduced in 1963 alongside the 110 model and was an unplanned extension to the life of the P4 range due to the delays in introduction of the Rover 2000 (P6). It was more powerful then the Rover 80 which it replaced and the power unit was essentially the same as the Rover 100 with a few internal detail changes mainly inspired by the parallel development of the Rover 3-litre and the contemporary Rover 110. It developed 102 bhp and could reach 93 mph To emphasise its position in the range as a cheaper car the overdrive was deleted and a 3.9 to 1

axle ratio fitted to compensate. Many present day owners have fitted an overdrive to better cope with motorway cruising.

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In 1964 the doors, boot lid and bonnet were changed from alumium skins to steel; the reason is not quite clear but there had been problems with denting of aluminium doors and a benefit of the change was a higher perception of quality when the doors were closed with a satisfying clunk. A total of 3,680 Rover 95's were produced and the last P4 of all was a 95 which left the line in May 1964.
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MG Midget

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Back in the 1920's, the M-Type Midget had been developed from the baby Morris Minor. The result was a basic, cheap, fun two-seater, with sporting pretensions which triggered a whole dynasty of Midgets. It was the Midget series which had established MG as a manufacturer of sports cars with an excellent reputation in motor sport. This range of cars had culminated in the TF which was seen as a Midget too far. By the

time it was laid to rest in 1955, the design was out of date and out of step with what was required, since sports cars were becoming bigger, more sophisticated, more powerful, and more expensive. It seemed doubtful that we would ever see a Midget again.
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In the late 1950's, yet another basic, cheap, fun two-seater was developed from a "baby" car. This time, the more modern equivalent of the old Austin Seven was used, the A30/35. This new two-seater car was the Austin-Healey Sprite, which appeared in 1959 and was built at Abingdon. The Sprite was powered by an engine and transmission which had come straight from the Austin, and was a 948cc pushrod, overhead valve, four-cylinder A-series unit. In the Sprite however, it had been given twin SU carburettors and developed around 42bhp, which was sufficient to propel the little car to around 80mph. This car became known as the "Frogeye" Sprite due to its headlamps being set into the front of the one-piece front end, with a mouth-like grille being mounted on the front edge.
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In 1961, the bodywork of the Sprite came in for a major restyling. The central cockpit portion remained essentially the same, but the front and rear bodywork was completely restyled and redesigned to give the car a more conventional squared-off appearance. The engine and running gear was essentially the same as the earlier Sprite, but output was up to around 47bhp, which lead to increases in performance also. In this form, the car was known as the Austin-Healey Sprite Mark II, but shortly after a De Luxe version was announced. It had been re-badged to become known as the MG Midget.
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