Like so many other British manufacturers Rover started out making bicycles. By 1904 the company had decided to move into cars and by 1914 had become Britains second largest car firm. By the 1920's the company had begun to suffer problems and was rescued from closure by the Wilks brothers. Throughout the 1930's-40's Rover had established a range of well built cars aimed at the middle-class motoring sector.

Following the end of WW2 Rover decided that it needed to be more diverse in order to survive and set-about designing a multi-purpose vehicle that would appeal to farmers and export customers looking for a rugged vehicle, the new car would be called "Land-Rover". The Land-Rover sold in large numbers around the globe and allowed the company to continue development of its passenger cars.

Although Rover continued to build its traditional middle-class saloon models it was not afraid to experiment with new technology. In the mid-50's the company developed the worlds first gas-turbine (or "Jet" engined) cars and designed a mould breaking executive model for the 1960's, the Rover 2000.

By the late 1960's the company had become part of what would later be known as "British Leyland". This un-happy period witnessed the company's good name for quality disappear as it was dragged down by industrial action during the 1970's. By the 80's BL had become Austin-Rover and later the Rover name was to be seen on all of the former A-R models.

After a turbulent period of BMW ownership the Rover Car Company is now back in British hands, although only time will tell if this is as successful as British enthusiasts hope…