ALEX MOULTON'S ROVER 100

Visitors to The Hall often ask the reason why there is an old blue car parked outside the back door.  Besides bicycles, from the 1950s onwards Alex Moulton created a range of innovative suspension systems for the British Motor Corporation and these were used on many of the company's models from the diminutive Mini (1959) to the executive Austin Ambassador (1982) and sports MGF (1995).         

The blue car parked outside The Hall  (N743MMW)  is one of the last Rover 100 models and features Moulton’s Hydragas hydraulically-interconnected suspension.     This was the final version of the long-running Austin / Rover Metro that ran from 1980 until 1997.  Alex owned three Metros in total.  The first was a 1981 1.3S  ('The Brown Car') and Alex heavily modified this to install a full interconnected Hydragas system, replacing the original, inferior British Leyland non-interconnected Hydragas used to save development costs.    Alex's modifications were so successful that from 1990 it was used by Rover Group on the revised Rover Metro production cars and  follow-on 100 range.  'The Brown Car' (HHR499W) survives in running order and is owned by Paul Vincent.    Alex's second Metro was a Rover 1.4 SL (G510TAM)  bought in May 1990 and regrettably sold around 10 years later after covering approximately 90,000 miles.    N743MMW,  a Rover 100 Knightsbridge 3 door in Kingfisher Blue metallic was purchased in April 1996 and was the last car Alex was driving at the time he surrendered his licence in late 2009.  Alex particularly liked the long-stroke 1.1 litre K-series engine, preferring that engine’s refinement over its larger brothers. 

Around 2004-2005  'The Blue Car', or 'Blue Rinse', as it became known, became a development ‘mule’ with an electronically adjustable levelling system as part of a project with Toyota who were considering a version of Hydragas for their small IQ model.  Sadly this came to nothing and although the small Rover still retains the revised suspension system the drawings and technical information explaining the workings etc. have been lost.  N743MMW is kept at The Hall as an example of Alex Moulton's long association with the now defunct British Motor Corporation (BMC), later to become British Leyland,  Austin Rover Group and finally Rover /  MG Rover.  It is currently out of commission but it is hoped that in future it will be possible to restore it to running order.   

Click here to read more about Alex Moulton and the Metro .

Alex Moulton with his Rover 100 and Toyota engineers, 2004

Alex Moulton (in HED jacket) with Toyota engineers and the Rover 100 on the car lift in the Stables Workshop.