Monday 23rd July 1984

Austin Rover announced its second new car launch of the year — the Rover 200, a four-door saloon which replaced the Triumph Acclaim and was the combine’s second product from its venture with Japanese car maker Honda. As a result, the Triumph marque was discontinued by Austin Rover. There have been three distinct generations of the Rover 200 during its 21 years (1984-2005) production run. The first generation was a four-door saloon car based on the Honda Ballade. The second generation was available in three or five-door hatchback forms, as well a coupé and cabriolet (in relatively small numbers). Its sister model, the Honda Concerto was built on the same production line in Rover’s Longbridge factory. The final generation was developed independently by Rover on the platform of its predecessor, and was available as a three or five-door hatchback. Just before the sale of Rover in 2000, and following a facelift, the model was renamed and sold as the Rover 25, and the MG ZR was based on the Rover 25 with mechanical changes to the suspension. Production ceased in 2005 when MG Rover went into administration. Production rights and tooling for the model, but not the Rover name, now belong to Chinese car manufacturer Nanjing.