Wednesday 28th September 1949

The Rover P4-series was launched at the London Motor Show. The P4 designation was factory terminology for a group of cars and was not in day-to-day use by ordinary owners who used consumer designations for the models, for example Rover 60, Rover 75 and Rover 90. With a wide body and a centrally mounted fog lamp, the P4 quickly became known as the Cyclops. Its other nickname, once the original Rover grille and more conservative face was restored in 1952, was the “Auntie” Rover. The “Auntie” tag came from an article by Autocar’s Ted Eves and Denis ‘Jenks’ Jenkinson, who drove with Jesse Alexander from Sports Cars Illustrated to the Moroccan Grand Prix in Casablanca and back, via the Turin Motor Show. They described the epic journey as being so effortless, it was “like a trip down to Auntie’s”. The “Auntie” Rover continued until 1964.