Summer Interlude - Drawing on the Past...Concept Influences

Simply to add further context to the 'Longboat' concept very loosely shown previously and here.

At the time Rover Cars was seeking to convince the public of its technical capabilities, of how traditionalism could be laid over advanced engineering. And so in various terminus railway stations around the UK, and so amongst the normal retail outlets at such stations, created what were showcase technical centres as convincing PR exercises.

The prime example of that technical know-how was the K-series engine; which with its 'long-bolt' architecture, was shown as the company's tour de force, along with other aspects of its new cars.

But far more was required within the brand to convince a German orientated and still somewhat skeptical aspirant buyer.

The hope that R75 would help redefine the marque as alternative yet on par with Audi, Volvo, Saab, and expectations of the R55 project providing a new meaningful product in the B-C segment (see next web-log), it was only natural to begin to think - in a very theorectical manner - about a product above R75 which would itself be a new Flagship for the brand - but would need to arrive from new thinking across the board.

The very generalistic product, manufacturing and overall business strategy was described previously, but what was not explained was the broader notion that the car and Rover could in itself seek to be seen as a metaphorical vehicle that referred to the Best of British Engineering.

Hence, the 'Longboat' concept appeared to have a 'hull' visually sat inside a 'shell', to both provide a distinctive form and aid aerodynamics.

The Viking longboats of yore (the brand's logo) had sailed up what is now the Humber Estuary and the River Hull to and past Hull, itself long established by the Vikings as Vik or Wic (meaning inlet) well before its notional Christian beginnings.

Thus a serendiptious wordplay of the term 'Hull'.

The city of Hull and the Humber (itself a vehicle marque of yesteryear) is renowned for the Humber Bridge, which was when finally actually built (54 years after originally planned) was the longest Suspension Bridge in the world for 16 years. It was a feat of British engineering.

Thus, although the 95/105 Rover concept 'sat' on an adapted Range Rover P38A chassis for cost and ride quality, with the cabin itself part 'suspended' from a superstructure frame - from the Cant Rails (in engineer's lingo) - which itself mated to the turrets of the suspension towers; so mimicking the structural arch of the Hull and Barnsley Rail Bridge, and so correlating Cant Rails and Railway.

Thus the concept deliberately sought to cross-referance and utilise a very alternative idea of a 'Vehicle Suspension Bridge', which itself had direct correlation to a specific part of the country - and once thriving industrial city, itself born from Viking settlement.

The visual 'hull' of the car containing bonnet, cabin and boot, visually 'sat' inside the 'shell'. Although that term is used for a full monocoque BIW (body in white) the term here was used to present three distinct ideas:

1. All enveloping outer-body protection
2. So protecting the innately valuable contents (occupants in cabin - 'the pearl in the shell').
3. Aero/Fluid dynamic research's use of 'Shell Balance' when determining aero surfaces

Hence again the use of a term which had immediate story resonnance to the potential buyer, but also had far deeper technical meaning, so cognitively substantiating and reinforcing the very notion of a shell, yet also providing powerful new understanding of the aero philosophy behind the car per its 'Technical Marketing'.

The air flow so managed by the side surfaces of the bonnet to both drive passing air into a charge cooler via 'Ram Effect' Vanes at high speeds to raise its density and so provide more powerful combustion and so engine power and torque. With also part of that flow used to extract hot engine bay air to provide a theorectical 'Meredith Effect' at high speeds from underneath the car and through internal ducting via the sides. ( This not to be confused with typical underfloor zero treatments).

The structural frame would have been conventional tubular steel for innate strength and predictable impact engineering, but filled with vibration absorbing foam to help further dampen any remaining road-wheel vibrational intrusion from the already much dampened separate chassis riding on  air-suspension.

The frame wrapped in steel and aluminium inner structural panels and aluminium outer skin panels for the cabin and bonnet, and - as previously mentioned - composite front wings, quarter panels and front and rear valances created
from low cost rotational molding techniques. That long since used to create water butts (as mentioned), and vitally well respected robust watercraft, from canoes to dive-boats to speedboats.

And vitally would offer a separate visual cue - of whatever character - compared to the traditional perfect A-surface finishes of the central cabin, so creating a deliberate contrast. And so the ability to create a broad range of visual contrasts using texture, embossing, colourways etc. (The most obvious being that of robust protection, but could extend in whichever design direction imagined).

Ultimately the car was to itself be a metaphorical, visual and technical showcase for the best of past, present and future British Engineering; and would have included a presentation pack that described the idioms of the car; the cultural references and the stories of those people.

From the Viking ships and their cross-continental trading routes, to the airflow routing theories of FW Meredith. Those who helped make Britain over the centuries.

A panopoly of cultural and engineering references to reinforce the name of Rover and have it act as the formal vessel for promoting itself as the epicentre of the best of British Engineering.

That was the Product and Brand Vision ultimately extinguished with BMW's (rationally correct) disposal of the firm.

It was Bernd Pishetsrieder had sought such a vision when Rover Group was bought....but it was Wolfgang Reitzle who recognised the immensity of such a task, when it was divested.