The Land Rover V8 engine that was first used in the larger Range Rover before being made available in top-of-the-range Land Rovers from the Series III through to the Defenders of the 1990s provided the entire range with its characteristic combination of power and versatility.

It was also a complete accident that what would become known as the Rover V8 engine was even available in the first place to fit into the modified Rover P5B and Range Rover, as everything that would make the engine practical for half a century was not a priority for its original designers.

Originally known as the Buick 215, the light, compact all-aluminium engine was only produced by the American manufacturer from 1956 to 1963. 

Despite being successful in cars such as the Buick Special, the Pontiac LeMans and in modified turbocharged form as the Oldsmobile Jetfire, General Motors believed it was too expensive to produce compared to cast-iron engines.

As power-weight ratios and efficiency were far from a priority in Detroit before the oil crisis, GM was frustrated with issues with the engines, some of which were the result of using the wrong type of antifreeze.

Mere months after it had been abandoned, J. Bruce McWilliams, the head of American operations at the Rover Company found out about the engine.

The most common story is that he spotted it at Mercury Marine, a company which used a marinised version of the Land Rover’s 2.25-litre diesel engine, noticed that the engine was lighter and smaller than some of the four-cylinder engines used at Rover at the time and bought the tools outright in 1965.

Whilst the idea that he serendipitously spotted it is unlikely to be true, the decision proved to be inspired. It not only revitalised the fortunes of the ageing P5, but would ultimately end up being the backbone of the entire British car industry until 2005.