K CLASS

Last week we covered all those BL-badged cars which have been easy targets for the armchair critics over the years but which were in many cases just one step from greatness, let down by build quality or product planning compromise. And so it is with the K-Series engine, a product of the newly-revitalised Rover Group but sharing its family tree with Marina, Allegro and all the others.

When unveiled for the ‘R8’ generation of Rover 200, the K-Series was a real game-changer, not only setting new standards of engineering for small car engines in Europe but also catapulting Rover to a new position of credibility.

Yes, in later life it gained a reputation for unreliability of the head gasket kind, but in truth this was largely down to an unfortunate combination of poorly-maintained MGFs, the car’s mid-engined layout and the lack of any low coolant warning. Curiously, when the engine was used by Lotus – itself no stranger to reliability issues – the K-Series proved a reliable prospect in the Elise.

Along the way, the engine was used in everything from the Metro/Rover 100 to Rover 200/400 and MGF/TF, the later 25, 45 and 75 and even the Land Rover Freelander.

DEVELOPMENT

Like so many automotive landmarks, the K-Series very nearly didn’t happen. Its debut came at the Motorfair show in October 1989, under the bonnet of the newly-launched Rover 200. One of the cars which contributed to Rover’s brief spell of glory in the early ’90s, the 200 was developed jointly with Honda in a programme which also produced the European-market Concerto and the UK government – effectively the owner of Rover at the time of its development – was keen to cut costs by using Honda engines.

Rover management however was keen to camouflage the car’s Japanese content by