Small capacity Rover v8

[planman350i]

Just been digging through some of my old car mags and found the following snippet on a TVR Rover v8 derivative in May 1991 issue of Fast Lane:

"...also nearing completion is a special export version to go into Italian versions of the TVR S. This is a two-litre supercharged V8. Derived from the Rover engine, but with no Rover rotating bits on it, it has a steel flat-plane crank, race-type conrods and special pistons. It runs on high boost and has a supercharger...The very over-square engine has to be rev-limited to save the supercharger from spinning too fast."

Sounds interesting - has anyone actually seen/heard one of these engines?

[eliot]

Italians have(has) a funny tax system, anything over 2 litres gets highly taxed. Hence the pathetic 2L MPI Discovery of the time.

[steve-v8s]

Yes, read about this before. Allegedly the offset bulge in the V8s bonnet was really the to accommodate the blower, not the plenum. I seem to remember the comment that the blower more than made up for the loss in capacity.

[Marquis_Rex]

Flat plane crank?

[rev-erend]

Alledgy the TVR V8S was to have this engine for export to Italy.

The bonnet bulge on the V8S was offset for the supercharger
but it never happened.

[GreenV8S]

rev-erend said:

it never happened.

[Avocet]

They sent a few out but I think they all melted their pistons.

[danhay]

My 208 has a flat plane crank 2 litre V8. The reduction in capacity is done through different liners and pistons though, so it doesn't seem to rev any higher than the 3 litre version.

I thought the 2 litre TVRs were 4 pots?