The Rover CCV (Coupé Concept Vehicle) made its debut at the Geneva motor show of 1986. The Rover CCV acted as a toe-in-the-water exercise to preview the styling of the Rover 800 and sound out potential buyers of the coupe version. As it was, the CCV was an extremely handsome car and it adopted the running theme in all Austin Rover projects of the time - slim headlights that bracketed a slit-like grille. The interior was also mocked-up for his prototype and boasted solid state instrumentation and a dashboard mounted CD player (very novel back in 1986).

The styling was credited to Roy Axe and was judged an unqualified success. Many US dealers took on Sterling franchises on the strength of the CCV - and it proves a bitter disappointment that it never actually became a production reality. The concept was investigated seriously by the company, but a lack of commitment to it by the management backed up by disappointing sales of the Sterling in the USA meant that it was continually put back.

Thanks to Keith Adams at
The Unofficial Austin-Rover Web Resource for the informations on this car.