Examples such as this 1981 Vanden Plas come so rarely to market.

The original owner paid £13,000 and, being a Vanden Plas, the car came loaded with the full spectrum of the Rover option lists: central locking; electric sunroof; cruise control; alloy wheels; extra chrome trim and more.

Finished in Pharaoh Gold, the owner’s wife disliked leather and thus the interior was trimmed in a special order grey velour.

Disappointed with the part exchange values offered by main dealers at the time, in 1981 and having covered just 13,000 miles, the owner drained the fluids and put it up on blocks, where it remained, sheathed in a protective cover, until the end of last year.

Jack Grover of Car and Classic Magazine did a road test on this particular SD1 in February 2014, and his comments offer apt testament: “This is, effectively, an 11-month old Rover SD 1.

This means that this is in many ways not a road test of a classic, but of a brand new car.“Opening the door the immediate impression is ho...