Rover T-Series engine

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The Rover T16 engine is a 1994 cc petrol engine, produced by Rover from 1992 to 1999. It has a bore of 84.45 mm and a stroke of 89 mm. It is a development of the M-Series (M16), which was in turn a development of the O-Series, which dated back to the BMC B-Series engine as found in the MG B and many others.

Several variants were produced for various models, but all had the same displacement. The naturally aspirated type produced 136 horsepower, and turbocharged types were available with 180 and 200 horsepower. However, unlike some other turbocharged 2-litre engines of the same era, the Rover T16 cannot be easily and cheaply tweaked to produce more power, as its pistons were made to a price and not capable of holding boost much higher than standard. Older M series and O series pistons can be used with a little modification and do allow for higher boost. Forged piston are also available for the engine. Up to 800 bhp has been produced from a T series!^{[citation needed]}

While the engine itself is capable of a great deal of power, its limiting factor was the PG1 Honda gearbox it was coupled with which could not handle the torque. Due to this the engine is electronically limited to a lower torque output than it is easily capable of, giving the engine a very 'flat' overall torque curve. The real torque capability of the engine is easily restored by removing the electronic limiter unit and replacing it with a boost controller set at 12 PSI. This is a good level for engine reliability and gives about 25 lbft more torque. Careful driving can preserve the gearbox and uprated gearbox bearing can be fitted to allow full use of the extra torque.

[edit] Applications

The Rover 620ti Turbo was widely regarded as an excellent car, with the 820 Turbo also giving impressive performance for a 2 litre engine in such a large vehicle. The 220 turbo coupé (often referred to as the 'Tomcat', an internal development codename that seemed appropriate, and therefore stuck), was very rapid. The T-Series engine also found its way into limited-run Rover 220 3-door hatchbacks in GTi and later GSi trims and the 420 GSI turbo and GSI Sport turbo. With 197 bhp as standard, these were among the original turbocharged 'hot hatches', with power almost matching the Lancia Delta Integrale of the same era, though short-lived production runs robbed them of this status, and clean examples are now a rarity.

Many 2-litre powered Austin Rover Group vehicles of the same era could be retro-fitted with the engine. One popular recipient was the Austin Maestro, which in original MG Turbo guise could out-accelerate many supercars of the time up to 60 mph, so when retro-fitted with the more powerful T-Series turbo engine, was even more rapid.

Notable examples of this retro-fitting conversion include the AN-Racing MG Maestro, frequent winner of front-wheel-drive competitions at Santa Pod Raceway and the original 'Mental Maestro', converted in 1996 and featured shortly afterwards in BBC TV's 'Top Gear'. Both cars are still believed to be in existence at the start of 2007.

The non-turbo engine also found its way into the short-lived and generally underpowered Land Rover Discovery 2.0i

The T-Series engine is a very underrated, reliable and powerful engine for its time and has many enthusiasts.