Production rights and tooling for the model, but not the Rover name, now belong to Chinese car manufacturer Nanjing.

The original Rover 200 (sometimes referred to by the codename SD3) was the replacement for the earlier Triumph Acclaim, and was the second product of the alliance between British Leyland (BL) and Honda.

It was launched on 19 June 1984, at which time there was still a high demand for small family saloons, with many manufacturers selling this type of car under a different nameplate to similar-sized hatchbacks.

[citation needed] Essentially, the 200 series was a British-built Honda Ballade, the original design of which had been collaborated upon by both companies.

The British-engined 216 also employed a Honda five-speed manual gearbox, unlike the S-Series engine when fitted in the Maestro and Montego.

The 200 and Concerto itself were based on the 4th generation Civic (EC), of which the 3-door hatchback, coupé CRX and saloon versions were sold in the United Kingdom.

From December 1990, the carburettor-engine 214S (with a 1.4 engine from the Metro) was added to the range, but discontinued within two years due to EEC emissions requirements.

In France, Italy, and Portugal, where demand for diesel cars was high, Honda offered a rebadged 200 Turbodiesel called the Concerto TD.

Rover worked closely with Pininfarina to develop the hood mechanism of the Cabriolet, with the car being announced in spring 1992.

In several markets, where engine taxation was based on displacement, the 1.6 SOHC and the normally aspirated 2.0 were replaced with a single, 1.6 DOHC–engined version.

After a delay, to consider several options to maintain production volumes at Longbridge, the SK3 project was revised by the Rover Engineering Team.

The major change being a Maestro/Montego derived H-frame rear suspension package that allowed fitment of a fuel tank, a full-size spare wheel and an exhaust silencer whilst retaining a good-sized boot, as opposed to only 3-out-of-4 that the carry-over R8 rear suspension allowed in the SK3 package.

During the mid-1990s the L-series was a very competitive engine, regarded as second only to the Volkswagen TDI in overall performance, and an improvement over the R8's XUD - particularly in fuel economy, while almost matching it for refinement.

The R3 featured a completely redesigned interior and dashboard to accommodate the fitment of a passenger airbag in line with new safety standards.

Changes to the front structure, with the addition of a transverse strut at the back of the engine bay, improved the crash performance of the car, The 1.8-litre models earned a certain amount of praise for their performance, whilst the intercooled turbo diesel was claimed as one of the fastest-accelerating diesel hatchbacks on the market in the late 1990s.

Unlike its predecessor, the R3 was not available in Coupe, Cabriolet or Tourer bodystyles, although Rover updated these versions of the older model with mild styling revisions and the fitting of the new dashboard from the R3, which was possible due to the shared front bulkhead.

The Rover 200 might have been marketed as a supermini, it compares closely in size and engine range with contemporary models such as the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa.

Rover's only offering in the supermini segment at the time was the ageing Metro and this gap in the company's line-up needed to be filled.

Within three years it had fallen out of the top 10 completely and was being outsold by traditionally poorer selling cars like the Fiat Bravo/Brava and Renault Mégane.

On the outside, there was Brooklands Green paintwork, with silver trim details, 16-inch alloy wheels, and an exclusive woven mesh grille sat above a large orange snout in the front bumper, which was the BRM trademark nose on all of its 1960s Formula One racing cars.

The steep price was originally slashed to £16,000 and when the Rover 25 was launched, this was cut to £14,000 to get rid of vehicles still lingering in showrooms.

The largest engine in the range was the 1.8 VVC 160 PS (118 kW; 158 bhp) unit, which had a top speed of 210 km/h (130 mph).

In 2003, Rover made a version of the car with increased ride height and chunkier bumpers, called Streetwise.

In March 2005, the 25 won the "Bargain of the Year Award" at the Auto Express Used Car Honours: "The compact hatchback was recognised by the judges for the availability and affordability that help make five-year old examples an attractive purchase proposition."

"There was a rover 25 wich had a load of paperwork around it and it seemed like it had a hybrid drivetrain" .They also had a 1st generation Toyota Prius parked at the side of the flight shed while MG was open and operational for benchmarking purposes prior to 2005.

[11] The Rover 25 was Britain's best selling new car in April 2000, due to a brief surge in sales among buyers wanting to support the company at the time of their sell–off by BMW.

However, sales quickly settled back down to normal levels, and although the asking price was now in line with other superminis, the 25 was never able to seriously compete with the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa in terms of popularity.

It was outsold by the Peugeot 206, Fiat Punto, Volkswagen Polo, Seat Ibiza, Skoda Fabia and Renault Clio.