Rover is to build a second luxury car at its revitalised Cowley car plant.

The new model will be a prestige estate version of the Rover 75 saloon, which is due to be launched later this year.

It will be the latest product of the transformed factory at Cowley, which has had a massive £700m investment in design, development, paintshop and new assembly lines.

No launch date has yet been announced for the new executive estate, but it is expected to be introduced early in the next century.

As Rover gave the international motoring press its first taste of driving the Rover 75 this week, company insiders said the new car's design could be used as the basis for a series of different models.

There has already been speculation that a stunning two-door coup, based on the Rover 75, could be unveiled as a concept model this year, possibly reviving the famous Riley marque.

Riley disappeared in 1969 with the Elf model, but Rover is believed to be considering reintroducing the sporty name which was a byword for quality.

Rover refuses to talk about models in the pipeline, but today it confirmed the first customers for the 75 saloon will get their cars in mid-June.

It will eventually be available in three trim levels - Classic, Club and Connoisseur, and made in 24 versions, priced from £18,275 on the road for the 1.8-litre Classic model, up to £25,625 for the top-of-the-range 2.5-litre V6 Connoisseur.

A Rover spokesman said: "The Rover 75 has been designed to be the best front-wheel drive car in the world, providing outstanding comfort levels in a 'solid as a rock' body which has twice the rigidity of the Rover 600."

Story date: Monday 01 February

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