A Grand Monday: Rover 200 Cabriolet SE

There’s a lot of love for the R8 Rover 200/400 series these days, with the cars rapidly developing a classic following.

Even the newest examples are now 20 years old, though, and that means that finding a good one is getting harder and harder.

At £800, then, this cabriolet variant looks to be worth every penny. Not only is it clearly a well-cared for car, but it’s an SE spec, which means it gets a full grey leather interior and an electric roof.

But the best thing about by miles is the colour. It’s finished in Pearlescent Amaranth, a metallic purple hue offered by Rover Group for just three years in the mid-1990s. It’s a bold and striking colour, and in our view it sets off the R8’s wedge-shaped lines beautifully.

With a low mileage of just 64,000 and almost a year’s MoT, it’s as fit as the proverbial fiddle, and should we ever get a summer that lasts more than three days, it’s a perfect occasional-use classic.

Some would argue that it would be better if it was an earlier model, with the Honda D-series engine rather than Rover’s K-series. But head gasket issues aside, the K-Series is a lively and likeable unit, with far more tuning parts available should you feel so inclined…

As soon as the sun comes out again, someone’s going to snap this one up.

• Read our Rover 200 review and buyer's guide
• How many Rover 200 survived? Find out
• Find a Rover 200 for sale