It's October 1963 and you need to rush down to your local toy shop to buy the wonderful Rover 2000.
This was the first saloon car to get Trans-o-lite headlamps, and we got twin headlamps too! This system had been used in the VW Toblerone van and Commer Pick-up where an opening on the roof did not look odd and the tubes could be easily hidden. With the Rover, Corgi incorporated the input as a section of the rear screen.
The lights were great and, for many who did not get the van or pick-up truck, this was the first model where they experimented in the dark with a torch and flashed the lights quite realistically.
The rear screen was somewhat weakened by the need for a rectangular element to be fitted and now you'll find many models with small cracks around the area where the light enters.
The Rovers in a 252 box were mostly a metallic steel blue colour with a red interior but there was also a maroon edition with a white interior. This was issued quite a lot later and first seen in the December 1966 Car Transporter Gift Set 48/41.
A very scarce maroon edition also exists with cast wheels, produced for late issues of the Gift Sets.
A gold-plated 252 model was made in very limited numbers, some, but not all, being attached to the lid of a cigarette box and distributed to selected Rover customers and senior executives.
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