Westfield SEight History

Introduced in 1991, the SEight dropped the Rover V8 — available in 3.5-, 3.9-, and 4.2-litre TVR Power-tuned forms, with some examples bored to 5.2 litres — into the SEi tubular-steel spaceframe. At around 657 kg and with the V8's torque on tap, the car sprinted to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, a figure that earned it widespread praise from the UK motoring press.

The lightweight alloy-block Rover V8 made the SEight notably power-dense without the mass penalty of iron-block American V8s of the era. Cars were sold as rolling chassis, as component kits, and — later — as factory-built vehicles, giving buyers flexibility over their powertrain specification and build level.

Production ran alongside the four-cylinder SEi line until approximately 2010 when the Rover V8 supply chain became unviable. A small number of one-off builds used Chevrolet small-block alloy V8s.