Never caught-on, like they should have. 92" wheelbase = more room in engine bay and passenger compartment. British sports cars
should be well known for missed opportunities. The best motor they owned at the time, was the RV8. What if they had seriously developed this engine ? Rover Cars built a mid-engine, prototype sports car. It did everything better than the XKE. Therefore the director of BMC, ( from Jaguar), killed it. Better foreign competition hurt their industry than Rover ?
Onward, Art.
I agree with everything you've written here, Art, except I suspect the Director of BMC you're thinking of was Donald Gresham Stokes, Baron Stokes. If so, he was actually from Leyland/Triumph... but I've never heard anything good about him.
Rover V8 in a Jensen-Healey? Two great ones are featured in British V8 How-It-Was-Done articles, with photos in this website's Photo Gallery section.
Rover mid-engine prototype? That'd be this one: http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/Leyland-Eight-GE-Release.htm
Back to your main point: Jensen Healey's are certainly worth considering! Great chassis. Handsome styling. Generously sizeed engine bay. Affordable. Very suitable for the type of hot-rodding we do around here!