Rover PG1

Rover's PG1 five-speed manual transaxle — and the gearbox in the Lotus Elise S1.

⚑ That fitment is the reason to know its real name. An Elise owner searching Lotus finds chassis and suspension material and very little about the gearbox; searching PG1 finds Rover's own service documentation and a parts supply that still exists, because the same unit was in the 200, the 400 and the MGF in very large numbers.

In the Elise it sits behind a Rover K-series and the whole powertrain is Rover's — which is also why the K-series head gasket reputation follows the car.

Its known weakness is the differential and the input shaft bearing under the loads a mid-engined car puts through it, heard as a rumble that tracks road speed. In a Rover saloon the same gearbox lasts indefinitely, which is a statement about the application rather than the design.

Rover ceased in 2005 and the marque's material is scattered, but the enthusiast supply for this gearbox is unusually good.