problems persisted until 1980 and were reported in tests of the V8-S version. Another area of concern was flaking paint on early models, forcing British Leyland to spend a lot of money on repainting cars. In television shows John Steed in The New Avengers and George Cowley in The Professionals both used yellow Rover 3500 models. Cosmetic tweaks and range expansion Between 1976 and 1981 there were some very minor updates to the car including new badging (front and rear) and chrome backed door mirrors - the traditional-style Rover Longship emblem returned for the 1981 model year, thus replacing the 'skeletal' version, although the latter continued to be used on the hubcaps, and indeed a variant of this Rover logo was later used as a hubcap emblem on both the later SD3 Rover 200 and Rover 800 models as late as 1989. 1979 also saw the introduction of the then range-topping V8-S model with no mechanical alterations, available in a rather bright metallic "Triton" green amongst others with either gold or silver-painted alloy wheels depending on the body color. Interior specification included air-conditioning, thick luxurious carpets, velour seats and a headlamp wash/wipe system. This now very rare model was replaced in late 1980 with the Vanden Plas (VDP) model, which came with a leather interior as standard. North American market models In 1980 Rover obtained US type approval for the SD1 and re-entered the American market after a ten-year absence. The car was only made available as a single variant, using a modified version of the V8 engine and badged simply as "Rover 3500". The equipment and trim levels were similar to that of the UK market's then top-of-the-range V8-S model. The main differences were a smaller steering wheel, the manually operated sunroof being a cost option and rear passenger head restraints were not available at all. Small Union Jack badges were fixed to the lower section of each front wing, just ahead of the doors, to promote the car's British origins. Canadian market cars had V8 badges instead of the Union Jack. The five-speed manual gearbox was supplied as standard, with the three-speed automatic version being a cost option. US safety legislation (that first applied to the Citroën DS) demanded that the headlamp arrangement exclude the front glass panels. Also larger, heavier bumpers were required, increasing the overall length to . American emissions regulations necessitated replacing the carburetors with