The Rover P6 was marketed first as the Rover 2000, launched in 1963, and was a complete clean sheet design intended to appeal to a larger number of buyers than earlier models such as the P4 which it replaced. Rover had identified a developing market between the standard '1.5-litre' saloon car class (such as the Ford Consul and the Singer Gazelle) and the large three-litre saloon cars (typified by the Wolseley 6/99 and the Vauxhall Cresta). Younger and increasingly affluent professional workers and executives were seeking out cars that were superior to the normal 1.5-litre models in style, design and luxury but which offered more modern driving dynamics than the big three-litre class and lower purchase and running costs than sports saloons such as the Jaguar Mark 2. Automotive technology had improved significantly in the mid-to-late 1950s, typified by the introduction of cars such as the Citroën DS and Lancia Flavia in Europe and the Chevrolet Corvair in America. The Rover 2000 was one of the earliest examples of what would now be classified as an executive car.