2 posts tagged “v8”

I’ve inputted some information into Autocade over the last half-hour about the Rover 75*, a model that saw the end of volume British-owned car manufacturing—and which might mean the beginning of two marques in Red China. Here I chart the history of this tragic car, beset by publicity gaffes from BMW and a British press with its claws out, only for it to begin making good produced in Shanghai and Nanjing. Even in Italy it won an award for the most beautiful car when it launched, but the Brits never warmed to the 75. Summary: fairly timeless look, but I still wouldn’t buy one due to quality concerns.

* It took many times longer to copy and paste this into Vox (hours!) than writing and researching all of the below, due to the site crashing my browser due to a script error constantly!

Rover 75 Mk I

Rover 75. 1998–2004 (prod. 169,250, 1998–2003). 4-door saloon, 4-door LWB saloon, 5-door estate. F/F, 1794 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 1997, 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC), 1951 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. DOHC). Retro-themed and too-English Rover styled by Richard Woolley, with lavish use of chrome. Soft ride to distinguish it from BMW cars. Very robust, refined car but never appealed to enthusiasts; suffered from BMW’s indecision on and changes to marketing from launch day onwards, as well as British media apathy. Related MG ZT from 2001, after production shifted to Longbridge for all models following BMW sale of Rover. LWB saloon brought back Vanden Plas tag temporarily.

MG ZT Mk I

MG ZT. 2001–4 (prod. 27,149 all models, incl. Mk II). 4-door saloon, 5-door estate. F/F, 1794 cm³ petrol, 1951 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. DOHC), 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Sporting versions of Rover 75, finally with firmer suspension and better handling. Helped keep MG Rover numbers up for a short time, though package began looking more dated toward the end of the run. V8 model introduced 2003, covered separately.


MG ZT 260

MG ZT 260. 2003–5 (prod. 883 incl. Rover 75 V8). 4-door saloon, 5-door estate. F/R 4601 cm³ (V8 SOHC). MG Rover, on a shoestring budget, sourced a new V8 engine from Ford and, in order to get it working, changed the standard 75 platform to rear-wheel drive. Prodrive did the initial work; MG Rover brought it in-house. Hairy, raw car, in line with MG image, and with few visual cues to signify the larger engine other than badging and four exhausts. Facelift one year in, in 2004; automatics introduced toward end of run (bound to be rarest of all), but production came to an end in 2005, with no Chinese equivalent.

Rover 75 Mk II

Rover 75. 2004–5 (prod. unknown). 4-door saloon, 4-door LWB saloon, 5-door estate. F/F, 1794 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 1997, 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC), 1951 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. DOHC). Essentially carryover technology from Mk I with cosmetic facelift, while Project Drive eliminated certain parts deemed unnecessary to cut costs, which meant less refinement on some models. Never had its full run as MG Rover collapsed and the 75 found its rights sold to SAIC of China. V8 model introduced in 2004, covered separately. LWB model simply called Limousine, rather than Vanden Plas, for these final years.

MG ZT Mk II

MG ZT. 2004–5 (prod. 27,149 all models, incl. Mk I). 4-door saloon, 5-door estate. F/F, 1794 cm³ petrol, 1951 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. DOHC), 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Facelifted ZT with minor changes, but no real mechanical changes—and no real improvement to sales. Production shifted to Nanjing, China after collapse of MG Rover in UK, restarted in 2007.

Rover 75 V8

Rover 75 V8. 2004–5 (prod. 883 incl. MG ZT 260). 4-door saloon, 4-door LWB saloon. F/R, 4601 cm³ (V8 SOHC). Short-lived Ford V8-powered version of 75, with platform re-engineered by Prodrive and Rover to rear-wheel drive. Front grille, supposedly inspired by Rover P5B, controversial at the time, accused of copying Audi, and designer’s name not released by MG Rover. No direct predecessor—last hairy Rover V8 was SD1 Vitesse in 1980s. Good performance but car seemed heavy; interior and insulation kept English club-lounge feel. Fuel economy in the high 10s, low 20s (mpg).

Roewe 750

Roewe 750. 2006 to date (prod. unknown). F/F, 1794 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Rebodied Rover 75. SAIC acquired the rights to the model in 2005 and proceeded to make its own version on the long-wheelbase platform. British consultants Ricardo did restyle and update. However, SAIC was forced to create a new marque, Roewe, after Ford bought the Rover brand that they wanted; hence, Roewe logo has the same shape as old Rover Viking longship one. Two noses: small grille for lower-spec; large grille (à la last Rover 75 V8) for higher-spec. Not as well built as old 75 according to early reports, with less safety equipment than western markets expect.

MG 7

MG 7. 2007 to date (prod. 13,000 approx.). 4-door sedan, 4-door LWB sedan. F/F, 1794 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Chinese edition of MG ZT, offered with both Mk I and II grilles contemporaneously. Engines upgraded to comply with latest Euro IV legislation, and quality said to be better than those of the cars coming off Longbridge in 2005 thanks to new factory at Nanjing. Improved specification. No estate announced. Played heavily on MG’s heritage when launched.

For Timothy, Zak and the other Americans who remember these great cars … So very easy to write about—it just flows for these popular models. From Autocade at http://autocade.net/index.php/Ford_Mustang_%281964%E2%80%936%29.

Ford Mustang (1964–6)

Ford Mustang/Ford T-5. 1964–6 (prod. 1,288,527). 2-door coupé, 2-door fastback, 2-door convertible. F/R, 170, 200 in³ (6 cyl OHV), 260, 289 in³ (V8 OHV). Incredibly successful sports car from Ford, based around Falcon bits, but with its own long-hood, short-deck proportions borrowed from European sports models. Ford identified the baby boomer segment and division head Lee Iacocca pushed the concept from engineer and product planner Donald N. Frey. Created the “pony car” segment. Teaser campaign, massive marketing blitz, including three-network TV ad buy on April 16, 1964. Launched at World’s Fair on April 17, 1964 with base price of $2,368—a thousand dollars less than what original survey respondents thought. Original model retrospectively called the 1964½ model year, though should be ‘early 1965’ model. Sporting appointments, such as bucket seats; car could be extensively personalized. Brakes, steering not class-leading but performance acceptable, V8s the cars to go for. Shelby high-performance model from 1965. Sold 418,812 in first year, and a million by March 1966. Called T-5 (its development name) in Germany due to trade mark conflict. Set template for Mustangs to follow, including current model.