Saw an interesting programme about the development of this car a joint UK/Italian project , led by Peter Stevens.Final assembly in a small UK works.
Carbon fibre body , tuned mid/front mounted Ford Mustang engine.
Has this project collapsed with the rest of Rover or continued under a separate name?
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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If memory serves me rightly rover bought a small italian sportscar firm and turned the Qvale Mangusta into the MG SV. I think the main problem with it was the stupidly high amounts of money they wanted for one.
Who in their right mind would pay upwards of £60k for a Rover?
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i watched it.
they didnt make the point of how over optimistic they where on cost.
far to much money on needless deisgn and fiddly engineering work.
fialed to sort out 2 main problems.
engine is dated - more spending on a high tech unit would have been wiser.
overal cost - 60k plus. no body was going to pay that sort of money for an entry model.
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>engine is dated - more spending on a high tech unit would have been wiser
Rubbish.
The 4.6L Mustang engine is a damn good unit and would have been very good in the MG. It was introduced in 1993 but has been continually updated since then. The one intended for the SV produces around 320bhp in standard tune, it is extremely reliable and very easy to tweak for 400bhp+. The real beauty tho' is that you can buy a complete engine off the shelf for less than $5K (£3K).
The real problem with the SV was pricing. At £40K they might have found a few buyers but at £65K they hadn't a hope.
Kevin...
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Coincidentally, a couple of SVs are up for auction later this month along with other assets of MG Sport & Racing which is in administration.
www.wyleshardy.com/equipment5.html#mg
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Blue haddock has obviously never seen one of the SV coupe's in the flesh, they have huge presence and look quite stunning.
My opinion is that they were not hugely overpriced but badly let down by inadaquate financing to sort out production and development.
I would like to be the owner of one and provided there are sufficient parts and knowledge to complete the remaining cars they will surely be a valuable asset in years to come.
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No i have never seen one in the flesh and i will admit they did look good in the pics i've seen however there is just no way i could justify paying £60k for a base spec rover sports car let alone £80k plus for the top end models.
For that money you are looking at nearly new ferrari's, Lambo's, porsches etc. I know which i'd rather have.
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Plus with TVRs going for 35k that was always surely going to pose a problem.
On the subject of great British sportscars, is that new Marcos GT selling? Looked fantastic in the Telegraph a while back.
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I saw the programme too - interesting and well made.
I suppose the SV looks OK but why style a high performance supercar to look like a chavved-up bodykitted version of a some imaginary mass-produced coupe in the Vauxhall Calibra / Peugeot 406 / Ford Probe idiom?
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By chance I found a 2004 TopGear mag while sorting out the recycling last week and in it was a review of the MG SVR.
JC concluded it was a flawed design, but liked it anyway. Only thing against it was price.
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The excellent www.austin-rover.co.uk/ website gives full details of the MG SV project from conception through to production, as it does for all that group´s vehicles. Really interesting site.
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