MG X-Power WR

Infobox Automobile


caption = William Riley with new WR
name = MG X-Power WR
manufacturer = MG X-Power
production = 2003-2005
64 road cars (as SV)
2008-Present (as WR)
predecessor = MG XPower SV
wheelbase = 2670 mm
length = 4480 mm
width = 1900 mm
height = 1320 mm
class = Sports car
layout = Front-engine, rear-wheel drive
body_style = 2-door coupé
engine = 4.6-litre V8
owner = William Riley
designer = Peter StevensThe MG X-Power SV (Sport Veloce) was a sports car made in Modena, Italy in a factory owned by Vaccari & Bosi and leased by MG Rover and Longbridge, UK. It was based on the platform of the Qvale Mangusta, formerly the De Tomaso Bigua. When MG Rover went bust and their assets liquidised MG X-Power was passed on to the administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers. But now a new SV has emerged.

The Story So Far

In 2001 MG Rover bought Qvale Automotive Srl, a failing Italian sports car manufacturer for £10 million. One attraction was the potential sales in the United States, as the Mangusta had already been homologated for the American market. From this MG used the floor plan of the Mangusta to design a totally new car. MG Rover set up MG X80 Ltd. It was originally revealed as a show car, the MG X80, but it was considered too sedate so designer by Peter Stevens set about making the car more aggressive. The first SV concept was unveiled at the 2002 Birmingham motor show where it was greeted very warmly by the press. MG confirmed that when they left the motor show they had 27 confirmed orders.

The production process was complex, partly caused by using carbon fibre to make the body panels. The basic body parts were made in the UK by SP Systems and then shipped to Belco Avia near Turin for assembly into body panels. These were then assembled into a complete body shell and fitted onto the box frame chassis and running gear and shipped to the MG Rover Longbridge factory to be trimmed and finished.

When MG Rover went into liquidation on April 7th 2005 the administrators came and MG X-Power was passed to PricewaterhouseCoopers. After discussions between William Riley and PwC an agreement was made in early 2008 to purchase MG X-Power for £2 million.

Production

Riley's company, MG Sports and Racing Europe, is currently occupying a 2.5 acre factory site in Eardiston, near Tenbury Wells, where 17 people are employed. Riley hopes to produce 6 cars a month, and he has already sold seven, with another 35 other advance orders received. Mr Riley plans to eventually launch a purpose built 100,000 sq ft factory within the M5 corridor, employing between 150 and 200 people, many of which will be ex-MG Rover workers.

Performance

The base MG XPower SV was powered by a Auto bhp|320|0 4.6 L Ford Modular V8 [cite web | title=MG SV-R | publisher=Yahoo! | url=http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/06032006/45/mg-sv-r-0.html | accessdate=2007-04-30] but was expensive due to the complex carbon fibre body. Both manual and automatic transmissions were available. The manual car had a top speed of convert|165|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on and a 0-convert|60|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on time of 5.3 seconds.Cite journal
last = Simpson
first = Jock
title = The MG Supercar
journal = Safety Fast
volume = 51
pages = 16–20
date = December 2007
year = 2007 ] Club Sport options, for customers who wished to use their SVs on the track, were planned but never produced. They included a 5·0 L Auto bhp|1000|-2 version, thanks to factory-approved nitrous oxide injection kits, though the basic version had Convert|410|hp|kW|0|abbr=on with speed limited to 195 mph (314 km/h).

The 2004 MG SV-R featured a more highly tuned 5.0 L 32-valve V8 with Auto bhp|385|0 and is believed to have a top speed of around convert|175|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on and a 0-convert|60|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on time of 4.9 seconds.

The SV-S version used the 4.6 litre engine but was fitted with a supercharger to match the Auto bhp|385|0 of the 5.0 litre versions. Only 3 were made. One SV-R was fitted with a supercharger to become the SV-RS.

Gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.mgsv-club.co.uk/ MG XPower SV Club]
* [http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/index.htm?x80devf.htm MG XPower SV development story]
* [http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/224465/# Autocar Website]
* tom king.