MG XPower SV
British sports car based on the Qvale Mangusta platform.
The MG XPower SV, a sports car from MG Rover, used the platform of the Qvale Mangusta, itself the former De Tomaso Biguá. Assembly took place in Modena, Italy, with final work completed at Longbridge in the UK.
Quick Facts
- Manufacturer
- MG (MG Rover)
- Assembly
- Italy: Modena (Qvale Modena S.p.A: chassis)
- United Kingdom: Longbridge
- Birmingham (Longbridge plant: final assembly)
- Class
- Sports car (S)
- Layout
- Longitudinally-mounted
- Front-engine
- rear-wheel drive
- Engine
- 4.6-litre Ford Modular V8, 5.0-litre Ford Modular V8
- Transmission
- 5-speed Tremec manual, 4-speed automatic
- Wheelbase
- 2,658 mm / 8 ft 9 in
- Length
- 4,480 mm / 14 ft 8 in
Facts from the source article.
History
After acquiring Italian automobile manufacturer Qvale, MG Rover allocated the project code X80 and set up the subsidiary MG X80 Ltd. to produce a new model based on the Qvale Mangusta. The Mangusta had already been homologated for the United States market, which was one attraction. The MG X80 was originally unveiled as a concept car in June 2001, but its styling was considered too sedate. When the production model, renamed MG XPower SV, was launched the following year, Peter Stevens—previously exterior designer of the McLaren F1—had made the styling more aggressive. The conversion from clay model to production car, including all requirements, was completed in three hundred days by the Swedish company Caran. The goal was a retail price under £100,000; the base model eventually cost £65,000, and the uprated SV-R cost £83,000. The production process was complex, partly due to the use of carbon fibre body panels. Basic body parts were made in the UK by SP Systems, shipped to Belco Avia near Turin for assembly into panels, then assembled into a complete body shell and fitted onto the box frame chassis and running gear. The shell was shipped to MG Rover's Longbridge factory for trimming and finishing. Several exterior and interior parts were sourced from current and past Fiat models: headlights from the second generation Punto, rear lights from the Fiat Coupé, exterior door handles from an MG TF, and mirrors, window switches, and interior door handles from the Rover 75. Each vehicle visited six different companies during production. According to the MG XPower SV Club, approximately 82 cars were produced, excluding four XP pre-production prototypes. This included a few pre-production and show cars later dismantled before production stopped due to lack of sales. Most were sold to private owners, with the final ones sold at the beginning of 2008. Three produced but unassembled vehicles were acquired by classic car dealer Eclectic Cars Limited in March 2013 and later completed. Another partially completed chassis is in storage with a private owner in the UK. Most were sold in Europe and Asia; only one model, the supercharged XP, was sold in America.
Variants
The standard MG XPower SV used a 4.6-liter Ford Modular V8 producing 320 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 410 Nm of torque at 4,750 rpm. Its lightweight carbon fiber bodywork contributed to a top speed of 165 mph and a 0-60 mph time of 5.3 seconds. Track-focused Club Sport upgrades were intended but never put into production. A year later, the XPower SV-R arrived with a Roush-tuned 5.0-liter 32-valve Modular V8, officially rated at 385 hp, though some estimates place it nearer 410 hp. Its top speed was projected around 175 mph, with a 0-60 mph time close to 4.9 seconds. Unlike the base SV, the SV-R came with either a manual or automatic transmission.
XPower WR
In July 2008, William Riley purchased the rights and parts related to the XPower SV from the administrators handling MG Rover’s collapse, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Riley, whose claimed lineage to the Riley Motor family has been questioned, set up MG Sports and Racing Europe Ltd to keep building the car. Operating from Eardiston, near Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire, the firm announced in April 2008 that it would revive the model as the MG XPower WR, with a price tag between £75,000 and £90,000. The vehicle featured a supercharged engine producing 540 bhp, and the company reported that seven examples had already found buyers. A legal fight over the MG trademark erupted with Nanjing Automobile, which had also bought assets from the failed MG Rover Group, and Nanjing prevailed in court in February 2010. By December 2009, press reports indicated that MG Sports and Racing Europe had not actually manufactured any new cars since its creation, and two employees had taken the company to an employment tribunal over unpaid wages. That same month, police arrested Riley on suspicion of stealing an XPower WR that had previously been sold to a Canadian businessman who was acting on the company’s behalf.
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