RE: MG to reinvent sports car
Discussion
The Wookie said:
A GT86 style affair with retro-MGB styling would fly off the shelves if they managed to somehow avoid building it out of tin and gimcrack
I agree. There are Retro styled Mustangs, Camaro's, Challengers in the states so why not a retro styled MGA, MGB or Midget?
A bit like what MG did with the RV8 although a whole lot cheaper.
Keep it simple HAS to be the key.
1.6 turbo or 2.0 N/A and Rear wheel drive ( i could even live with a 5 speed box)
No electric seats, mirrors, roof e.t.c. All help to keep the weight/performance values acceptable and costs down.
Me personally?
I'd love a modern take on the MGA.
There is no market for small, light, simple 2 seater sports cars. This is why the firms that do make them are essentially cottage industries.
As soon as you look at this sector you see that the MX5 sells because not only is it a good looking little car but Mazda are able to include all core mod cons into the package. Strip those out and sales would plummet.
Does MG want to take on the MX5? A product that won't sell in China, North or South America, Russia or the Middle East (exageration to make a point). Where the core markets of the UK and Europe are broke?
If you want to redefine the sports car to suit the modern day demands that you see in the market place then it's rather shocking to say that you need to look at products like the Cayenne Turbo!!!!!
Such a car meets the size requirements of the markets with cash, contains all the luxuries all markets today demand and goes like stink.
The sports car, when you look at what we all think of as a sports car, the 60s classic onwards etc really is a defunct market space for a big player seeking significant volume sales. Look at where the volumes in today's market are, look at where the cash is going and will be for the next decade+ and then design your sports car of the 21st century to fit into this sector.
I bet the logical answer is an SUV
As soon as you look at this sector you see that the MX5 sells because not only is it a good looking little car but Mazda are able to include all core mod cons into the package. Strip those out and sales would plummet.
Does MG want to take on the MX5? A product that won't sell in China, North or South America, Russia or the Middle East (exageration to make a point). Where the core markets of the UK and Europe are broke?
If you want to redefine the sports car to suit the modern day demands that you see in the market place then it's rather shocking to say that you need to look at products like the Cayenne Turbo!!!!!
Such a car meets the size requirements of the markets with cash, contains all the luxuries all markets today demand and goes like stink.
The sports car, when you look at what we all think of as a sports car, the 60s classic onwards etc really is a defunct market space for a big player seeking significant volume sales. Look at where the volumes in today's market are, look at where the cash is going and will be for the next decade+ and then design your sports car of the 21st century to fit into this sector.
I bet the logical answer is an SUV
kambites said:
bob1179 said:
What happened to the MG6, I've only seen a couple on the road?
The biggest problem with the MG6 is that there is still no diesel option available. No-one wants petrol shopping cars these days. A sports car that the chinese would buy?
Having been on the roads in china (I won't drive there) I would suggest some kind of lightly armoured vehicle, an M1-A maybe for city driving, and for outside the city, where roads can be a vague connection between similar coloured sticks in the mud, maybe a unimog?
Having been on the roads in china (I won't drive there) I would suggest some kind of lightly armoured vehicle, an M1-A maybe for city driving, and for outside the city, where roads can be a vague connection between similar coloured sticks in the mud, maybe a unimog?
1/ Stop trying to make sportscars look modern-retro. The original cars didn't strive to look like something from the 1920's!
2/ Power to weight ratio is critical.
3/ Make it affordable like the MX5 was, not like a Z4.
4/ Just copy every strategy from the GT-86!
MG will have to produce something monumentally different / good to tempt people to throw their austerity plagued savings at a manufacturer which is effectively brand new, untested and ultimately being offered by a company with a reputation for making nasty cheap cars that only the Chinese would tolerate.
That said, I hope they succeed for the benefit of engineering design in this country.
2/ Power to weight ratio is critical.
3/ Make it affordable like the MX5 was, not like a Z4.
4/ Just copy every strategy from the GT-86!
MG will have to produce something monumentally different / good to tempt people to throw their austerity plagued savings at a manufacturer which is effectively brand new, untested and ultimately being offered by a company with a reputation for making nasty cheap cars that only the Chinese would tolerate.
That said, I hope they succeed for the benefit of engineering design in this country.
I think a mid-engined 1.0l Turbo engined roadster's the way to go.
If it's going to appeal to a mass market of real buyers rather than the fantasists on PH ("If it doesn't have 500+ BHP and no traction control, I won't buy it!") then it needs to be cheap to make and buy, so taking bits from an existing cheap model is the best bet and I'm sure MG will have something that fits the bill soon, if not now (They can always just rip off the Ford engine).
Soft top, not a folding metal one. Small, so strictly two seats and a little bit of luggage space in the front.
Sell it for under 12K (current prices) and it'll fly off the forecourts, especially if they make it handle well too!
Cheap to buy, cheap to run (fuel, RFL and insurance), fun to own, fun to drive - That's all it needs.
Don't make it fast (ie powerful) or super grippy with massive tyres, that just takes the fun away at legal speeds and drives up insurance costs.
M
If it's going to appeal to a mass market of real buyers rather than the fantasists on PH ("If it doesn't have 500+ BHP and no traction control, I won't buy it!") then it needs to be cheap to make and buy, so taking bits from an existing cheap model is the best bet and I'm sure MG will have something that fits the bill soon, if not now (They can always just rip off the Ford engine
).Soft top, not a folding metal one. Small, so strictly two seats and a little bit of luggage space in the front.
Sell it for under 12K (current prices) and it'll fly off the forecourts, especially if they make it handle well too!
Cheap to buy, cheap to run (fuel, RFL and insurance), fun to own, fun to drive - That's all it needs.
Don't make it fast (ie powerful) or super grippy with massive tyres, that just takes the fun away at legal speeds and drives up insurance costs.
M
Zircon said:
1/ Stop trying to make sportscars look modern-retro. The original cars didn't strive to look like something from the 1920's!
2/ Power to weight ratio is critical.
3/ Make it affordable like the MX5 was, not like a Z4.
4/ Just copy every strategy from the GT-86!
MG will have to produce something monumentally different / good to tempt people to throw their austerity plagued savings at a manufacturer which is effectively brand new, untested and ultimately being offered by a company with a reputation for making nasty cheap cars that only the Chinese would tolerate.
That said, I hope they succeed for the benefit of engineering design in this country.
Well, up until the late 'fifties, MGs actually did look like that! Maybe they invented retro decades ahead of their time.2/ Power to weight ratio is critical.
3/ Make it affordable like the MX5 was, not like a Z4.
4/ Just copy every strategy from the GT-86!
MG will have to produce something monumentally different / good to tempt people to throw their austerity plagued savings at a manufacturer which is effectively brand new, untested and ultimately being offered by a company with a reputation for making nasty cheap cars that only the Chinese would tolerate.
That said, I hope they succeed for the benefit of engineering design in this country.
The rest is right, I agree.
Given the dreadful pig's abortion MSG has made of re-launching in the UK, I am extremely dubious about all of this. Design by committee already?
john2443 said:
Restyled TF (the original one not the MGF).
That style seems to work well for Morgan
IIRC MG were offered a restyled TD, but declined to get involved.That style seems to work well for Morgan
Work on the street is that MG have more or less given up trying to grow the UK and are now eyeing the rest of Europe to establish a network.
The key thing is FUN...everyone understands this....take the old Peugot 205...not a sports car as such, but just good fun....and practical, which is very important for most.
I guess the reason traditional sports cars are no longer such a bit hit other than current economic woes is that many saloon/hatch backs have closed the performance gap so the advantages of a traditional sports car have been eroded to a large degree, unless you compare to a specialist car like a Lotus or a Porche etc.
I guess the reason traditional sports cars are no longer such a bit hit other than current economic woes is that many saloon/hatch backs have closed the performance gap so the advantages of a traditional sports car have been eroded to a large degree, unless you compare to a specialist car like a Lotus or a Porche etc.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff