RE: MG ZT V8 | The Brave Pill

[Bweber]

I saw one just the other day, newly merged into the crash barrier of a damp country road. Maybe that’s where the bravery comes in.

[FlukePlay]

MG/Rover as a car manufacturer and brand does absolutely nothing for me and has always been a source of ridicule for my motoring friends.

Any model was laughed at and when the much anticipated MG RV8 came out, pushing a whopping 187bhp from its 4 litre V8, well you just have to laugh. 26 grand new to boot. 4 years later Porsche launched the Boxster.

As for this Brave Pill, it's hardly brave, there are far better options at that price point or if you are looking for that type of motoring experience.

[Leins]

While not a V8 or RWD, I’d have thought a Passat W8 could be picked up more cheaply

Did these ever come as an estate? Wonder if they’d handle a supercharger out of the box?

[martin12345]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

BMW E39
Merc E Class
Jaguar S Stype or XJ8
Lexus GS or LS

As to whether it is a stupid car
a) Commercially we agree
b) It wasted resources that could have been used on something more sensible that might have made money and kept the company alive
c) Some of the systems of the car were massively compromised to fit the engine/gearbox in
d) It will have had "kit car" levels of validation as with only ever 1000 planned they won't have been able to afford to test and validate it properly

If people want to buy one then no skin off my nose and if they enjoy it even better
But it was a stupid car for the company to make when the Management should have been focused on profitable high volume cars to enable Rover to be profitable and stay in business. Thousands of people lost their jobs due to the incompetence of the management and in part their "vanity" projects which they could not afford to spend time or money on

[StuntmanMike]

I love this, just take my money.

I don’t remotely care that there are better choices out there, I need one of these in my life.

Gonna try to pick one up next year.

[sideways man]

My dad had a 75, it was the most refined car I’d driven at 100 leptons at that point. So yes, I’d have this but would also need a company fuel card, as they won’t break 20 mpg by much.

[StuntmanMike]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Mine. E60 550i. Now that’s a real brave pill.

I also dont agree it’s a stupid car, why would you call a NA V8 that looks that good that, for such little money?

I would have this MG over my 550 though.

[The Brummie]

StuntmanMike said:

I love this, just take my money.

I don’t remotely care that there are better choices out there, I need one of these in my life.

Gonna try to pick one up next year.

Autotrader have a similar specced 67k miles car for the same price. I must say that £8k seems like a bargain.

And I know that many will say that it’s just a re-badged Rover 75 but it’s a got a stonking V8 up front so how can anyone not like that?

If I had a spare £8k (which I don’t) & was looking to get rid of my horrible diesel Laguna (which I want too) I think I might be tempted.

[BigChiefmuffinAgain]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Totally agree and it is what makes this a proper Brave Pill. This project was misguided and under developed. I can understand the left field q appeal of the car but you had to be pretty brave to buy it new ( and clearly few were ) so even more brave to buy now...

[eldar]

The Brummie said:

Autotrader have a similar specced 67k miles car for the same price. I must say that £8k seems like a bargain.

And I know that many will say that it’s just a re-badged Rover 75 but it’s a got a stonking V8 up front so how can anyone not like that?

If I had a spare £8k (which I don’t) & was looking to get rid of my horrible diesel Laguna (which I want too) I think I might be tempted.

I'd quibble about the 'stonking V8' bit. It was a rather ordinary and underpowered V8 in an otherwise half decent car.

If it floats your boat, that is fine, it certainly isn't insanity. It would make more sense at less money.

[The Brummie]

eldar said:

The Brummie said:

Autotrader have a similar specced 67k miles car for the same price. I must say that £8k seems like a bargain.

And I know that many will say that it’s just a re-badged Rover 75 but it’s a got a stonking V8 up front so how can anyone not like that?

If I had a spare £8k (which I don’t) & was looking to get rid of my horrible diesel Laguna (which I want too) I think I might be tempted.

I'd quibble about the 'stonking V8' bit. It was a rather ordinary and underpowered V8 in an otherwise half decent car.

If it floats your boat, that is fine, it certainly isn't insanity. It would make more sense at less money.

Maybe stonking was the wrong word but you get my drift - it’s a V8. Which I love. And I know that the 75 wasn’t a great car however it’s not as bad as some people say.

[donkmeister]

Wow, a lot of negativity from people who haven't made any mention of driving or even being a passenger in one...

To answer some of the questions;
Yes there was an estate
It was possible to swap the engine for the 32 valve version (although the expense means I am aware of only one such swap)... Which does make you wonder why they didn't fit it in the first place...
Yes it was a lovely car to cruise around in
Yes the fuel economy was horrendous even when compared with contemporary V8 saloons!!!

My dad was an MG fan of old and had the ZT-T 260 demonstrator from Trident of Ottershaw for a bit. It was the principal's own car and had X-power exhaust and red paint. Beautiful.
At the time my dad did something like 25 or 30k miles per year, and had done these miles in a string of V6 Fords. The 260 was intended to replace his ST220, which although not renowned for its fuel economy seemed positively frugal by comparison. I seem to recall he got 15mpg from the 260 which was a mix of motorway and suburban use.

He was about to make a very environmentally unsound choice, that very week MGR went belly up and he wasn't keen on running one without a warranty. So he replaced the ST220 with another Ford, an ST225. I drove the latter a fair bit and for a small engine the 5 cylinder is surprisingly torquey and rather frugal, but it's not a V8.

[Barchettaman]

Why didn’t MG/Rover just turbocharge the 2.5 V6?

Nothing against this V8 but it did seem a little odd to re-engineer the whole drivetrain for a very small market.

[njw1]

I love these, someone local has one in that green/blue/purple flip paint and it looks and sounds epic. I was thinking of buying one a few years ago when they were cheaper, the choice was one of these or an e39 M5 and being a serial e39 fan I went with the M5, the 400bhp of the M5 vs the 260bhp of the MG may have also swayed things a bit! I'd still quite like to try one but I think that ship has now sailed.

[Iamnotkloot]

njw1 said:

I love these, someone local has one in that green/blue/purple flip paint and it looks and sounds epic. I was thinking of buying one a few years ago when they were cheaper, the choice was one of these or an e39 M5 and being a serial e39 fan I went with the M5, the 400bhp of the M5 vs the 260bhp of the MG may have also swayed things a bit! I'd still quite like to try one but I think that ship has now sailed.

I too love the E39 M5 but I don’t think they’re really comparable. You’d buy the MG as a curio, to stand apart from the crowd, and that’s a fine way to think. I don’t think you’d buy one thinking you were getting a British super-saloon.
Nice looking thing though.

[d_a_n1979]

Barchettaman said:

Why didn’t MG/Rover just turbocharge the 2.5 V6?

Nothing against this V8 but it did seem a little odd to re-engineer the whole drivetrain for a very small market.

Because the V6 190s are made of plastic and like to run hot. They also love to kill the VIS motors for the fun of it...

It wouldn’t have worked IMO without a lot of working to make that engine better.

Really, the V6 was another underpowered motor and could have been much better

They do sound really good though, more so with a decent intake kit and exhaust too...

[d_a_n1979]

njw1 said:

I love these, someone local has one in that green/blue/purple flip paint and it looks and sounds epic. I was thinking of buying one a few years ago when they were cheaper, the choice was one of these or an e39 M5 and being a serial e39 fan I went with the M5, the 400bhp of the M5 vs the 260bhp of the MG may have also swayed things a bit! I'd still quite like to try one but I think that ship has now sailed.

Same thoughts...

At some of the prices that the ZT 260s have gone for in the past, I’d never have paid that for one when I could have picked up an E39 M5 instead which all in, is a much better car

But everyone has their opinion and folks may go for the 260 as they’re thin on the ground and far & few between on the roads etc...

I’d deffo own both; having been out in both, they’re superb cars. Very different handling characteristics but both eat up the roads very well indeed.

If I had to chose one and had the budget, it’d always be the E39 M5. Because, to me, it’s a far superior car

[skyrover]

Barchettaman said:

Why didn’t MG/Rover just turbocharge the 2.5 V6?

Nothing against this V8 but it did seem a little odd to re-engineer the whole drivetrain for a very small market.

If they had dropped in an LS series engine I expect it would have been an easier fit and made much more sense as far as aftermarket support/tuning potential.

[anonymous-user]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

[stevemiller]

Brave pill not really I have owned my car over thirteen years.

Was it a bad commercial decision, bad and mad for MG Rover. Has it made my life more enjoyable absolutely. In the 13 years I have had to fit the fuel tank clip, replace an engine blown with water finding its way in! The total cost of sourcing the engine, fitment, wheels painted in Shadow Black and front and rear bumpers re-sprayed £3000. This was the second biggest expense the largest being the fitting of the S/C at the already mentioned Dreadnought Garage, but this was a choice I had decided on when I bought the car. I have had the diff leak sorted about 6 months ago. I am having the front springs replaced this weekend. Oh the air bag light did get fixed with a few wiggles but is back on again. I will fit a new set of under seat connectors before its next MOT.

Generally I see 23 mpg not too bad and being a member of the two sixties no problem with parts I even have the ECU just sourced by the club. No sleepless nights and my son wants the car when I give up driving, his is the AMV8 in some of the pictures found on the first link.

Some links

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17...


https://youtu.be/L2YXplOk20Q


So not a brave pill and easy to swallow if you need to scratch the V8 thing.

Edited by stevemiller on Saturday 26th September 13:56