MG ZT-T V8: Catch it while you can

So Jaguar has made a super estate but, back in 2004, it could have been - don't laugh - MG Rover

It's good to see Jaguar in fighting form, showing the supercharged XFR-S Sportbrake at Geneva. With 550hp, a 0-62mph time of 4.8 seconds, and a maximum of 186mph, it's the fastest British production estate car. And despite not having driven it yet, I'm sure I'm going to love it. But the concept - if not the execution - takes me back almost a decade, to something rather similar built by MG Rover

385 prototype looked standard...

It was January 2006, when I received a call from Mark Baxter, head of sales at SMC Rover. He'd bought a rather special ZT-T from Longbridge, and wondered if I fancied having a look. Even before the words, 'supercharged' and 'one off', had ceased ringing in my ears, I was rushing down he M1 for a closer look. The car's back story was interesting - it was a pre-production ZT-T 385, fitted with a Roush-supercharged 4.6-litre Mustang V8, giving close to 400hp. And had things panned out differently for MG Rover, it would have gone on sale for around £40,000 late in 2005.

Of course, it had been owned by one of the Phoenix 4 - weren't they all? - and had very few miles on the clock. Given how much I liked the original ZT 260 V8, and how I was on first name terms with some of the good chaps who performed miracles with zero budgets and resources to develop the thing, I knew even before the off, car and I would get on. Why? Because aside from a few rough edges, all I could really criticise the 260 for was a certain lack of urgency - 260hp and 1,770kg meant it was brisk at best, not rabid.

... under the bonnet gave it away

And the ZT-T 385 V8? I loved the car's utterly standard appearance. Other than the twin exhausts that set-apart all V8s, this Trophy Blue example looked - to all intents and purposes - identical to your common-or-garden 1.8-litre ZT-T 120. A quick peek under the bonnet revealed the truth - that Supercharger the size of Hampshire stamped with boldly with ROUSH - but other than that, here lay one of the most effective Q-cars ever built.

It didn't take long for the additional muscle to make its presence felt, a quick drive convincing me it really was capable of scalping some pretty tasty machinery. Considering I remember being dusted by a well-driven bread van Honda Civic Type R in a ZT 260 V8 on my favourite piece of local back road - the B660 - this was very, very good news indeed.

What might have been!

I remember flooring it for the first time - the unmistakable whine of the supercharger; the V8 melody; the intoxicating, addictive soundtrack. Whereas the standard car surged but lost heart as the rev counter headed for 5,000rpm, the 385 revelled in being thrashed to the red line, hurling itself forward furiously, with no let-up at all.

One of the engineers, who calibrated this car for production, figured the car, and came up with the following numbers - 0-60mph in 4.8 seconds, and 100 in 12.8 seconds. Top speed might have been limited to 155, but bypass that (as you surely would) and it would top out at a cool 178mph.

Although it would have been expensive and a risky proposition to buy, I can see a few foolhardy enthusiasts taking the plunge for the soundtrack alone. Even at the 11th hour in its development programme, weeks before it was due for launch, there were still ongoing discussions about the styling of the production version. Some within the company wanted it to wear a wild bodykit; others came up with a powerful argument to keep it looking standard. In my opinion, the latter was the preferable option.

Spot the V8 badge

Okay, so I fell for the charms of this supercharged one-off pre-production car. And, truth be told, if I were to take the plunge, I'd want this car - or at least a very good replica. The good news is that a number of aftermarket supercharger conversions have been completed for the wonderful Mustang V8, with Dreadnought Engineering producing a very driveable 400hp ZT. Check out the Two Sixties Club to see if anyone's selling a ready-made supercharged ZT - they do occasionally come up.

The standard ZT 260 V8 is a rare beast, though, with 90 estates and 316 saloons left in the UK, although numbers should at least be stable now classic status is guaranteed. Tourers and saloons range between £6000-10,000, but if you're looking to supercharge it, as any rational petrolhead would, and you'll want a good one, near the top of the price scale. That done, enjoy a scintillating and uniquely gifted piece of British car history...

(As a post script, MG took a tuned ZT-T to Bonneville and recorded 225.609mph - making it the world's fastest estate car. Here's the video).