It’s sad to think of so many old cars having to be considered as ‘survivors’ these days. Not so long ago (or so it seems, at least), cars that weren’t hugely old nor hugely prestigious were commonplace on our roads, offering up some variety. But attitudes to car consumption have changed, with newer models dominating and folk less inclined to get things fixed when replacing is easier than ever. And with repair costs now being what they are.
Cars may have been simpler to fix once upon a time, but they were also prone to going wrong more often. One of the great miracles of modern motoring is actually how often cars do work, when they’re comprised of so many bits. And this all relates to this glorious Montego because everything about its history suggests that, really, none should be left at all. Yet here we have one of the very last ones made, complete with just 2,100 miles and one owner from new. Yes, seriously.
As far back as 2006, Auto Express reckoned that the Montego was the eighth-most scrapped car of the last 30 years - just 8,988 of the 436,000 produced were still going even then. They rusted, early ones couldn’t run on unleaded fuel, they must have been banger raced, they weren’t worth much and so on. Then just think what the past two decades have been like for sending cars off to the scrapper, whether Government-incentivised or not. There was no real reason to keep a Montego, really, and now there are less than a hundred.
This one isn’t in time warp condition so much as time capsule condition. It’s an utterly wonderful throwback to British Leyland and Rover Group, with trims and fonts and fabrics that will be so familiar to so many, all perfectly preserved. It’s all still a bit naff, sure, but it’s retro naff, and that’s fun. The advert states that this one has been with an enthusiast since 1993, a person so dedicated to Montegos that this one is saved for best and the miles are put on another one. Talk about commitment to the cause.
Despite minimal use, maintenance is said to have been regular; it’s been sparingly driven, but driven nonetheless, rather than being parked up for 30 years. Presumably, given the effort that’s been invested in getting it this far, the Montego should be on the button and ready to rock. Certainly the engine bay, like the rest of it, is pristine, almost with enough space for another 2.0 EFi to squeeze in.
What a Montego LXi in unrepeatable conditions might now be worth isn’t clear - the ad is POA. When we last wrote about one of these, it was an earlier 1.6 L estate with a little over 30,000 miles; that was for sale at £8,000, so you’d have to assume more for this one. It’s hardly like numbers will have increased in the past couple of years, and the enthusiasm from Montego fans won't have faded one bit. Without doubt it’s going to be fawned over wherever it ends up; because there are classic car survivors, you see, and then there’s the Montego.
1 / 11
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)