Tag Archives: MG SV

MG SV on Top Gear

I still don’t understand why in a country where unless you live in a major city, you need a car to get around in, there aren’t any mainstream motoring programmes. That seems kinda stupid to me, especially as every 4th TV advert is for a car!

Anyway, thanks to the wonders of the ‘net, here are a couple of video’s from the BBC’s Top Gear which feature the MG SV. OK, so Clarkson gives the interior a bit of a slating, and goes on about the 3rd gear, but at least the car was sensible and took it to heart and gave him a nice bang on the head! I want one of these! (An SV, not a bang on the head!)

MG SV Top Gear Review – Hi QualityDial-Up Quality

Stig drives the SV – Hi QualityDail-Up Quality

I’ll take the 1000 BHP Nitrous version please! 🙂

MG XPOWER SV High Performance Sports Car On Sale Now

MG Sport & Racing has announced the sales launch of the MG XPower SV, a car which catapults the Company into competition with the best of the world’s performance vehicle manufacturers.

The entry level model is powered by a 320 hp 4.6 litre all aluminium quad cam V8 engine which propels the MG XPower SV to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds and on to a top speed of circa 165 mph. Automatic and higher powered SV-R versions will be available next year. Customers can also specify the engine from the 225 mph MG ZT-T Bonneville rated at 765 hp (and beyond if required) which will give top speeds of well over 200 mph and suitably electrifying acceleration.The first class performance of the SV is complemented by its distinctive interior. In keeping with the vehicle’s sporting heritage both front seats are specified with full inertia four belt harnesses, which are lockable for serious driving by the flick of a switch. Each cabin is trimmed with the customer’s choice of six leather finishes. Competition seats and fascias are available in a combination of leather and Alcantara allowing each vehicle to be uniquely personalised.

Designed by a team led by Peter Stevens, whose previous designs have included the McLaren F1, the MG XPower SV benefits from state of the art technology. Central to the car’s DNA is a finely tuned chassis designed along race car principles bonded to a lightweight carbon fibre body with an integral rollover cage.

The chassis and carbon body are both constructed in the heartland of the Italian supercar industry. Final vehicle assembly takes place at MG Sport & Racing’s newly established HQ at Longbridge, Birmingham by a dedicated team of skilled craftsmen.

Director of MG Sport & Racing Kim Johnson said: “The MG XPower SV, which combines high reserves of power and motor racing safety features, is a true race car which has been built for the road. It can either lead on the track or cruise along the King’s Road. It is the ultimate MG.”

Former F1 driver Mark Blundell said: “The MG XPower SV is aggressive and raw, and at the same time stylish and refined. I have driven many of the world’s top sports cars and this car is in the same league. From the unique sound of the exhaust to the precision steering the MG XPower SV has all the qualities I look for in a sports car.”

The MG XPower SV line up starts from GBP75,000 and will be available through a network of specialist XPower dealerships, or directly from the MG Sport & Racing factory.

Further information about the MG XPower SV sports car, including sales enquiries, is available from MG Sport and Racing, Tel: 08457 661155

Photographs of the SV can be found in the MG Photo Gallery

MG SV Spotted on a UK test track

The Pistonheads website has a great scoop on the MG SV. A yellow version of the car was spotted being tested on Mallory Park race track on Tuesday. It’s probably very close to the final production version – MG are due to make the model fully available in the coming weeks.

Click here for the photos and story.

Brand new MG XPower SV Launched

MG revealed on Tuesday (22nd October) its new high performance sports car named the MG XPower SV. Following development of the original X80 concept, the MG has been radically evolved, is lighter and has increased levels of power with up to 965bhp. So extreme is the performance that all models will be marketed under the MG Sport & Racing XPower brand.

The exterior styling of the two-seater MG sports car owes much to the demands of airflow management required for competition cars. These elements give the car an aggressive and overtly sporting stance implying its potential for high performance. Targeted at the premier driving enthusiast, the new MG XPower SV will become the icon of the MG brand with opportunity for both road and track exploitation.Peter Stevens, MG Rover Group’s world renowned product design director, previously with McLaren, Lamborghini and Lotus, has been appointed managing director of a new company specially formed to produce the MG XPower SV.

As part of the project’s weight reduction objectives, all body panels are made from lightweight carbon fibre. The flat underfloor and inbuilt front and rear diffusers manage the aerodynamic airflow for high-speed stability. Suspension geometry has been designed in collaboration with Steve Randle, responsible for the dynamic set-up of the McLaren F1 road car.

Rollover protection is provided by a tubular structure designed to comply with current FIA competition specifications. A rigorous development programme including high-speed stability tests at the Nardo circuit in Southern Italy saw the MG XPower SV regularly exceed 200mph (320km/h).

The MG XPower SV is a part of a unique range of products, which will ultimately be available with some of the most extreme levels of road performance ever offered.

MG XPower SV

The MG XPower SV range starts with a car powered by a 326bhp 4.6-litre quad-cam V8 engine. Weight is forecast at 1450kgs, which will provide approximate performance figures of 0-62mph (0-100km/h) in 5.0 seconds and a top speed of around 170mph (273km/h). More specification details will be released during the spring of 2003.

MG XPower SV Club Sport spec

Nearly 70 years ago, MG produced the K3 Magnette – an ultra high-performance supercharged road and track racer. K3 was commissioned and produced for the enthusiastic owner who wanted to drive to a race, compete, win and drive home again.

In keeping with this tradition, the XPower SV Club Sport proposition will allow customers to either buy a complete XPower model ready for road and track or to enhance the specification of their car with competition derived parts.

The XPower SV Club Sport features a more powerful 5.0-litre V8 with 410bhp, a 0-62mph (100km/h) of c4.4 seconds and a top speed limited to 195mph (314km/h).

The car on show at the British International Motor Show is the MG XPower SV Club Sport spec, in this case powered by a special 465bhp Sean Hyland tuned 5.0-litre quad-cam V8 engine. A top speed in excess of 200mph (320km/h) and a 0-60mph (0-100km/h) time of c4.2 seconds is possible. Engines with much higher stages of tune, even with factory approved nitrous oxide injection kits, will be available to produce extreme power outputs.

Typical of the way in which a prospective customer might specify their XPower SV, this car is fitted with Sparco carbon shell racing seats, a cabin-installed spare wheel, custom helmet storage cubbies, four point electrically-locked harnesses and Motec racing instrumentation. Some of the specification of this car will be carried over to the production specification of MG XPower SVs.

MG XPower SV UK prices will start at GBP65,000.

Commenting on the project, Peter Stevens said: “I’ve been working with a small team of experts and enthusiasts to ensure we produce an MG car that will deliver the ultimate in driving exhilaration. The MG XPower SV is a car with appeal to passionate sports car drivers who will relish its extraordinary racetrack performance characteristics.

“MG is all about having fun, extending the boundaries of excitement and generating visual entertainment for a wider audience. The MG XPower SV delivers this objective in a forceful manner, demonstrating the immense potential for MG.”

Photo’s of the new SV can be found below.

Issued by MG Rover Group Communications: +44 (0)121 482 5935 / fax: +44 (0)121 482 6165