X Marks The Mg Spot
Newcastle Herald
Saturday November 2, 2002
IF science uses `x' to define the unknown then what are we to make of MG's newest high performance sports coupe, the Power SV?
Those who have been following the rebirth of the famous British sports car company will remember the X80 concept car, an evolution of the Qvale Mangusta inherited by MG Rover when it bought Italian company Qvale.
Now X80 has evolved into the XPower SV, a production-ready car scheduled for an April 2003 onsale date in Britain with a range of Ford-sourced V8 engines offering power outputs anywhere between wild and outrageous.
The `entry level' (dare it be called that?) car, for example, sports a front-mounted 4.6 litre, quad-camshaft V8 with 240kW on tap, enough to propel the 1450kg coupe from rest to 100kmh in about five seconds and on to a 270kmh-plus top speed.
Not satisfied?
Try the Club Sport with its 5.0 litre, quadcam V8, 300kW, 4.4 second 0-100kmh time and electronically-limited 315kmh top speed.
Still not enough? Then how about the Sean Hyland-tuned model with 345kW on tap and capable of reaching 100kmh in 4.2 seconds and warp speed (or more than 320kmh, whichever comes first).
The space race might not stop there, according to MG Rover, which suggests much higher stages of tune could be available to those with deeper wallets and heavier right feet. They'll possibly be looking at a 750kW, nitrous oxide injection-fitted engine.
Nor is the company making any bones about the sort of things it wants its customers to do with their vehicles.
To keep weight to a minimum it has specified carbon-fibre construction for all the exterior body panels.
It is just as serious about aerodynamics which have, according to a company spokesman, largely dictated the car's extremely aggressive styling.
The car also has a flat underbody and front and rear air diffusers are designed for high speed stability.
Even suspension design has been given plenty of importance with MG Rover calling in Steve Randle, the man responsible for the suspension on McLaren's F1 road car, to design the XPower's suspension geometry.
Commenting on the car MG Rover product design director, Peter Stevens, describes it as `a car with appeal (for) passionate sports car drivers who will relish its extraordinary racetrack performance characteristics.'
When the XPower hits Britain's roads in April next year it will do so with a starting price around $140,000.
Will it come to Australia?
MG Rover Group Australia says it will be evaluated for a possible limited release here, possibly in 2004. Speculation suggests that, if it does find its way here the XPower SV will have a starting price somewhere around $200,000.
* JAPANESE car maker Nissan, teetering on the brink of bankruptcy just a few years ago, is well and truly back in the black, announcing it expects to report an 84 per cent increase in operating profits to A$5.2billion for the first half of the 2002 financial year.
The announcement pre-empts a full year operating profit which has been revised upwards to A$10.9 billion from around A$7.5 billion.
The profit increases come on the back of strong 2002 sales.
Globally, Nissan sold 1,386,000 units in the first half of the year.
That represented an increase of 7.5 per cent from the same period last year.
* MAZDA has started trotting out its 2003-spec MX-5 sports car, claiming the evergreen droptop is now cheaper and cleaner.
The company has dropped $3875 from the price of the car, bringing it to dealerships with a starting price of $40,480.
As well, the car now meets the tough Euro III clean air standards which come into effect in Australia in January 2005. The bad news is the new MX-5 loses 6kW and 13Nm on the deal with 107kW and 168Nm compared to the outgoing car's 113kW and 181Nm.
© 2002 Newcastle Herald
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