[list.british-cars] Tidbits

mjb%hoosier@cs.utah.edu (Mark Bradakis) (02/08/90)

I'll not bore all of you with the details of the $50,000 MGA Twin Cam in
the recent Autoweek, or the juxtaposition of two ads in "The Apex", RMVR's
monthly. (Hi Kirk!)  Suffice it to say the one end was a, shall we say nice,
GT6 for $8500, the other was a TR4A, you haul away for $25.  What I will
include is an item from the March 1990 Car and Driver, the "FYI" section:

"Return of the MG?  Rover may build this alluring MG roadster [color rendering
of aero-egg convertible] to be sold as a competitor to Mazda's MX-5 Miata.
The MG will ride atop the front-drive Honda Concerto platform and will be
powered by the 114 hp, 1.6 liter Honda built engine currently used in the
Rover 200.  Rover;s Graham Morris has intimated that the Triumph and Austin
names may be similarly resurrected as part of a five year plan to become a
niche marketer in the United States."

Now, if only Rover would so something like make the alloy 3.5 liter V8 
available in a rear drive open roadster - what?  The TR8?  Oh, never mind.

mjb.

sfisher@abingdon.wpd.sgi.com (Scott Fisher) (02/08/90)

>"Return of the MG?  Rover may build this alluring MG roadster [color rendering
>of aero-egg convertible] to be sold as a competitor to Mazda's MX-5 Miata.
>The MG will ride atop the front-drive Honda Concerto platform and will be
>powered by the 114 hp, 1.6 liter Honda built engine currently used in the
>Rover 200.  

I'll believe it when I see it (but hey, what an ES car that'd make!)
They've been threatening such a car, based on the CRX/Civic platform,
for five years at least.  There have been several "styling studies,"
and at least one chop-shop (Straman's in Newport Beach, for those 
who follow the nooze) has made a business making CRX convertibles.

here at SGI has one (a silver one, I've seen it in the lot a couple
of times) and it looks pretty good.,

And of course, I must point out that Abingdon built a one-off FWD
two-seater convertible as a potential Midget replacement, back about
1964 or so.  It was pretty cute!  I think it was based on the 
larger FWD chassis (that is, the 1100/1300, not the Mini) and it
looked pretty decent.  Unfortunately, Sir Alec Issigonis hated the
idea -- he thought two-seat cars were an abominable waste of resources
(remember how his original design was intended to maximize space
use) and the project got killed.

>Rover;s Graham Morris has intimated that the Triumph and Austin
>names may be similarly resurrected as part of a five year plan to become a
>niche marketer in the United States."

Yeah, yeah.  (Which, as the joke goes, proves that a double positive
can be a negative...:-)  

>Now, if only Rover would so something like make the alloy 3.5 liter V8 
>available in a rear drive open roadster - what?  The TR8?  Oh, never mind.

I'd settle for the four-cam V6 derived from this powerplant, just
like the one used in either the MG 6R4 or the EX-E showcar.  Yeah,
that ought to move an MGB right smartly...