The MG XPower SV is a sports car that was produced by British automobile manufacturer MG Rover. Manufactured in Modena, Italy and finished at Longbridge, United Kingdom, it was based on the platform of the Qvale Mangusta, formerly the De Tomaso Biguá, itself using parts from the Ford Mustang.
History
After acquiring Italian automobile manufacturer Qvale, MG Rover allocated the project code X80, and set up the subsidiary company, MG X80 Ltd., to produce a new model based on the Qvale Mangusta. One attraction was the potential sales in the United States, as the Mangusta had already been homologated, for the market in the United States.
The MG X80 was originally unveiled as the concept car, in June 2001. However, the styling was considered too sedate. Several of the cars’ exterior and interior parts, were sourced from current and past models of Fiat.
The headlights, for example, were taken from the second generation Punto, and the rear lights from the Fiat Coupé. Exterior door handles from a MG TF, Mirrors, Window switches and interior door handles from the Rover 75. In total, the production process required each vehicle to visit six different companies. According to the data at the MG XPower SV Club, approximately 82 cars were produced, excluding the four 'XP' pre production prototypes.
This included the few pre production and show cars, which were later dismantled before production was stopped, due to lack of sales. Most were sold to private owners, with the final ones being sold to customers, at the beginning of 2008.
Most were sold in Europe and Asia, with only one model sold in America, the supercharged model, the XP.
The decision to develop a niche sports car, rather than work on replacements for its core family cars, has been described as symptomatic of the strategic mistakes, that ultimately led to MG Rover's untimely demise. By the time the company entered administration in April 2005, only nine XPower SVs had been sold.
Variants
alt=|thumb|Rear view
left|thumb|MG XPower SV-R
The base MG XPower SV is powered by a 4.6 L Ford Modular V8 which is rated at at 6,000 rpm and of torque at 4,750 rpm. The SV's advanced carbon fibre body helped it achieve a top speed of and a 0 to time of 5.3 seconds.
The top speed was estimated to be around , and its 0 to time to be close to 4.9 seconds. bought XPower SV related assets from the administrators of MG Rover, PricewaterhouseCoopers. Riley formed MG Sports and Racing Europe Ltd to continue production of the model. MG Sports and Racing Europe, based in Eardiston, near Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire, announced the relaunch of the XPower SV in April 2008, under the name MG XPower WR.
Priced at between £75,000 and £90,000, the new model had the supercharged engine rated at , and seven cars were said to have already been sold. Riley's use of the "MG" trademark resulted in a legal dispute with Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation, which had also acquired assets of the defunct MG Rover Group.
It was reported in the press in December 2009, that no new cars had been manufactured by MG Sports and Racing Europe since its founding, and that employment tribunal proceedings had been initiated by two employees, for non payment of wages. Riley was also arrested by police in December 2009, on suspicion of theft of an XPower WR car, previously sold to one Canadian businessman, who had been working on behalf of the company.