MG R V8

The MGR V8 was MG's last attempt a making a classic roadster - one not too dissimilar to the MGB but with more curvaceous lines, leather and wood interior and the famous V8 driving a 5-speed box. This endowed it with impressive acceleration and top speed - and surprisingly good economy - 0-60 in <5.9s and 135mph max. All this came with a high price tag, too - around £23,000! (a high price ten years ago)

Unfortunately MG was late into a waning classic market and between 1993 and 1995 they produced just over 1900 cars, of which more than 75% were exported to Japan. Air conditioning was fitted to all of these exported cars. There were various engineering changing during production but the most significant being a gearbox upgrade from chassis number 644. At this point the original 5-speed box (TL77) was replaced with a much more precise and robust version named the R380. Cars without this box, are much less desirable.

I bought my MGR V8 for summer fun in 2003. It was imported from Japan and registered in the UK in 1996. The chassis number was 1864. It had been well looked after by its three previous owners and had little to fault it, except for some crazing of the wooden dash board and door cappings. It had an audited mileage of 36,000 and the original kM speedometer neatly boxed, showing the mileage at the time of import to the UK.

I fitted new tyres, shocks, battery and clutch master cylinder and then drove it for the summer, adding around 3,000 miles.

I found the driving position, and layout of all the controls, just ideal. Everything was where I expected it to be and all worked perfectly. The engine would start immediately from cold and reach its operating temperature within minutes. The V8 engine was the stock Rover 3.9 litre giving 190ps and 318Nm. It was incredibly smooth and produced a variety of truly hypnotic exhaust notes, depending on the driving conditions. Performance was very impressive and although I did not attempt to verify the MG's figures, I felt there was no doubting their accuracy. On more than one occasion the RV8 displayed a clean pair of heals to various 'hot hatches' The car's ability for speed was also matched by its braking power. Massive front discs and four-pot calipers ensured very rapid, and controlled, braking.

For me, the pulling power and flexibility of the engine was the most appealing. It was able to drive the car in top gear at idle!, and then power away (foot hard down) without a hint of stress. This was the closest I've come to driving a manual car with the flexibility of an auto. The unassisted steering was only a problem when parking: at all other speeds it was firm, highly stable and without a trace of vibration. The leather wheel was a delight. The instruments were classic VDO units and all operated as intended. Surprisingly, there was not an oil pressure or oil temperature gauge.

My girl friend and I drove all over the UK, making the most of last summer's weather. In a variety of conditions it never failed to return less than 28mpg, which I thought was staggering for this size of engine. Clearly the power-to-weight does make considerable difference, since the same engine, in a friend's Range Rover, struggles to return 18mpg in the best of conditions!

So I relived some of my youth last summer and my girl friend has larger biceps, thanks to the parking exercises! Two points about the RV8 disappointed. The first was its handling. I never felt truly at ease over undulating surfaces or cornering at reasonable speed, and I did not feel as much part of the car as I had expected. Secondly, the engine would not idle reliably when restarted from hot. After some dialogue with other owners, I found a way around the problem. By restarting the engine without turning off the ignition - just returning the key to the position prior to 'starter engage'. Apparently, the engine management would become confused unless this procedure was followed.

The MGRV8 was certainly a leap in quality and performance from the old MGB but at £23,000 one would expect this to be the case. However, the lack of power steering and ABS braking was, in my opinion, unforgivable in a car of this price.

A superb website well worth a visit is: www.mgrv8.com (written and managed by Jim Dolbel). I also found MG specialists Browns & Gammons (Baldock) most helpful with spares and advice.

If you want an MGR V8 then be prepared to pay around £14,000 for condition 2. - good luck.

Ray H Ganderton