Suppose MG had continued to exist…
In our magazine there is a section De Voorganger. When we test a new car, we look for a distant ancestor. With the MG 4 Electric, a little daydreaming led us to a predecessor from the 1980s: the MG Maestro! Of course it is debatable to see a British MG from the 1980s as the predecessor of a Chinese MG built in 2023: the mutual relationship is hard to find. On the other hand: Now suppose that MG had continued to exist …
The name MG is one that you have to handle with care, if only because of the now hundred-year history of this brand. It was killed in 1980 by British Leyland, because the group preferred Triumph as a sports car brand. The last remaining model was the MGB, which has remained in the collective car memory as a two-seater roadster. So you could easily forget that MG was traditionally also a brand that gave passenger cars a touch of sportiness.
MG fans were on their hind legs even then
Nevertheless, fans were on their hind legs when Austin decided in 1982 to hang the MG brand on the sportiest Metro. The rascal had to have it purely from his cool clothing; it wasn’t even made any faster. This applied to a slightly lesser extent to the MG version of the Austin Maestro launched in 1983. This mid-sized car, successor to the Allegro, had a slightly boosted 1,600 engine, but with 102 hp it was unable to make a fist against the Golf GTI and associates. With its twin Weber carburetor, the R engine (derived from the old Austin Maxi block) was prone to failure, as was the modified S variant.
MG Maestro, with 113 hp 2.0
When 2.0 came along it became really acceptable
It only became really acceptable when the two-liter from the Rover 2000 (SD1) came right in the front of the MG Maestro, with electronic injection in this case, which finally helped the car to competitive values ​​for power and torque. By way of farewell to the model range, another series of 500 spectacular Turbos was added, with 152 hp at the front wheels and a top speed of 208 km/h. These were not delivered in our country, unlike the series-produced MG Montego Turbo with the same technology. Nice, but it was an undeserved crown on his work; the Maestro never became the hoped-for success. In that respect, the MG ZR from the beginning of this century was better.
Suppose MG had continued to exist
Now let’s daydream: suppose MG had continued to exist as an independent brand, what kind of cars would it build now? All electric of course. An SUV, a station wagon and again a five-door mid-sized car. A little bigger than the Maestro, but with at least the power of the historic Turbo version. Well, where do you end up?
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl