>"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...
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