View source for MG XPower SV

{{Short description|British sports car by MG Rover}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2007}}
{{Infobox automobile
| image        = 2005 MG XPower SV 5.0 Front.jpg
| name         = MG XPower SV
| manufacturer = [[MG Cars|MG]] ([[MG Rover]])
| production   = 2003–2005<br />82 produced
| assembly     = {{unbulleted list
| Italy: [[Modena]] ([[Qvale|Qvale Modena S.p.A]]: chassis)
| United Kingdom: [[Longbridge]], [[Birmingham]] ([[Longbridge plant]]: final assembly)
}}
| predecessor  = 
| class        = [[Sports car]] ([[S-segment|S]])
| body_style   = 2-door [[coupé]]
| layout       = [[Longitudinal engine|Longitudinally-mounted]], [[Front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout|Front-engine, rear-wheel drive]]
| engine       = {{unbulleted list
|4.6-litre ''[[Ford Modular engine|Ford Modular]]'' [[V8 engine|V8]]
|5.0-litre ''Ford Modular'' V8
}}
| transmission = {{ubl|5-speed ''[[TREMEC Corporation|Tremec]]'' [[Manual transmission|manual]]|4-speed Automatic}}
| wheelbase = {{convert|2658|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
| length    = {{convert|4480|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
| width     = {{convert|1900|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
| height    = {{convert|1320|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
| weight    = {{Convert|1540|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}
| related   = [[Qvale Mangusta]]
| designer  = [[Peter Stevens (car designer)|Peter Stevens]]
| sp        = uk
| caption   = 2005 MG XPower SV-R
}}

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 plant|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]].<ref name="aro">{{Cite web|url=http://austin-rover.co.uk/index.htm?x80devf.htm|title=Wonderful irelevance|last=Adams|first=Keith|access-date=2011-03-04|work=AROnline|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515170311/http://austin-rover.co.uk/index.htm?x80devf.htm|archive-date=15 May 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1396715.stm|title=MG Rover's drive for sporty image|newspaper=bbc.co.uk|date=19 June 2001|access-date=16 September 2020}}</ref> However, the styling was considered too sedate.<ref name="aro"/> When the production model, now renamed MG ''XPower SV'', was eventually launched the following year, [[Peter Stevens (car designer)|Peter Stevens]], previously the exterior designer of the [[McLaren F1]], had made the car's styling more aggressive.

The conversion from a clay model to a production car, including all requirements, was done in just three hundred days, by the Swedish company, Caran. The goal was to get a retail price of under £100,000. The car's base model eventually cost £65,000, with the uprated model XPower SV-R, costing £83,000.<ref name="aro"/>

The production process was complex, partly caused by the use of [[carbon fibre]], to make the body panels. The basic body parts were made in the United Kingdom by ''SP Systems'', and then shipped to Belco Avia, near [[Turin]], for assembly into body panels.

These were then assembled into a complete body shell, and fitted onto the box frame chassis and running gear, and shipped to the factory of MG Rover, in Longbridge, to be trimmed and finished.<ref name=safetyfast>{{Cite journal|last=Simpson|first=Jock|title=The MG Supercar|journal=Safety Fast|volume=51|pages=16–20|date=December 2007}}</ref> 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 [[Fiat Punto#MkII|second generation Punto]], and the rear lights from the [[Fiat Coupé]].<ref>Fact confirmed by mgsv-club.com</ref> 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.<ref name="autocar">{{Cite web|url=https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/anything-goes/mg-x-power-sv-driven|title=MG X-Power SV driven &#124; Autocar|website=www.autocar.co.uk}}</ref> According to the data at the MG XPower SV Club, approximately 82 cars were produced, excluding the four 'XP' pre production prototypes.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

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.<ref name=safetyfast/> Three vehicles, that had been produced, but not assembled, were acquired by classic car dealer ''Eclectic Cars Limited'' in March 2013, and later completed.<ref name="autocar" /> Another partially completed chassis is in storage with a private owner in the UK.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBePeBMklko |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/hBePeBMklko| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|time=3:31| title =Bad Obsession Motorsport - Life After Death's Horse|date=15 March 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Most were sold in Europe and Asia, with only one model sold in America, the [[supercharged]] model, the XP.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}

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.<ref name="rac">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/car-reviews/mg-motor-uk/mg-xpower-sv/mg-xpower-sv-2004-2005/|title = MG XPower SV (2004 - 2005) used car review &#124; Car review &#124; RAC Drive}}</ref> By the time the company entered administration in April 2005, only nine XPower SVs had been sold.<ref name="rac" /> [[Rowan Atkinson]] purchased an XPower SV in February 2005.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evolongtermtests/59513/mg_svr.html|title=MG SV-R|newspaper=www.evo.co.uk|date=30 August 2005|access-date=26 May 2020}}</ref>

== Variants ==
[[File:2005 MG XPower SV 5.0 Rear.jpg|alt=|thumb|Rear view]]
[[File:MG SV-R (4637284622).jpg|left|thumb|MG XPower SV-R]]
The base MG XPower SV is powered by a 4.6&nbsp;L [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] [[Ford Modular engine|Modular]] V8 which is rated at {{convert|320|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}} at 6,000&nbsp;rpm and {{Convert|410|Nm|lbft|0|abbr=on}} of torque at 4,750&nbsp;rpm.<ref>{{cite web|title=MG SV-R |publisher=Yahoo! |url=http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/06032006/45/mg-sv-r-0.html |access-date=2007-04-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061112203906/http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/06032006/45/mg-sv-r-0.html |archive-date=12 November 2006 }}</ref> The SV's advanced carbon fibre body helped it achieve a top speed of {{convert|165|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}} and a 0 to {{convert|60|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} time of 5.3 seconds.<ref name=safetyfast/>

''Club Sport'' options, for customers who wished to use their SV on the track, were planned but never produced.

The XPower SV-R, released the following year, features a [[Roush Performance|Roush]] tuned, "cammer" 5.0&nbsp;L 32 valve Modular V8. MG claimed the SV-R's engine was rated at {{convert|385|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}}, however some sources claim this figure is actually closer to {{convert|410|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>[https://www.aronline.co.uk/mg-xpower-sv/the-cars-mg-xpower-sv-development-history The cars : MG XPower SV development story] ''www.aronline.co.uk'', accessed 6 September 2019</ref>

The top speed was estimated to be around {{convert|175|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}, and its 0 to {{convert|60|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} time to be close to 4.9 seconds.<ref name=safetyfast/>

Unlike the base model SV, the SV-R was offered with a choice of either manual or automatic transmissions.

== Performance ==
Performance data, for the range of the MG XPower SV:
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%; text-align:center;"
!Model
![[Engine displacement|Displacement]]
![[Bore (engine)|Bore]] x [[Stroke (engine)|stroke]]
!Power
!Torque
!{{convert|0–60|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}
!Top speed
|-
!style="background: #ececec;"|2003 SV
| {{convert|4601|cc|0|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|90.2x90|mm|in|2|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|320|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}} at 6,000&nbsp;rpm
| {{convert|410|Nm|lbft|0|abbr=on|order=flip}} at 4,750&nbsp;rpm
| 5.3 seconds
| {{convert|165|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}
|-

!style="background: #ececec;"|2004 SV-R
| {{convert|4997|cc|0|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|94x90|mm|in|2|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|385|hp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}} at 6,000&nbsp;rpm
| {{convert|510|Nm|lbft|0|abbr=on|order=flip}} at 4,750&nbsp;rpm
| 4.9 seconds
| {{convert|175|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|}

==XPower WR==
In July 2008, William Riley, who claims to be a descendant of the dynasty of [[Riley Motor]], although this has been disputed,<ref name="ft-letter">{{cite news |last=Riley |first=V. W. |date=2008-07-19 |title=Riley dynastic claim is a non-starter |url=https://www.ft.com/content/8be5512a-552a-11dd-ae9c-000077b07658 |work=[[Financial Times]] |access-date=4 January 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref name="ft-2008">{{cite news |last=Murphy |first=Megan |date=2008-07-05 |title=Battle over MG badge shifts up a gear |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a227419e-4a2d-11dd-891a-000077b07658 |work=[[Financial Times]] |location=London |access-date=4 January 2010}}</ref> 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 {{Convert|540|bhp|kW PS|0|abbr=on}}, and seven cars were said to have already been sold.<ref name="car-2008">{{cite magazine |last=Adams |first=Keith |date=2008-04-15 |title=MG SV returns, TF founders |url=http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/News/Search-Results/Industry-News/MG-SV-returns-TF-founders/ |magazine=[[Car Magazine]] |access-date=4 January 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref name="ft-2008"/> This case was won by Nanjing in February 2010.<ref name="bbc-nac">{{cite news |title=Car maker wins MG trademark battle|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hereford/worcs/8525609.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=2010-02-19 |access-date=22 February 2010}}</ref>

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.<ref name="bp-2009">{{cite news |last=Chadwick |first=Edward |date=2009-12-31 |title=X Power dream turns sour for MG Sports and Will Riley |url=http://www.birminghampost.net/birmingham-business/birmingham-business-news/automotive-business/2009/12/31/x-power-dream-turns-sour-for-mg-sports-and-will-riley-65233-25502951/ |work=[[Birmingham Post]] |access-date=4 January 2010 |archive-date=8 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100108202733/http://www.birminghampost.net/birmingham-business/birmingham-business-news/automotive-business/2009/12/31/x-power-dream-turns-sour-for-mg-sports-and-will-riley-65233-25502951/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.business-live.co.uk/manufacturing/x-power-dream-turns-sour-3936684|title=X Power dream turns sour for MG Sports and Will Riley|newspaper=business-live.co.uk|date=4 January 2010|access-date=16 September 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|MG XPower SV}}{{Rover Cars}}
{{Automobiles made by BMC, BL and Rover Group companies, post-1945}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mg Xpower Sv}}
[[Category:MG vehicles|XPower SV]]
[[Category:Coupés]]
[[Category:Rear-wheel-drive vehicles]]
[[Category:Sports cars]]
[[Category:Cars introduced in 2003]]