12-02-2002, 13:59
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#1 (permalink)
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Doncaster
Age: 33
Posts: 177
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Nitro-Powered Ford V8 in an MG!!!
taken from the NEWSmotoring site - http://newsmotoring.news.com.au/news...E21822,00.html
Quote:
MG turns on X-Power
01dec02
NITROUS oxide-injection kits will be an optional extra for Britain's latest supercar, the MG X-Power SV.
The add-on feature shows how serious the small British company is about creating a red-hot V8 sportscar to challenge dream machines from Italy and Germany.
The XPower SV is a two-door coupe powered by a Ford V8 engine and is MG's hero car with a price of about $200,000.
It was unveiled at the British Motor Show last week in front of a patriotic crowd in Birmingham.
Rover MG Australia is considering bringing a handful of the cars here, but is yet to make a decision.
There are two types of SV models available, a road car and a race-only special.
Both have carbon-fibre body panels which help keep weight down near the 1450kg level.
The road car is powered by a 4.6-litre quad-cam V8 Mustang engine that pumps out a healthy 243kW of power.
That unit helps the SV dash from 0-100km/h in five seconds flat and manage a top speed of 273km/h.
If that sounds fast, wait until you read what the race-special can do.
It has a quad-cam 5-litre Ford V8 with 305kW, and hits 100km/h 0.6sec quicker. The top speed is pushed up to a breathtaking 314km/h.
Faster race kits, including the nitro, are available to improve performance further.
The SV was born when the Italian supercar company de Tomaso ran out of cash last year after changing its name to Qvale.
MG took over the Qvale Mangusta roadster project, turned it into a hard-top and continued developing the car.
The English-developed MG is a bit of a United Nations car. Chassis, suspension and carbon-fibre panels are made and assembled in Italy, with an American engine and Australian limited-slip differential dropped in.
The cars are then shipped to England where the interior trim is fitted and the panels are painted.
MG engineers then track-test the cars for an hour before they are handed over to their owners.
Briton Peter Stevens, who designed the upcoming Subaru Impreza facelift, came up with the SV shape.
The celebrated designer, who has worked for Lamborghini and Lotus, and came up with the McLaren F1 car, says the MG SV extends the boundaries of excitement.
"The MG XPower SV is a car with appeal to passionate sports car drivers who will relish its extraordinary racetrack performance characteristics," he says.
"The MG XPower SV delivers this objective in a forceful manner, demonstrating the immense potential for MG."
The Sunday Times
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