MG ZT 260 V8
The MG Rover Group's long-awaited V8-powered MG ZT 260 V8, is a
rear-drive version of the Rover 75. It is being built in ZT sedan and ZT-T
station wagon versions.
believes there's a chance it will show up on Australia & Kiwi roads in the first
quarter of 2004, The New Zealand importer has yet to comment on the car.
What makes it so special? Shoehorned under the rear-drive model's bonnet is a
4.6-litre
Ford Mustang V8 that delivers 191kW and a stomping 410Nm of torque.
MG Rover claims the beast will cover the 0-100kmh sprint in 6.6 seconds in sedan
form, with the wagon just 0.1s slower. Maximum speed is limited to 250kmh.
Price in the United Kingdom, where the car is already on sale, starts at
$82,000.
MG ZT 260 V8 -
From the outside, the quadruple exhaust pipes and discreet ZT-T 260 and V8
badges
give the game away. They tell you that, underneath the svelte exterior, the car
is
an entirely different animal to the 75-based, front-wheel-drive ZT already on
sale .
Below the skin, the platform is largely new with significant changes to many
functional
vehicle systems to accommodate the revised drive-line layout.
The rear axle has been mated to an all-new multi-link rear suspension, while the
bodyshell
has been stiffened. The car is sufficiently different from the 75 that the
company felt
compelled to start up a new production line.
However product development director Rob Oldaker believes the effort was worth
it.
MG Rover has chosen to mate the Mustang's muscle to a Tremec TR3650 five-speed
manual gearbox, essentially the same unit chosen by Ford for the latest Falcon
XR8.
The box has been extensively modified to meet MG's specifications and has unique
gear ratios to suit European driving conditions. MG also developed its own
all-new gear selection system and bespoke hydraulic clutch actuation.
The rear axle uses Dana's Hydratrak limited slip differential system with
vane-pump principles to ensure continuous and seamless torque transmission to
both rear wheels in the event of wheel speed differential.
The ZT 260's steering and suspension systems have been evolved from the front
drive models. MG says the engineers focused on honing the car's classic
rear-drive handling to provide seamless, fluid and adjustable attitude control
under the widest range of conditions and claims to have built a car that blends
day-to-day ease of use with the driver-rewards of a true thoroughbred.
The MacPherson strut front suspension has been retuned while it sports a
multi-link rear suspension. A six-mount subframe houses the differential, while
each wheel is located by three lateral links (two steel and one light-alloy) and
a light alloy trailing arm.
MG ZT 260 V8 -
Compound rate springs, also sourced from race specialist Eibach, work in
conjunction with Bilstein monotube dampers.
The ZT 260 models feature 18 inch alloy wheels in two styles, shod with
Contisport 225/45 ZR18 tyres. Brakes are beefed up, too, with 325mm ventilated
front discs and and 332mm ventilated rears.
A V8 badge in the centre of the dashboard is about the only interior clue to the
V8 drivetrain; in other respects the cabin is broadly similar to the front-drive
ZT models.
Standard equipment ncludes electric front windows and heated door mirrors, front
fog lamps, leather steering wheel and gear knob, ABS, driver, passenger and side
airbags, and an alarm immobiliser system.
A higher specification SE version takes black leather trim, TV tuner, park
distance sensors, side head impact protection for front seats, xenon lights,
trip computer, electro chromatic rear view mirror, rain sensor, electric front
seats and electric sunroof.
Recently a development ZT-T V8 was taken to the Salt Flats at Bonneville, Utah
where the MG achieved a maximum speed of 225mph from a specially tuned V8 engine
variant.
MG Rover made a connection with Ford via the British company's buy-out of the
Modena-based Qvale Mangusta operation. The original plan was that the Ford
V8-engined Mangusta would be transformed into the MG X80, but as with so many MG
Rover projects that one got side-tracked along the way.
The Ford V8 link itself wasn't lost, though, and the engine has now made its
first MG appearance in the ZT 260, by far the most powerful car in the whole MG
Rover catalogue. It was also, in heavily modified form, under the bonnet of the
ZT-T estate which recently managed 225mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah,
the performance which, as reported previously, has been put forward to the
Guinness Book of Records as the highest speed ever achieved by an estate car.
In standard tune the 4.6-litre engine, also seen in the Ford Mustang, peaks at
256bhp. If the thought of even that amount of power going through the steered
wheels strikes you as a little worrying, relax. The ZT 260 has been
re-engineered with rear-wheel drive. There's also a brand-new multi-link rear
suspension.
From the outside, and in the cabin, there's little evidence that the 260 has
been so heavily modified. It needed a new front and rear floor, of course, and
one sign of the powertrain alterations is the larger transmission tunnel to help
accommodate the US-built in-line Tremec five-speed manual gearbox. Perhaps the
most noticeable alteration is at the rear of the 260, where the four tailpipes
announce that this is a car which really means business.
MG has gone to a number of specialist outside suppliers, in addition to Tremec,
for the kind of equipment needed for a car with performance levels like the 260.
It has AP Racing brakes, Eibach springs, Bilstein dampers and a Dana Hydratrak
differential. Contisport tyres sit on 18" alloy wheels of two different styles.
Not Getting The Buzz
As well as that 256bhp power output at 5000rpm, the engine provides its maximum
302lb/ft of torque 1000rpm lower down. Rob Oldaker, MG Rover Group's Product
Development Director, isn't far off the mark when he speaks of the "muscle car
character that flies in the face of our competitors' trend towards buzzy
high-revving engines".
As far as performance goes, the ZT 260 saloon romps from 0-60mph in 6.2 seconds
(0-62 in 6.6) and goes on to a governed top speed of 155mph. The estate is a
tenth behind in acceleration times. In both cases the fuel consumption is rated
at 27.2mpg extra urban and 21.5mpg combined, while the CO2 figure is 314g/km.
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