∙MG ZT 260 SE 4.6 V8 ∙Number 66 of 384 made ∙Anthracite Metallic Grey paintwork
The Background
What do you get if you cross the body of a Rover 75 with a bit of a facelift, add a Ford Mustang 4.6 V8 and throw all of the power at the back wheels…. An MG ZT, that’s what!
The MG ZT was MG's answer to building a monster version of the Rover 75. They wanted something that sounded the part at the back end but was also capable of achieving respectable 0-60 times. The Ford 4.6 Litre V8 was chosen as the power plant and it produces 252 BHP with 410 lb ft of torque taking the normally sedate 75 to a 0-60 sprint time of 6.2 Seconds and if you let it, on to 155MPH.
Delivering this power to the rear instead of the Rover 75’s normal FWD format at first might seem a lot of hard work, but MG states that actually, it wasn’t too difficult. The under belly of the 75 floor plan has a decent tunnel running front to back as part of its design to be a stiff chassis so fitting a prop that delivered the oomph to a Dana Hydratrak Limited Slip Differential at the rear wasn’t too taxing a change to envisage. Bolt on some bigger brakes from AP and some motorsport derived engineering from Pro-Drive and it all came together nicely.
They had to quieten the voice a tad on the V8 to pass UK sound limit rules and added some luxurious seats and a few other toys on the inside to refine it. It’s one of the fastest 4 door MG models ever to hit the streets and boy does it shout about it.
This particular model has been owned by the same person for the last 8 years.
It features the black leather interior and is a 5 speed manual converting that 252 BHP into a lovely noise and ample power. These were made in limited numbers and this particular car is number 66 of 384 produced in this spec.
The car was last serviced less than 100 miles ago and it has service history including stamps in the service book. There are also receipts present for recent works completed such as replacement of the a/c compressor.
The black leather interior is in very nice condition, the headlining, carpets, door cards dashboard etc are all very clean. The front seats are electric and the driver’s seat has a driving position memory function. The car has a sports steering wheel which shows some minor wear. The audio has been upgraded to a modern colour-screen media stereo system with satellite navigation. The car also has air conditioning, an electric sunroof and electric windows.
The exterior is Anthracite Metallic Grey, there is a deep shine to the paint work and there are no signs of any serious marks. The bumpers are very clean, all the exterior glass is good and the alloy wheels are clean but have not been refurbished. The tyres are in good condition and it is presentable under the bonnet. The boot carpet is very tidy, and covers the space saver style wheel in the wheel well.
There are lots of factory colour coded accents to the exterior and let’s not forget the stainless pipes that deliver that beautiful V8 burble.
The car is in good health mechanically, with only the air con compressor needing changing recently. The car drives well and of course sounds great with that thumping great V8 under the bonnet.
There does feel like some wear to 4th gear but the car still drives well.
Taking an otherwise calm rather sedate Rover 75 and throwing big power and RWD at it was a bit of a gamble for MG in the early 2000’s. It was probably the most unexpected car on the market to do something like this too and despite there being a trend in the 80s of taking a family saloon and shoehorning performance engines them, I think it’s fair to say it wasn’t so much of a trend in the 2000s.
What we have here then is a bit of a unicorn, having been made in very small numbers makes it even less likely you’ll spot one in the wild, let alone own one.
The sound is pure raw Ford V8, and with performance to match its big mouth it truly is one of the best that ever rolled off the production line at the MG plant.
Sure, you could buy something German from the same era and have RWD or even 4WD if you went for something from Audi but I don’t think they offer the same sort of buzz in the surprise stakes, and they certainly won't when it comes to rarity.
*The Photographs in this listing were provided by the seller*
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2003 MG ZT 260 V8
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