2005 MG ZT V8 260 4,601cc, Manual. Registration number V800 ...

Estimate

£8,000 - £12,000

2005 MG ZT V8 260 4,601cc, Manual. Registration number V800 JSM. VIN number SARRXXL GB0000726. Engine number TBC.
Sold with the V5C, one key.
The 'noughties was the era of the unlikely V8. Manufacturers vied with each other to fit upsized powerplants into smaller cars, with the best-remembered examples of the genre being a trio of Germans - the E90/ E92 BMW M3, W204 Mercedes C63 AMG and B7 Audi RS4. But while all were fine cars, they all got scooped by a plucky British underdog, the equally eight-cylindered MG ZT 260 beating them to market by several years.
In order to appeal to the sportier market MG Rover launched the MG versions of the 25, 45 and 75 - the ZR, ZS and ZT. The ZT's problem came under its bonnet, it had to use the not exactly muscular K-Series V6 from the 75, with the exclusive option of front-wheel drive. The motor was tweaked and tuned to make 187hp for the range-topper.
MGR chose Prodrive to adapt the 75's transverse engined floorpan to accept both a substantial transmission tunnel and a bought-in Ford V8 under the bonnet. The total project budget was just £30m, something the bigger players could easily spend on creating a new heating and ventilation system.
The new engine wasn't big on sophistication. This was the 4.6-litre 16-valve single camshaft motor as used in the contemporary Mustang, lightly tuned by Roush but still only producing a modest 256hp at 5000rpm, although accompanying this with a solid 302lb-ft of torque. The new rear axle used Holden-sourced halfshafts and gained two extra dampers to fight tramp.
The car was limited to 155mph, with a 0 to 60mph circa 6.2 seconds. Some 883 MGR V8's were built, 717 ZT's and 166 Rovers.
JSM has DVLA MOT history dating back to 2008 at 34,332 miles, it has continuous gentle history through to the present day at 123,965
It has been owned by our vendor since .... during his tenure it has received upgraded Accufab throttle bodies and the originals were not very smooth and a Cobra Sports exhaust system. He has dry stored and used it occasionally but prefers driving his Rover 75!