MG Cars is a former British sports car manufacturer, which was founded in 1924, the creator of the MG brand.
MG Cars is best known for its two-seat open sports cars, but MG also produced saloons and coupés. More recently, the MG marque has also been used on sportier versions of other models belonging to the parent company.
The MG marque was in continuous use (barring the years of the Second World War) for 56 years after its inception. Production of predominantly two-seater sports cars was concentrated at a factory in Abingdon, some 10 miles (16 km) south of Oxford. The British Motor Corporation (BMC) competition department was also based at the Abingdon plant and produced many winning rally and race cars. In the autumn of 1980, however, the Abingdon factory closed and MGB production ceased.
Between 1982 and 1991, the MG marque was revived on sportier versions of Austin Rover’s Metro, Maestro and Montego ranges. After an interval of barely one year, the MG marque was revived again, this time on the MG RV8 — an updated MGB Roadster with a Rover V8 engine, which was produced in low volumes.
The “real” revival came in the summer of 1995, when the high volume MG F two-seater roadster was launched. This was an instant hit with buyers, and sold in volumes which had been unthinkable on affordable two-seaters since the 1970s.
The MG marque passed, along with the Rover marque to the MG Rover group in May 2000, when BMW ‘broke up’ the Rover Group. This arrangement saw the return of MG badges on sportier Rover-based cars, and a revised MG F model, known as the MG TF, launched in 2002. However, all production ceased in April 2005 when MG Rover went into administration.
The assets of MG Rover were bought by Chinese carmaker Nanjing Automobile in July 2005 who themselves were bought by SAIC in December 2007.[1]
In 2007 production of the MG TF roadster and MG 7 large sports saloon (derived from the previous Rover 75/MG ZT model) started in China.[2] Assembly of MG TFs for the European market, from Chinese built complete knock down (CKD) kits, was started by NAC MG UK at Longbridge in August 2008.[3]
The Ford GT began as a concept car designed in anticipation of the automaker’s centennial year and as part of its drive to showcase and revive its “heritage” names such as Mustang and Thunderbird. At the 1995 Detroit Auto Show, the Ford GT90 concept was shown. At the 2002 auto show, Ford unveiled a new GT40 Concept car.
The production cars do not wear the GT40 badge. Early cars from the 1960s were also simply named “Ford GT”.
The GT was produced in model years 2005 and 2006.
August 2004 – The GT began assembly at Mayflower Vehicle Systems in Norwalk, Ohio and was painted by Saleen in their Saleen Special Vehicles facility in Troy, Michigan. The GT is powered by an engine built at Ford’s Romeo Engine Plant in Romeo, Michigan. Installation of the engine and manual transmission along with interior finishing was handled in the SVT building at Ford’s Wixom, Michigan plant.
Performance and engineering
The Ford GT features many new and unique technologies, including superplastic-formed aluminum body panels, roll-bonded floor panels, afriction-stir welded center tunnel, a “ship-in-a-bottle” gas tank, a capless fuel filler system, one-piece door panels, and an aluminum engine cover with a one-piece carbon-fiber inner panel.
Brakes are four-piston aluminum Brembo calipers with cross-drilled and vented rotors at all four corners. When the rear canopy is opened, the rear suspension components and engine are visible.
The mid-mounted 5.4 L Modular V8 engine is all-aluminum with a Lysholm twin screw-type supercharger. It features a forged rotating assembly housed in an aluminum block designed specifically for the GT program. A dry sump oiling system is employed, allowing the engine to sit low in the car’s frame. The DOHC 4-valve heads are a revision of the 2000 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R cylinder heads (with slightly increased wall casting thickness in the exhaust port). The camshafts have unique specifications, with more lift and duration than those found in the Shelby GT500 or 2003–2004 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra. Power output is 550 hp (410 kW) and 500 ft·lbf (680 N·m) of torque. A Ricardo six-speed manual transmission is fitted featuring a helical limited-slip differential.
Performance
0–60 mph (0–96 km/h): 3.3 seconds, 3.6 seconds, 3.7 seconds
0–100 mph (0–160 km/h): 7.4 seconds
0-150 mph (0–241 km/h): 16.9 seconds
Standing 1/4 mile (402 m): 11.2 seconds @ 131.2 mph (211.1 km/h), 11.6 seconds @ 126.2 mph (203.1 km/h), 11.78 seconds @ 124.31 mph (200.06 km/h)
Top speed: 205 mph (330 km/h) (electronically limited)
Fuel consumption
The United States Environmental Protection Agency mileage estimate for the GT is 12 mpg-US (20 L/100 km; 14 mpg-imp) in city driving, and 19 mpg-US (12 L/100 km; 23 mpg-imp) in highway cruising, for a combined 14 mpg-US (17 L/100 km; 17 mpg-imp).
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