Owner:

Lewis Stephens

Number:

547/883

Model:

MG ZT260 SE

Colour:

Starlight Silver

Lewis explains:

Australia may well be the last bastion of the rear wheel drive V8 so the MGZT 260 is very much at home on our roads, although its rarity ensures great interest.

MG 4600, in Starlight Silver, is build #547. Although there are no actual figures available, two sixties member Steve Foldhazy, who has compiled a register of Aussie 260's, believes its one of about 20 ZT 260's that were imported by MGROVER Australia from August 2004 until April 2005. Sadly the Rover 75 V8 was not sold locally, although a few found their way to New Zealand

Priced from $90,000AUD, at the time around 45,000GBP, the 260 was not a cheap car and with the cost of compliance with Australian design rules it's doubtful that the distributors ever expected to make any money on such limited volumes. The Australian 260's were available in only one trim level, more or less the equivalent of the British SE but without heated and memory function seats. All had grey leather with alacantra suede. The only option was the HiLine satnav/TV unit. A four- speed Ford automatic transmission was available on special order and three were sold in this guise. A limited colour range meant most were sold in either silver, black or X power grey.

As a British car enthusiast with a love of V8's and fond memories of my ownership of a P6 Rover 3500S the chance to own to own a 260 was too much to pass up and I purchased my car from Adelaide's Prestige Walkerville, a former MGRover dealership, in June 2007 with some 7,000kms on the clock. MG Car club of South Australia committeeman, Tim Edmunds, who had worked at this dealership prior to my purchase of #547 has since given me some of its early history. It seems it was one of the first batch to arrive in Australia and was initially used in Sydney by the then managing director of MGRover Australia as a company car before being sent across to Adelaide where it was used as demonstrator vehicle until being placed on the sales lot.

Modifications and upgrades I've undertaken will sound familiar to other owners and are largely as a result of the wealth of information available on the Two-Sixties.

First cabs of the rank were the essentials like the orange fuel clip and upgraded heater hose.

The car has the modified version of the Zero quad exhausts, the 70mm Accufab throttle body and plenum, and a K&N air filter. After a few visits to the local wreckers to cannibalise a pre project drive Rover 75 I've added a genuine walnut fascia, drivers side grab handle, sunvisors with mirrors and non -functioning vanity lights, rear ashtray and dummy vents. V8 and union badges have been added to the boot lid. I've also had imported a walnut MGR steering wheel.

So what has gone wrong? Happily not much and again this will sound familiar. Faulty airbag and seatbelt warning lights, rusty wheel nuts, dodgy sunroof railings, vibrating gear stick surround and some water entry into the boot. All problems fixed by my local service centre, Pickards, without fuss. In addition I've had the Apex alloys refurbished.

The car has now done 35,000kms with a combination of city and long distance country driving. It is on it's second set of Conti Contact Sport 2's. A drivers training day organised by our local MG car club at Melbourne's Sandown raceway has been the only time the car has been driven in anger.

The cheaper cost of petrol over here means a lazy V8 with good handling and a bit of style is still an everyday driving proposition even in Melbourne's London style traffic conditions. The 260 handles our B grade bush roads, the likes of which there is no equivalent in the UK, with aplomb, and even attracts the occasional glance from owners of pumped up local V8 Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons.