AROnline » MGF/TF

The cars : MGF/TF development history

Keith Adams — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 20:31:37 +0000

The MGF was an appealing mid-engined sports car that showed genuine engineering flair when it was launched – thanks to the use of VVC and Hydragas suspension. Adding icing on the cake, it was developed on a shoestring, used countless carry-over parts from the Metro and 200/400 range, and it proved a commercial success. So [...]

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Technical : Hydragas explained

Keith Adams — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 00:01:58 +0000

Hydragas suspension was one of the quiet achievements pioneered and refined by British Leyland – and yet, it never received the praise it deserved. KEITH ADAMS briefly explains how the system works. Pioneer that led nowhere… SINCE the introduction of the Mini in 1959, BL’s predecessor, the British Motor Corporation (BMC), had been right at [...]

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Buy parts with AROnline and Rimmer Bros

Keith Adams — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:01:30 +0000

KEITH ADAMS Rimmer Bros sponsored AROnline‘s Polish SD1 restoration… Buying parts for your Jaguar, Rover, Lands Rover, Triumph or MG has never been easier through AROnline… HERE at AROnline, we receive a large numbers of emails from people all over the world looking for parts for their cars MGs, Rovers, Landies and all manner of [...]

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Blog : Ten years ago today

Keith Adams — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:02:51 +0000

Keith Adams It’s funny how the passage of time can sometimes take you unawares. Looking at AROnline‘s fantastic ‘Archive’ feature is a great way of keeping stock of the company’s past – and it was in one of those idle moments, that I realised that the MG TF is a decade old already! To me, [...]

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In production : MG TF LE500

Keith Adams — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 22:26:54 +0000

For many, the sun set on Longbridge in May 2005 when MG Rover went into administration – but three years on, and small scale car production has returned with the arrival of the MG TF LE500. CAB B as NAC MG UK now calls it currently houses the TF, but there’s room for so much [...]

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Gallery : MGF

Keith Adams — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 15:41:27 +0000

The MGF was something new and exciting for the Rover Group when it appeared in 1995. Here are some of the best images of the car in Mk1 form… Gallery

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Sports car projects : MG TF GT

Keith Adams — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 20:31:17 +0000

MGB for the 21st century? Hinted at for some time in the press, the MG GT Concept marries the well-known capabilities of the MG TF chassis and the KV6 engine, and packages them up in a pretty new hard-top body. Not yet cleared for production, it is MG Rover’s ambition to get the car into [...]

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Concepts : MG TF200 HPD

Keith Adams — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 15:23:49 +0000

TF goes hybrid! The public’s perception of the hybrid car is one of a boring, low speed economy car – a car that one would only buy if there were no other option. Cars such as the impressive Honda Insight and Toyota Prius have tended to re-inforce that perception, which is a shame, because hybrid [...]

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Concepts : MGF XPower 500

Keith Adams — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 15:16:49 +0000

XPowered MGF launched at Le Mans 2001, the MG XPower TF500 demonstrated that there was a fighting spirit at MG Rover; one that wanted to show the world that the company could emerge from the shadow of BMW and produce some interesting, fast and exciting new cars. Certainly, that statement of intent was underlined beautifully [...]

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Essays : VTEC and VVC – an approximate history

Keith Adams — Sun, 08 May 2011 14:47:44 +0000

Robert Leitch ‘Combustion is the hidden principle behind every artefact we create.’ WG Sebald – The Rings of Saturn It is at once dispiriting and encouraging to realise the four cycle gasoline engine, the 150-year old device which has held so many of us in its thrall since the early days of the horse-less carriage, [...]

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MG TF GT: Did SAIC Motor miss an opportunity in the USA?

Keith Adams — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:53:23 +0000

Words: Keith Adams Photographs: Adam Sloman I always remember feeling a slight sense of hope and optimism when NAC MG announced that it was going to start building cars in Oklahoma, USA. The announcement came in 2007 and, although little concrete news followed, I hoped, prayed and wished for a return to the colonies for [...]

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An MGF for a monkey?

Keith Adams — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:21:53 +0000

Richard Kilpatrick The lack of cars had started to gnaw away at me since sending the dearly detested C6 back to Citroën and getting possibly the most wonderful, forgettable car in return – a C3, which I suspect, I’d have trouble drawing if I wasn’t actually looking at it, let alone become emotionally attached to it). My [...]

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MGF Prototypes : First and last

Keith Adams — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 19:56:13 +0000

Keith Adams It was strange seeing MGF prototypes PR1, PR2 and PR3 for the very first time on a recent visit to Longbridge. I had seen them in the pages of David Knowles’ excellent MGF and TF book as well as on the pages of this very website but had never really appreciated the huge differences between the [...]

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Why I love the MG TF

Keith Adams — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 11:45:24 +0000

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Car of the month : June 2009

Keith Adams — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:47:12 +0000

After some time on the dark side owning a Citroën Xantia Activa, and then over eighteen months with a 200 VI, AROnline‘s very own technical guru, Brian Gunn, felt the need to move to something slightly more exotic… And in keeping with his very particular tastes, it’s rear wheel drive, and cobbled together from bits [...]

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First drive : MG TF LE 500

Keith Adams — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:13:41 +0000

After three years and one or two false starts, the MG TF LE500 finally goes on sale in the UK and Ireland. Once the darling of the convertible set, has the reborn MG lost its sheen during the intervening years? Words and pictures: Keith Adams It’s back, but is it any good? IN 1992, the [...]

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Archive : MG goes back to the future

Keith Adams — Tue, 08 Jan 2002 01:24:08 +0000

The first major revamp of the MG sports car since 1995 is being unveiled at the Brussels motor show. Manufactured at Rover’s giant Longbridge plant in Birmingham, the new car is called the MGTF. With the top rated model – the 1.8 litre TF160 – capable of 140mph, the company hopes to consolidate the marque’s [...]

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Archive : MG 75th Anniversary Limited Edition MGF

Keith Adams — Thu, 04 Mar 1999 11:40:02 +0000

MG Cars has announced a celebration Limited Edition of the UK’s best-selling sports car, the MGF. Restricted to a production run of 2,000 the MGF 75th anniversary LE will be built in both 1.8i and 1.8i VVC versions. The car makes its public debut at the Geneva motor show. Available in two colours, Mulberry Red [...]

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Archive : MGF Supersports At Geneva

Keith Adams — Thu, 04 Mar 1999 11:33:34 +0000

MG Cars is unveiling the latest version of the MGF ‘Super Sports’ at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show. This new Super Sports is a prototype, high performance road-going derivative of the MGF. The car was created in response to the overwhelming reception given to the MG Super Sports concept car shown at Geneva in 1998. [...]

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Archive : Rover revs up for two-seater success with new MG

Keith Adams — Tue, 07 Mar 1995 16:54:46 +0000

THE INDEPENDENT RUSSELL HOTTEN Rover Group returns to the sports car market today with the revival of its famous MG marque, in a move aimed at repeating the success of Japanese manufacturers of low-cost, two-seater models. After four years’ development and £30m of investment, the long-awaited MGF makes its public debut at the Geneva Motor [...]

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